Jimmie Hughes projected to win St. George Mayoral race

St. George, Utah (ABC4) — ABC4’s Cannon Secrist spoke with Jimmie Hughes, a candidate for the St. George Mayoral race who currently has a significant lead and is projected to win.

While election results won’t be finalized until November 18, Jimmie B. Hughes is leading the St. George mayoral race by a significant margin. With all precincts reporting, he is reported to have 55% of the vote.

Current Mayor Michele Randall was Hughes’s opponent in this election, and she congratulated Jimmie in a social media post.

She also said, “It has been an absolute honor serving as the Mayor of St. George for the past five years and on the City Council for seven years before that. I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished together. We live in an incredible community, and through this journey, I’ve met so many wonderful people and formed lifelong friendships.”

ABC4’s Cannon Secrist sat down to talk with Hughes about his plans for the future if he steps into the role.

“I just felt like we could make a few changes and do a few things differently, maybe a little better at the mayor’s level,” Hughes said, “So I decided to run.”

Hughes serves on the St. George City Council and previously ran for mayor four years ago, though he lost to the current mayor Michelle Randall. He says he has learned from this experience.

“We want to try to engage the public as much as we can. Public input is a necessity to me, not just a formality. And we want to continue with that, find more ways that we can get public input,” He said.

One of his main goals in office is to establish affordable housing, “Let’s not raise property taxes. That’s a direct impact on the cost of housing: impact fees, permit fees, those kinds of things.”

He also wants city council members to be fully informed in every decision.

“My job is to be that person who gets the information to them, represents what they’re doing, represents the city with all our partners, and make sure that everybody has the information they need to make a good decision,” He says, “The more information we have and the more free we are to speak with each other, the better decisions we’re going to make.”

Hughes also had a comment for the residents who did not vote for him during the election, emphasizing that he wanted to represent them as well.

“I would say to the people of St George who didn’t vote for me, I still want to be your mayor. I’m going to be your mayor. I respect your opinion. I want St George to be a win for you as well,” He said, “And so, you know, don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and call me whether you voted for me or not. I want to represent you.”