STATESBORO — Incumbent Jeff Yawn and Challenger Venus Mack square off for the District 3 seat on the Statesboro city council.

Venus Mack-District 3 (Challenger)

• The 37 year old first time candidate is a hair stylist and licensed cosmetologist, who runs the Glam Bar Salon on East Main Street in Statesboro. Mack says that she will fight on behalf of small business, and that she believes that there should be someone who is a small business owner sitting on the city council.

• Mack has lived in Statesboro for seven years.

• “People should expect more, and they can expect more when I’m elected,” Mack said.

• Mack said that she was hoping to have a community advisory board, where residents in district three can meet with her and have a voice in Statesboro affairs. “All of the students at Georgia Southern who are in the district can come to those meetings,” Mack said. “They can voice their opinions, concerns, questions, and I will advocate for them, and take them back to the city council.”

Jeff Yawn-District 3 (Incumbent)

• Yawn was first elected to the city council after running unopposed in January of 2016. Yawn also graduated from Georgia Southern with a degree in finance

• Jeff Yawn has also served as the Executive Director of Eagle Dining Services (E.D.S.) at Georgia Southern University for the last eight years, where during his tenure, Dining plan participation has grown significantly and gross revenue has increased by $20 million. Yawn also owned Archibald’s in Statesboro for five years.

• On the issue of transportation, Yawn said that a bus route, with the funding being shared between the federal, state and local governments, can benefit all citizens. “We can provide means for students and local people alike to reach their or get their personal needs,” Yawn said. “Whether it be work or groceries or shopping.”

• Creek on the Blue Mile project is a revitalization project within a portion of Downtown Statesboro with the goal of addressing and mitigating current flooding concerns within Downtown “I believe this creek project could have that same lasting legacy effects on our community,” Yawn said. “I believe where [the project] will be and the connection between the University and the community, I really believe that it can have a major impact not just immediately, but potentially for many, many, many years and potentially forever.”

District 3 encompasses all of the GS campus and dormitories 

The full District 3 map can be found here.

The election is on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Nathan Woodruff, The George-Anne Managing News Editor, gaeditor@georgiasouthern.edu