Albert Wilson

Albert Wilson (Democratic Party) ran for election for Mayor of Jackson in Mississippi. He lost in the Democratic primary on April 1, 2025.

Wilson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Albert Wilson was born in Jackson, Mississippi. He earned a high school diploma from Wingfield High School and a bachelor's degree from Jackson State University in 1989. He also attended Mississippi College. Wilson's career experience includes working as a business executive, nonprofit founder, and public school teacher. As of 2025, Wilson was affiliated with the Genesis and Light Center.^[1]

Elections

2025

General election

General election for Mayor of Jackson

The following candidates ran in the general election for Mayor of Jackson on June 3, 2025.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Horhn (D)	67.2	16,377
	Submit photo	Rodney DePriest (Independent)	27.6	6,736
		Zach Servis (Independent)	2.5	620
	Submit photo	Kenneth Gee (R)	1.0	232
	Submit photo	Lille Stewart-Robinson (Independent)	0.8	202
	Submit photo	Kim Wade (Independent)	0.8	196

	There were no incumbents in this race. Source	Total votes: 24,363
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

John Emmerich (Independent)

Democratic primary runoff election

Democratic primary runoff for Mayor of Jackson

John Horhn defeated incumbent Chokwe Antar Lumumba in the Democratic primary runoff for Mayor of Jackson on April 22, 2025.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	John Horhn	74.9	17,729
	Chokwe Antar Lumumba	25.1	5,940

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Source	Total votes: 23,669
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for Mayor of Jackson

Kenneth Gee defeated Wilfred Beal in the Republican primary runoff for Mayor of Jackson on April 22, 2025.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Kenneth Gee	63.5	99
		Wilfred Beal	36.5	57

	There were no incumbents in this race. Source	Total votes: 156
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Mayor of Jackson

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Mayor of Jackson on April 1, 2025.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Horhn	48.1	12,359
✔		Chokwe Antar Lumumba	16.7	4,285
	Submit photo	Tim Henderson	13.6	3,499
	Submit photo	Delano Funches	8.2	2,118
	Submit photo	Marcus Wallace	4.1	1,041
	Submit photo	Socrates Garrett	2.7	684
	Submit photo	David Archie	2.1	552
	Submit photo	LaKeisha Crye	1.4	361
		Albert Wilson	1.1	281
	Submit photo	James Hopkins	1.0	264
	Submit photo	Kourtney Page	0.3	85
	Submit photo	James Butler	0.1	29
		Other/Write-in votes	0.5	133

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 25,691
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Keyshia Sanders (D)
Ali ShamsidDeen (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Mayor of Jackson

Kenneth Gee and Wilfred Beal advanced to a runoff. They defeated Ponto Downing in the Republican primary for Mayor of Jackson on April 1, 2025.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Kenneth Gee	37.7	134
✔		Wilfred Beal	34.4	122
	Submit photo	Ponto Downing	20.6	73
		Other/Write-in votes	7.3	26

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 355
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Wilson in this election.

2019

General election

General election for Governor of Mississippi

Tate Reeves defeated Jim Hood, David Singletary, and Bob Hickingbottom in the general election for Governor of Mississippi on November 5, 2019.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Tate Reeves (R)	51.9	459,396
	Jim Hood (D)	46.8	414,368
	David Singletary (Independent)	1.0	8,522
	Bob Hickingbottom (Constitution Party)	0.3	2,625

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 884,911 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for Governor of Mississippi

Tate Reeves defeated William Waller in the Republican primary runoff for Governor of Mississippi on August 27, 2019.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Tate Reeves	54.1	179,623
	William Waller	45.9	152,201

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 331,824
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Mississippi

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Governor of Mississippi on August 6, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jim Hood	69.0	208,634
		Michael Brown	11.0	33,247
		Velesha P. Williams	6.9	20,844
		Robert Shuler Smith	6.7	20,395
	Submit photo	Robert Ray	1.9	5,609
	Submit photo	William Compton	1.8	5,321
		Albert Wilson	1.7	5,122
	Submit photo	Gregory Wash	1.1	3,218

