Election 2026 · Jackson
Former Mayor Derek Dobies faces citizen watchdog John Wilson in Jackson’s Nov. 3 mayoral race
JACKSON, Mich. — Jackson voters will choose their next mayor on Nov. 3 in a two-person race that both candidates say starts with the city’s neighborhood streets — and that splits over how to pay for them, how hard to push public safety staffing, and what to do about downtown homelessness.
Former Mayor Derek J. Dobies and John Wilson advanced from the city’s Aug. 4 nonpartisan primary, topping a five-candidate field that also included Christy May Davis, Shalanda Hunt and Dena K. Morgan, according to the City Clerk’s candidate list and WKAR’s primary report. Incumbent Mayor Daniel Mahoney did not seek reelection. The winner serves a two-year term. This is the first Jackson mayoral election held in an even-numbered year after the City Council moved local races onto the same calendar as state and federal contests.
Dobies: streets, police staffing and lower costs. Dobies, who was mayor from 2017 to 2021, sits on the Jackson Public Schools Board of Education and previously represented the 6th Ward on City Council. His campaign plan puts roads and infrastructure first: a published multi-year reconstruction schedule, more local money for neighborhood streets, preventative maintenance, grant hunting, and using marijuana tax revenue and other sources to speed repairs. He says his earlier term more than doubled local street funding and put more than $128 million into roads, utilities, sidewalks and bridges.
On public safety, Dobies wants to recruit toward about 60 sworn officers — a roughly 15% increase — expand neighborhood policing, create a traffic-safety unit, and keep group violence intervention programs that he says helped cut violent crime more than 27% when he was mayor. He also frames city finances as a taxpayer issue: continue shrinking long-term pension burdens, put Act 345 savings into streets, chase outside grants, and review fees. On downtown parking, he says he would review the paid system with businesses and supports expanding free parking to four hours or returning to free parking if that is the better fit.
Wilson: bonds for streets, gangs and encampments. Wilson, a Jackson native and Lumen Christi, Jackson Community College and Western Michigan University graduate, is making his fourth run for mayor and describes himself as a longtime citizen watchdog. In primary-night comments to WKAR he said neighborhood street conditions come first, calling too many “literally crumbling.” At a June panel covered by Wilcox Newspapers, he argued the city should consider trimming its general-fund reserve and using general-obligation bonds to mill and pave local roads without new homeowner assessments. WILX reported his other priorities as street gangs, downtown parking and downtown homeless encampments; at the same panel he said nonprofits already paid with tax dollars should be held accountable and that the city should prohibit downtown encampments while directing those agencies to do more.
How the job works. Jackson uses a council-manager form of government. Dobies has said a mayor still leads by setting a vision and building council support; Wilson has argued the council should debate major priorities more actively and that the city manager works at the pleasure of the mayor and council. Neither candidate’s race is partisan under city rules.
More on Jackson ballots. City voters also choose a treasurer between David R. Hammontree and incumbent Nanette Muntin for a partial term ending Nov. 30, 2028, and decide whether to amend the charter so the treasurer becomes a City Council appointment starting Dec. 1, 2028 — a question The Mitten Daily previewed earlier this month. Countywide, every Jackson County ballot carries the Central Dispatch proposition that would raise the monthly 911 phone surcharge from up to $1.50 to up to $3 beginning July 1, 2027, to fund dispatch and replace aging first-responder radios, as previously reported. Township voters in parts of the county also see millages for Blackman parks, Concord roads, Liberty fire equipment and Norvell public safety. Statewide, every Michigan ballot carries Proposal 1 on a constitutional convention and Proposal 2 on utility and contractor donations.
Monday, Oct. 19, was the last day to register to vote online or by mail. After that, residents can still register in person at their city or township clerk’s office with proof of residency, through 8 p.m. on Election Day. Statewide early in-person voting runs Oct. 24 through Nov. 1. Absentee ballot applications are due by 5 p.m. Oct. 30 by mail or online, or by 4 p.m. Nov. 2 in person at the clerk’s office. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3. County canvassers must finish by Nov. 17, and the Board of State Canvassers certifies statewide results by Nov. 23. Voters can check their registration and see their sample ballot at Michigan.gov/Vote.
Updated Oct. 20, 2026: The Oct. 19 deadline to register to vote online or by mail has passed, so the voting details now say so. Residents can still register in person at their city or township clerk’s office with proof of residency through 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Sources:
City of Jackson, Election Division (official candidate filings for mayor and treasurer; even-year election change; early voting at City Hall), https://www.cityofjackson.org/267/Election-Division
Jackson County Clerk, Notice of Election for Nov. 3, 2026 (countywide 911 proposition, city charter amendment, township millages; mayor and treasurer on ballot), published via Blackman Charter Township, https://blackmantwp.com/wp-content/uploads/Notice-of-Election-November-2026.pdf
WKAR Public Media, Leigh Ann Towne, “Dobies, Wilson advance to November race for Jackson mayor,” Aug. 5, 2026 (primary field; Mahoney not running; Wilson street comments; two-year term; even-year elections), https://www.wkar.org/election-2026/2026-08-05/dobies-wilson-advance-to-november-race-for-jackson-mayor
WILX News 10, “Jackson mayoral candidates outline priorities ahead of primary,” July 31, 2026 (Dobies growth/roads/crime/housing quotes; Wilson’s four priorities), https://www.wilx.com/2026/07/31/jackson-mayoral-candidates-outline-priorities-ahead-primary/
Wilcox Newspapers, Elizabeth Ferszt and Kathryn Palon, “Juneteenth Political Panel highlights Jackson mayoral, judicial races,” June 26, 2026 (Wilson background, bonds/reserves for streets, encampment stance; Dobies record and board service; council-manager comments), https://wilcoxnewspapers.com/juneteenth-political-panel-highlights-jackson-mayoral-judicial-races/
Derek Dobies for Mayor, “Read Derek’s Plan” (streets plan, $128 million infrastructure claim, ~60 officers, Act 345 savings, parking, homelessness approach), https://www.derekdobies.com/plan
Michigan Department of State, “Absentee voting” and election calendar (registration, early voting and absentee deadlines), https://www.michigan.gov/sos/elections/voting/absentee-voting
Photo: DontCallMeLateForDinner, “Jackson, Michigan City Hall, 2025,” April 22, 2025, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), cropped; derivative shared under the same license, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jackson,_Michigan_City_Hall,_2025.jpg
