Oxford Mayor Wants Another Four Years at the Helm

Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill wants to serve her city for another four years as mayor.

Tannehill qualified to run in the June 8 election early Monday morning and made a formal announcement on the steps of City Hall at 1:30 p.m.

“My administration has accomplished many things during our first term, but we still have a lot of work to do,” Tannehill said Monday. “We have laid the groundwork for some exciting projects that I want to see through, like the Highway 7 and University Avenue interchange … And I want to continue to implement the recovery and rebuilding plans that we have for getting through COVID-19. My goal has been it, and will continue to be, to make Oxford, Mississippi, the best place to live, to work, to raise a family, to go to school.”

Tannehill ran unopposed four years ago but qualified as a Democrat. On Monday, she announced she will be running as an Independent.

“I believe, with all of my heart, that at the local level we need to be as bipartisan as possible to be able to achieve our greatest potential,” she said. “I’m not representing the Republican Party or the Democrat Party as mayor. I’m representing Oxford, Mississippi. Garbage pickup, potholes, clean water, fire protection, police protection. Those aren’t Democrat or Republican issues, those are Oxford issues.”

Tannehill is a graduate of the University of Mississippi where she met her husband, attorney Rhea Tannehill. She’s served as assistant director of the Oxford and Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Foundation and as executive director of tourism, where she spearheaded the first Double Decker Arts Festival in 1995.

She served as the Ward 2 aldermen for one four-year term before signing up to run for mayor in 2017.

Municipal elections this year will include the mayor and all seven seats on the Oxford Board of Aldermen. Monday was the first day to qualify. The qualification period will end at 5 p.m. on Feb. 5. The Primary will be on April 6 with the General Election on June 8.

Also qualifying on Monday were incumbents, Mark Huelse, Ward 2; Preston Taylor, Ward 5; Kesha Howell Atkinson, Ward 4; and Jason Bailey, Ward 6.

Erin W. Smith qualified Monday to run for the Ward 1 seat, currently held by Rick Addy.