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 302,390
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Phillip West (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Mississippi

Tate Reeves and William Waller advanced to a runoff. They defeated Robert Foster in the Republican primary for Governor of Mississippi on August 6, 2019.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Tate Reeves	48.9	187,312
✔	William Waller	33.4	128,010
	Robert Foster	17.7	67,758

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 383,080
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

Albert Wilson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Wilson's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Albert graduated from Jackson State University in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. He has over 30 years of experience in business, technology, social service, and community development. Before becoming the full-time executive director of Genesis and Light Center, Albert worked in the corporate world as a computer professional for companies such as MCI WorldCom and Fermi Laboratories in Batavia, Illinois, and as a geometry teacher in the Jackson Public School District.

Albert’s time in Illinois provided him with the experience necessary to pursue his passion for helping others, leading to the launch of his nonprofit organization, Genesis and Light Center. The organization continues to support economically disadvantaged families, senior citizens, and veterans with essential services and workforce skills. It also educates the community on relevant issues such as the opioid epidemic, crime prevention, healthy living, and career and economic development. Additionally, thousands of low-income children benefit from afterschool and summer programs that promote healthier living and provide much-needed structure.

Albert’s personal commitment to breaking the cycle of poverty, violence, and helplessness is evident in every aspect of his work. Through his nonprofit center, Albert has developed self-help programs designed to strengthen students, families, and the community on emotional, financial, physical, intellectual, and spiritual levels.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

My priorities are clear: fix our infrastructure, reduce crime, and bring economic opportunities back to our struggling city. We will rank street repairs and fix the worst first, implement my statewide initiative, SAFE MS, to stop a crime before it happens by addressing Spiritual, Addictions, Financial, Emotional and Mental Illness factors that can lead to crimes. I have developed nine dilapidated properties into state-of-the-art facilities – and I will develop Farish Street, Lake Hico and the Pearl River Basin into top tourist attractions. Property owners beware: Clean it up and board it up, Fix it up and Open it up, OR we will tear it down and sale it.
My decades in working with youth and young adults in the education field have taught me that the students of Jackson are no less capable than the students of neighboring cities and states but need more resources dedicated to them. There is a disconnect between the leadership of Jackson and the youth in our city. We criticize and penalize them with curfews. I will invest into our youth with STEAM after-school programs, workforce development, youth employment and develop more venues geared toward them. I will support apprenticeship programs, vocational schools, community colleges, and universities help make them more assessable and accessible.
As mayor, I will take a proactive approach to governance by addressing the root cause of these actions – ineffective leadership and procedural oversight. I will leverage partnerships with local, state, and federal leaders and agencies to promote collaborative solutions that resolve past mismanagement issues. My priority is to regain the confidence of our citizens first, then state and federal lawmakers regain full control of our water system to public schools, the airport, historic Smith-Wills stadium to law enforcement and criminal courts, so like other Mississippi cities, we never have to face state control in the first place.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Jacksonians are the ones directly impacted by the generationally weak infrastructure that characterizes the city. Due to this, I have the highest potential and strongest ambitions to fix these issues. My campaign is built on the idea of empowering Jackson from the inside out, and through this, I believe a strong, locally controlled government will be the backbone of making Jackson thrive. I plan to use this view to respond to these issues that may otherwise warrant state intervention.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to my parents, Mr. Howard Wilson and Mrs. Mildred Wilson (both deceased), who were raised in the segregated south. My parents, having grown up in the late 1940s, stressed the importance of the one thing they were denied: “an education.” I attribute my foundations of faith, family values, and zeal to serve others to my parents.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

