FLINT, Mich. — After months of political gridlock, legal disputes and community concern, Third Ward residents turned out at the polls to fill the City Council seat left vacant by the late Councilman Quincy Murphy.
Beverly Biggs-Leavy and A.C. Dumas will face off for the Third Ward Flint City Council seat in the August 2025 General Elections, according to May 6, 2025 unofficial Genesee County election results.
Genesee County Clerk/Register, Dominique Clemons, confirmed that the top two candidates are tied at 165 votes each. The current results are unofficial until the May 6 primary election has been certified.
“I anticipate there may be a request for a recount,” Clemons said, noting that candidate and Third Ward Ambassador, LaShawn Johnson, came in at 162 votes. Clemons added that a recount cannot happen until after the primary election is certified, and that would take at least one week.
A fourth candidate, Richard Jones, came in last with 21 votes.
The Third Ward seat has been at the center of controversy since Murphy’s death.
Murphy, who passed away in September 2024, was in the middle of a term set to expire in November 2026. After his death, the Flint City Council failed to appoint someone to the vacant Third Ward seat.
On January 14, Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley’s office appointed Third Ward Ambassadors to temporarily bridge the gap between residents and city government. As of April, Linda Boose and Johnson are actively serving in the role.
Dumas, a retired business owner who has served as President and 1st Vice President of the Flint Branch NAACP will face off with Biggs-Leavy to finish out Murphy’s term.
Biggs-Leavy owns a local catering business and studied culinary arts at Mott Community College.
Both of the candidates are life-long Flint residents.
The winner of the general election will serve out the remainder of Murphy’s term through November 2026.