Democrats in Vicksburg’s North Ward want the District 2 Warren County supervisor to move to City Hall and provided that person, Michael Mayfield, with a decisive win Tuesday.

“It’s overjoyous,” said Mayfield, 47, after the results were tallied. “It’s been a long, grueling, hard race. “I’ve been very blessed with my wife, my kids, my mom, my dad and my entire family supporting me. And people in the community, some I didn’t even know. I want to thank everyone for what they did and for putting forth the effort they put forth to bring this thing to fruition.”

Mayfield polled 1,709 votes in a three-way race to top three-term incumbent Gertrude A. Young, 49, who polled 892 votes, and convenience-store owner Rodney Dillamar, 45, who polled 293.

In the South Ward, Pam Ann Johnson, 39, a hair designer, received 711 votes to defeat security consultant and Waffle House manager DaVon Grey, 46, who received 693 votes, a margin of 18 votes.

If those totals are certified as expected, the general election will feature a rematch from four years ago between Johnson and incumbent Republican Sid Beauman, 57, seeking a second term.

Tuesday night, Young said she planned to go on vacation for about a month and then devote more time to her work as youth minister at Mount Carmel Baptist Church. A licensed real-estate agent since 1999, she worked as a registered nurse before being elected alderman. Young said she planned to continue her work in real estate but not to return to nursing.

She admitted being puzzled by the low turnout and the reaction to what she sees as the city’s progress.

“I feel like a lot of people sat at home, either because they thought I had it or they were ready for a change,” Young said.

Young and fellow officials, Mayor Laurence Leyens, 40, Beauman, 57, have presented a unified front on most issues. Both Mayfield and Dillamar said the results indicated dissatisfaction with the administration.

“This tells me that people don’t agree with everything this administration’s doing,” Mayfield said.

Young said she hoped her loss wasn’t a reflection on city actions and programs. “If it was, then I feel sorry for the people because they don’t realize what this administration has done,” Young said. “Vicksburg is on the move, and if (Leyens and Beauman) don’t get in with the program and the timetable we have, it’s going to stop.”

By polling more than half the votes cast, Mayfield skips a runoff and advances to the June 7 general election where he will face independents Vickie Bailey, 37, director of the Jackson Street Community Center; and Tommie Rawlings, 41, 414 Zollingers Hill. There was a Republican in the race, Carl Yelverton, 58, a security guard at Horizon Casino, but he has not appeared at campaign events and has reportedly dropped out.

Dillamar was more direct than Mayfield, saying the community’s top priority should be to remove Leyens from office, and he said he thought Young paid a price for embracing the first-term mayor politically.

“I hope Mrs. Young will understand that she turned her back on the community; the community didn’t turn its back on her,” Dillamar said. “Had she stood for us all along, then she never would’ve been defeated.”

Both Mayfield and Dillamar also thanked their supporters for their support and their opponents for running what they called clean races.

Johnson said she wasn’t worried about the outcome of Tuesday’s primary election, even though it was close.

The owner of Top of the Line Hair Salon and a former guest on the “Oprah Winfrey Show” because of her hair designs, Johnson won the city’s Democratic primary by 140 votes in 2001 when she ran against Carl Marshall Upton. She was defeated by Beauman in the general election by more than 2,000 votes.

She said she even took a nap between 5 and 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, 30 minutes before the polls closed and results began coming in.

“My spirit has been calm,” she said. “There has not been one day I worried. This is something I’ve been wanting to do since I was in junior high – it’s my passion and desire.”

Grey, a former Vicksburg police officer, said he wishes Johnson luck in the upcoming election. He said the close election indicated the people’s hard time deciding.

“It meant people were trying to decide who the best candidate was and those numbers are indicative of the closeness of the race,” Grey said.

Johnson’s birthday is June 2, and she said she believes the results June 7 will be her birthday present. She expects to defeat Beauman, who was elected to the alderman’s office in 2001 after working eight years as director of the city’s parks and recreation department.

“I believe with all my heart that I will win,” she said.