Four submit petitions to run for 3rd ward Flint City Council seat

FLINT, Mich. — Four prospective candidates have submitted nominating petitions to run for the empty Third Ward council seat in the May 2025 primary election.

Beverly Biggs-Leavy, A.C. Dumas, LaShawn R. Johnson and Richard F. Jones are vying for spots on the ballot for the Third Ward council seat left vacant by the sudden death of Councilman Quincy Murphy on Sept. 29, 2024.

For nearly four months, the seat has remained unfilled due to Flint City Council’s failure to elect a new councilmember within the 30 days required by the city’s Charter.

This failure to comply with the charter resulted in the assignment of a court-ordered mediator.

On Jan. 8, 2025 the council decided to move forward with filling the vacant seat by agreeing to hold a primary election on May 6, 2025 followed by a general election on Aug. 5. 

Before his death, Murphy was the subject of a recall effort by his Third Ward constituents. All four current candidates participated in the November 2024 recall election, where Beverly Biggs-Leavy secured the majority with 589 votes, accounting for 30.25% of the total, according to unofficial results.

Dumas received 548, Jones 205, Murphy 309, and the last candidate Kerry Leon Nelson received 296.

However, the election was invalid and not certified by the Genesee County Board of Canvassers, according to Genesee County Clerk/Register of Deeds Domonique Clemons.

The winner of the Aug. 2025 general election will serve the remainder of Murphy’s term, which was set to end in Nov. 2026.

In the interim, two “third ward ambassadors” have been assigned as representatives of the third ward, one of them is Johnson.