Woodson beats two challengers to continue in District 7 post

Mimi Woodson will continue her third decade of representing the people of District 7.

With votes tallied from 6 out of 7 precincts, Woodson had 395 votes, or 57 percent of the vote, to 197 votes for Sia Etemadi (28 percent) and 102 votes for Jeremy Hobbs (15 percent). Early voting results from the Muscogee County Board of Elections and Registrations had Woodson with 237 (54 percent) votes to Etemadi’s 133 (30 percent) and Hobb’s 65 (15 percent).

“I was prepared for whatever God’s plan for me was,” Woodson said. “I was at the point, whatever happened was what was meant to be.”

Woodson, 60, has been a fixture on Columbus council, representing District 7 for 24 years. When she was elected in 1994, she was the first Latino city council member elected in Georgia.

She is the associate manager of the Contact Center at TSYS. Woodson spent 15 years in the U.S. Army prior to running for city council.

Hobbs, 43, is a non-profit educational manger for AIDS and the LGBT community. He has been a gay-rights activist in Columbus almost two decades. He has served on a number of city advisory boards, including the LGBT liason for Mayor Teresa Tomlinson.

Hobbs has had several unsuccessful bids for elected office, including city council.

Etemadi is a resident of the Columbus Historic District and has been a preservation activist for more than two decades.

An architect by training, Etemadi has worked to restore a number of homes in the city’s oldest historic district adjacent to downtown. He has been active in the Historic District Preservation Society and honored by Historic Columbus for his efforts.

This story was originally published May 22, 2018 at 11:53 PM with the headline "Woodson beats two challengers to continue in District 7 post."