Tuesday’s election delivered a massive shakeup to Central’s city government, ousting the current mayor, police chief and four council members running for re-election.
In perhaps the biggest local upset, incumbent Central Mayor Jr. Shelton lost his seat to David Barrow, a former city administrator who secured 52% of the vote.
Central Chief of Police James Salsbury also lost out to a political newcomer and law enforcement veteran, Roger Corcoran. Four incumbent council members were defeated as well, resulting in an entirely new council makeup.
Local leaders say the political turnover in Central was the result of a combination of factors, including the disastrous 2016 flood and growing tensions between those in the city who want Central to grow and develop, and those who do not.
“The mayor and council got caught up in mood exacerbated by the flood,” says state Sen. Mack “Bodi” White, R-Central. “You have a group of people who want to expand and grow the city, and a group of people who don’t. When the flood came along, so many flooded and were frustrated. The mayor got caught up in some of that rift.”
Central City News publisher and former legislator Woody Jenkins also points to the flood as the impetus for the shakeup in city government, adding that he was not particularly surprised by the results, but was expecting the mayor’s race to be closer.
Shelton echoes those sentiments but also chalks his loss up to false information that spread after the flood and leading up to the election.
“It takes a toll over time,” Shelton says. “But this is what the people wanted. … It was a combination of factors that added up to voter dissatisfaction with the administration.”
