Incumbent Jan Jacobus easily defeated challenger Ike Yancy for the District 3 Milton City Council seat. Mr. Jacobus garnered a majority of votes in all (but one) precincts in Milton.
Congratulations to Mr. Jacobus! And thanks to Mr. Yancy for stepping up and challenging Mr. Jacobus. Milton benefits from competitive elections.
I have been poring over the election results and I will provide more detailed analysis and commentary in a later post. Suffice to say that Miltonites—as they always do—selected the better candidate. As I’ve discussed in previous posts, Mr. Yancy presented an unacceptable level of risk of 1) detrimental disruption at council and 2) serving as a conduit for interference from aggrieved former council members and a few wacko political operatives.
Over the past few weeks, the blog experienced a high volume of visitors seeking information on the election and candidates. Thank you for your trust and confidence in the MC blog. I especially appreciate readers so generously sharing the blog with fellow voters. Following is a graphic showing the number of shares of the blog this election season on various social media platforms. These shares vastly expand and amplify the impact of the MC blog. Thank you.
A reminder. Tuesday, November 4th is Election Day. Early voting has concluded.
The only competitive local race is the District 3 City Council seat. Voting is at-large (for all city council seats), which means all Miltonites (regardless of where they live) can vote for the District 3 representative.
Following is a link to my page providing links to useful information to help with your decision. This includes links to candidates’ social media websites. My 2025 Election Guide does not provide any commentary on the candidates. I would especially recommend looking at the candidate finance reports . . . very interesting and revealing reading. (See Note 1.)
I am not endorsing a candidate in the District 3 election. Neither candidate clears my bar for endorsement. However, as I’ve explained in a recent blog post, incumbent Jan Jacobus seems preferable to challenger Ike Yancy. Following is a link to my analysis and commentary on the District 3 race:
In a nutshell, Jacobus is a passive, do-no-harm sort of candidate who has shown leadership on the Highway 9/Deerfield (renewal) master plan, which his opponent Yancy has heartily endorsed. Conversely, Yancy offers a disruptive alternative, which voters may (perhaps understandably) desire. However, there is good disruptive and bad disruptive. Based on his posts (particularly at NextDoor and Facebook), Yancy strikes me as pretty clueless/uninterested (he very rarely comes to council) and overly reliant on a few former, discredited council members—Laura Bently, in particular–so highly susceptible to manipulation, I believe. This is a recipe for unproductive chaos and disruption at council . . . a return to the extreme council dysfunction of 2022-23 when Mohrig and Moore were running amuck in city government . . . a lot of drama and little progress. Additionally, my sense is that Yancy, because of his posts about diminishment of property values along Highway 9, would have to recuse himself from the only issue he really seems to care about: the Highway 9 widening project. It would seem that Yancy would best serve the community by continuing as a Highway 9 watchdog rather than as an ethically recused council member.
Finally, a warning. In the closing days of the election, I’ve seen some questionable (and desperate) tactics by some Yancy supporters, particularly former council members and a few shady local political operatives. Truth-in-Labeling is important. Some endorsing organizations are just names, with nothing behind them (no internet presence, no funding, no members). Don’t be fooled by labels like “conservative” or “concerned citizens.” And be careful about PAC endorsements. Research the PAC . . . use AI search engines to find out what these PACs really are about . . . you might be surprised. Some former politicians and political hacks cynically believe that you are plain stupid, and they can dupe you with phony organizations and meaningless endorsements announced with great fanfare (including a lot of American Flag emojis). They’re hawking political snake oil. However, Milton voters have consistently proven they can easily see past the BS and choose the best candidates (while summarily disposing of wayward elected officials) . . . a lesson that Milton’s political miscreants never seem to learn.
In closing, thank you to my readers. I appreciate your support over the past 10 years. Over the past few weeks, blog traffic has steadily increased as election day approaches. It cheers me that voters are seeking information to make informed decisions about the election. It is committed and informed voters like you that make Milton so special.
Advocating For Good Governance,
Tim
Note 1: The campaign finance reports are especially revealing in that the discredited ex-council members and political hacks who are “backing” Yancy (and aspire to be his puppet-masters) certainly have not put their money where their (loud) mouths are. Yancy reported no new contributions in his last campaign financial report. Zero contributions other than a loan he made to his campaign. This is not surprising as Milton’s political miscreants are mostly driven by self-interest. One ex-council member has even shamefully re-purposed their campaign/political Facebook page to sell services . . . monetizing their once-upon-a-time political followers for self-enrichment purposes . . . likely a violation of both Facebook rules and federal election laws, but certainly an affront to common sense ethics (and to their business competitors). You really can’t make this stuff up! More about this switcheroo in a post-election blog post.
Added note: If ex-council members and local political jihadis aren’t willing to back up their words with money for Yancy, voters might logically wonder why they should even consider voting for Yancy? It’s a deja vu moment in Milton politics. It reminds me of Helen Gordon’s campaign in 2023. A lot of talk from Milton’s excommunicated political priesthood, but no money in the offering plate.
Milton Coalition 