2019 Columbia, Missouri, mayoral election explained

Popular Vote1:10,329
Before Election:Brian Treece
Ongoing:No
Next Year:2022
Country:Columbia, Missouri, U.S.
Election Date:April 2, 2019
Candidate1:Brian Treece
Party1:Nonpartisan politician
Percentage1:64.19%
Candidate2:Chris Kelly
Mayor
Type:Mayor
Party2:Nonpartisan politician
Popular Vote2:5,762
Percentage2:35.81%
Previous Election:2016 Columbia, Missouri, mayoral election
Previous Year:2016
Next Election:2022 Columbia, Missouri, mayoral election
After Election:Brian Treece

The American city of Columbia, Missouri, held an election for mayor, on April 2, 2019. Incumbent mayor Brian Treece successfully won re-election against former Missouri House member Chris Kelly. Kelly's run for Columbia mayor was the only unsuccessful electoral campaign of his career.[1]

Background

Chris Kelly, a former Democratic member of the Missouri House of Representatives, had previously expressed interest in running for the city's highest office. On October 29, 2018, Kelly officially announced his candidacy for Columbia mayor.[2]

Candidate petition filings for the municipal elections were open beginning October 30, 2018 and closed on January 8, 2019. Candidates running for mayor required the valid signatures of at least 100 registered Columbia voters.[3] Both incumbent mayor Brian Treece and challenger Chris Kelly filed their petitions on October 30.[4]

Campaign

Chris Kelly attracted controversy early in the race following the revelation that he had deleted thousands of tweets from his Twitter account days before beginning his campaign.[5] Screenshots of the messages were obtained by both Mayor Treece and the Columbia HeartBeat, with Treece describing the contents of the tweets as “misogynistic, racist, offensive and unacceptable."[6] Kelly responded to the accusations by claiming that the tweets were either jokes or taken out of context, while also stating in an interview “I sometimes have said things that I should not have said, and there’s no excuse for them."

Polls

Results

Brian Treece was re-elected mayor by a wide margin over Chris Kelly, winning the popular vote in 33 of the city's 35 precincts.[8]

Aftermath

On election night, Chris Kelly called Brian Treece to concede the race, with Treece delivering his victory speech shortly afterwards.[9]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Cheyne. Marcelle Peters and Victoria. Treece wins a second term as mayor with 64 percent of vote. 2020-09-04. Columbia Missourian. 2 April 2019 . en.
  2. Web site: Richey. Lauren. Kelly confirms he'll run for mayor of Columbia. 2020-09-03. Columbia Missourian. 29 October 2018 . en.
  3. Web site: Columbia City Council election petitions available for pick up, first day to file Oct. 30. 2020-09-05. www.como.gov. en.
  4. Web site: Chris Kelly, Brian Treece file in Columbia mayoral campaign. 2020-09-03. KOMU.com. 30 October 2018 . en.
  5. Web site: Keller. Rudi. Kelly deletes tweets as he begins bid for Columbia mayor. 2020-09-03. Columbia Daily Tribune. en.
  6. Web site: Peters. Victoria Cheyne and Marcelle. Kelly says Treece's concern about tweets is misguided. 2020-09-03. Columbia Missourian. 25 January 2019 . en.
  7. Web site: Keller. Rudi. Rude Awakenings: Poll shows Kelly leading Treece for Columbia mayor. 2020-09-09. Columbia Daily Tribune. en.
  8. Web site: 2019-04-09. Final Official Results - April 2, 2019 Municipal Election. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20211122211032/https://www.showmeboone.com/clerk/elections/results/20190402PGM.pdf. 2021-11-22. 2021-11-22. Boone County Clerk - Election Results Archive.
  9. Web site: KBIA Staff. Kelly Concedes, Treece Reelected Columbia Mayor. 2020-09-04. www.kbia.org. 3 April 2019 . en.