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Burgess wins Washington mayor Democratic nomination

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Paul Paterra/Observer-Reporter

Jojo Burgess won the Democratic nomination for mayor of Washington during the May 16 primary.

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Paul Paterra/Observer-Reporter

Incumbent Scott Putnam looks to have lost the bid for the Democratic nomination for mayor of the city of Washington

Jojo Burgess appeared to win the Democratic nomination for mayor for the city of Washington over incumbent Scott Putnam.

According to unofficial results from the Washington County Election Bureau, Burgess garnered 478 votes to 406 for Putnam. There were two write-in votes cast on the Democratic ballot. Around 23% of the city’s registered Democrats turned out to vote.

Burgess said Wednesday his feelings ranged from relief to happiness.

“It’s a range of emotions that’s going on right now for me and my family,” he said.

Putnam, meanwhile, said the loss in the primary still stung a bit as of Wednesday morning.

“We’re happy to have served the residents of this city for 7 1/2 years and look forward to finishing out this term with good things.” he said. “Obviously, the sentiment of the people that did vote is that it was time for a change. We’ll continue to work the rest of this year for the city and its residents and employees. Best of luck to Mr. Burgess in the next year.”

On the Republican side, there were 126 write-in votes cast. Putnam staged a Republican write-in campaign, and if he secures at least 100 of those write-in votes, he could potentially appear on the November ballot as the nominee. Those votes will not be tallied until next week.

If Burgess wins the general election, he would be the first black mayor for the city of Washington, something that was not lost on him.

“That’s not something to take lightly,” Burgess said. “I don’t want to be the last and only. I want to be someone that sets a trend and makes sure I have someone that follows me and keeps this up. A lot of things in this city are still segregated and people don’t pay attention to it. We need to come together and follow my campaign slogan: that unity in the community is necessary.”

Putnam, 52, said he takes pride in what he has accomplished as mayor, citing his work in the home renovation program which he said has seen homes on the renovation list decreased from more than 40 to fewer than five.

“We’ve also created a program through our (Citywide Development Corporation) that put homes that weren’t eligible for the county rehabilitation on those homes on a rehab list as well and spent well over $700,000 in residential rehabilitation in our neighborhoods,” he said.

Burgess, 53, is a longtime steel worker and veteran political and union activist. He is a graduate of Trinity High School and served in the military from 1988-95. He was invited to sit with First Lady Jill Biden at the 2022 State of the Union Address.

“There’re some things that need to be done, that need to be attacked to bring this city back to where it used to be,” Burgess said. “Neighborhoods (need to) have pride in themselves. That’s been gone for a long time. We have to get back to that for the entire city.”

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