Columbia's city council is now made up entirely of women for the first time in the city's history, after civil rights attorney Sharon Jones was sworn in to represent Ward 4 on Monday. Jones takes over the seat vacated by Nick Foster, joining Mayor Barbara Buffaloe and five ward councilwomen on the council.
Jones won the seat outright in an Aug. 4 special election, defeating former Columbia utilities director Dave Sorrell and social services attorney Ryan King, according to ABC 17 News. The final tally, reported by 93.9 The Eagle, showed Jones capturing 3,930 votes, or 51%, to Sorrell's 2,926 votes and King's 812 votes, a decisive margin in a crowded three-way race.
Jones will serve out the remainder of Foster's original term, which runs through April 2028. Foster stepped away from the Ward 4 seat in June to move to Atlanta, a move that triggered the special election in the first place.
A Utilities Veteran Falls Short
Sorrell, Jones' closest challenger, retired in 2025 after a 24-year municipal career with the city, including five years as utilities director. Per the COMO Business Times, he centered his campaign on his engineering background and a pledge to complete stalled public works projects, a message that ultimately wasn't enough to overcome Jones' broader coalition.
That coalition included endorsements from Laborers' International Union of North America Local 955 and the Sierra Club, according to KBIA. Jones's broader coalition was in place before she ever cast a council vote.
Budget Questions Loom Over a Razor-Thin Tax Vote
Jones steps into office at a moment when the council faces immediate fiscal decisions. Columbia voters approved Proposition 1, a one-cent increase to fund police and fire services, by just 85 votes out of nearly 30,000 cast, a margin the same KBIA report says is expected to generate roughly $38 million annually for police and fire services.
Following her election win, the city faces questions about the budget, how Columbia deploys its Flock traffic safety cameras, and whether infrastructure delays stem from funding shortfalls or execution problems. Those questions will likely dominate the council's early budget conversations as it decides how the new public safety revenue gets spent.
The election drew heavy turnout for a municipal race. Boone County election officials recorded more than 7,500 early ballots ahead of Aug. 4, a record for early voting.
Council Now Fully Female for the First Time
Jones now sits alongside Ward 1 Councilwoman Valerie Carroll, Ward 2 Councilwoman Vera Elwood, Ward 3 Councilwoman Jacque Sample, Ward 5 Councilwoman Christina Hartman, Ward 6 Councilwoman Betsy Peters and Mayor Buffaloe, completing an all-female roster on the seven-member body. Buffaloe won a second term in April 2025 with 55% of the vote, having already made history when women first outnumbered men on the council after her first election, according to background on Wikipedia.
The council includes a mayor elected citywide and six ward members serving staggered three-year terms out of City Hall's Daniel Boone Building, per Wikipedia. With Jones now seated, that structure carries a milestone roster into a budget season shaped by a new tax and a newly outspoken voice on camera policy and infrastructure oversight.
