Lester Miller defeats Cliffard Whitby, elected next Macon-Bibb County mayor
The results are in for the Macon-Bibb County runoff election: Lester Miller has defeated Cliffard Whitby.
While vote totals are unofficial until certified, and some provisional ballots need to be counted, there aren’t enough to change the result of the elections.
“Very excited about the win tonight. This has been a long, grueling process; all candidates fought hard,” Miller said. “Looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and working with the commissioners... being able to carry on some of the great things they’ve done over the past seven years. We have a lot to build on, a lot to be happy about, but tomorrow is a new day.”
Miller noted the high number of homicides in Macon this year, adding the community “can’t accept that.”
“I look forward to having some real solutions with community groups, police officers and the faith community, to do what’s right for Macon-Bibb County,” he said.
Whitby said he is exhausted and gratified that he was able to present his vision for the Macon community.
“We believe that we presented a vision that we thought would move the community forward,” he said. “We are prepared to move forward understanding that Lester Miller will be the next mayor of Macon-Bibb.”
Bibb County voters also elected two county commissioners and a school board member Tuesday.
The results
Mayor
- Lester Miller: 22,804 votes (59.20%)
- Cliff Whitby: 15,716 (40.80%)
County Commissioner, District 5
- Seth Clark: 2,361 votes (57.70%)
- Carlton Kitchens: 1,731 (42.30%)
County Commissioner, District 7
- Bill Howell: 2,904 votes (62.12%)
- Bonnie Thompson: 1,771 (37.88%)
Board of Education, District 1
- Myrtice Champion Johnson: 3,198 votes (59.98%)
- Tera Edwards: 2,170 (40.42%)
Who is Lester Miller?
Miller, 51, has lived in Macon all of his life, went to seven different elementary schools in the Bibb County school system and graduated from Southwest High School, Mercer University and Mercer’s School of Law, according to a form Miller filled out for the Center for Collaborative Journalism.
He works as an attorney and a small business owner; he and his wife, Toby, have two children, Tyler and Landon, who also grew up in the Bibb County school system before being admitted to Mercer.
As a member of the Bibb County School Board, Miller was voted board president three times. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce and NewTown Macon and on the Council of the Middle Georgia Community Food Bank.
The campaign
Miller has been campaigning for mayor for two years, and he received several endorsements, including from former presidents and chairs of the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce, Bibb County School Superintendent Curtis Jones and former mayoral candidates Marc Whitfield and Blake Sullivan, according to news releases.
Miller received the most campaign contributions with $84,004 donations in the reporting period from June 30 to Aug. 7 and more than $550,000 total contributions for his campaign, according to disclosure reports.
Miller also led the race in expenditures spending $101,593.23 in the June 30 reporting period and more than $520,000 for his entire campaign.
This story was originally published August 11, 2020 at 10:44 PM.