My personal commitment to breaking the cycle of poverty, violence, and helplessness is evident in every aspect of my work. Through my nonprofit center, I have developed self-help programs designed to strengthen students, families, and the community on emotional, financial, physical, intellectual, and spiritual levels. My initiatives promote education, values, positive attitudes, and high self-esteem, encouraging participants to avoid alcohol, drugs, crime, and other at-risk behaviors. In addition to providing services that are often inaccessible, unaffordable, or nonexistent, I dedicate countless hours to connecting individuals with the necessary agencies.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

The characteristic or principles most important to me is integrity, vision and commitment. Our campaign is built on the principles of transparency, accountability, and inclusivity, ensuring that the needs and aspirations of all citizens are ate the forefront of our agenda.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

For over 30 years, I’ve been advocating for the City of Jackson, revitalizing neighborhoods, engaging youth, protecting senior citizens, and investing in our community’s future. Most candidates can only talk about what they want to do to build Jackson. However, I have an extensive track record of what I am doing and have successfully done in service for the citizens of Jackson.

I have successfully managed fundraisers, written grants, submitted & approved contracts, created budgets, completed payrolls, and built partnerships providing positive influences in our communities. I don’t just talk about change; I make it happen and plan to do the same for the City when elected.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The core responsibility of any elected official is to be the voice, conscience, and the best interest of the citizens who elected them, never putting the interests of rich investors and campaign contributors over the citizens of Jackson.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I have purchased over nine dilapidated properties and developed them into state-of-the-art facilities including a community center, event halls, a building dedicated to Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics (STEAM), play grounds, and parking garage just to name a few. These developments have worked to remove eyesores from neighborhoods and havens once used for crime, drugs and homelessness. Furthermore, I have created educational and recreational STEAM programs that have changed the likelihood of 1000s of youth from victimizing others to victorious futures. Alongside my work for youth, I have organized senior citizens activities and support programs to assist the elderly helping make their later years of their life productive and rewarding.
As Mayor, I plan to use my experience in community development, business, technology, and proven leadership to connect with Jacksonians of all ages and backgrounds to improve the quality of life for every resident in Jackson. To summary my plan to restore Jackson – Imagination, Innovation and Implementation with collaboration.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

My many visits to Farish Street Historical District from age 2 until the store disappeared. I really enjoyed the movie being placed at the Alamo theater and the food for the restaurants.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Summer job with City of Jackson public works, cleaning streets and parks. My first summer job at age 15.

What is your favorite book? Why?

The bible because I am a Christian.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

I only want to be me, Albert Wilson

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Kendrick Lamar, “Not like Us” and Michael Jackson, “They Don’t Care about Us”

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

My youth was difficult, as I saw firsthand how negative influences could lead to negative outcomes. I was born and raised in a poverty-stricken area of Jackson, Mississippi, but found success through hard work, education, and helping others. Determined to overcome such obstacles, I promised myself that I would lead a life of positivity and philanthropy and help others in similar situations. While I encountered negative influences that could have derailed my future, I remained determined to lead a positive life and give back to others like myself within my community.

A mayor is a leader in his or her city. What does that mean to you?

A servant who represents the interests and concerns of citizens and acts as a bridge between the local administration and the people they serve.

If the mayor in your city is a member of the city council and there's a city manager appointed to handle the day-to-day administration of the city government, what do you believe should be the mayor's top priority in office?

The mayor should supervise the overall business of the city, developing and enforcing the 4 Ps - policies, procedures, processes and protocols. The mayor develops and implements policies, strategies, and programs aimed at enhancing the city’s infrastructure, public safety, and overall economic growth.

A mayor is tasked with managing the city’s finances prudently. This involves crafting and proposing an annual budget that allocates resources to various departments, projects, and services. The mayor collaborates with city council members to ensure that financial resources are distributed efficiently to address the community’s most pressing needs. As a primary policymaker, the mayor is responsible for proposing, advocating, and implementing policies and legislation that align with the city’s long-term vision and goals. They participate in public events, interact with community members, and engage with local organizations, businesses, and institutions. As the face of the city, the mayor communicates the city’s achievements, challenges, and aspirations to the public.

And in times of crisis or emergencies, the mayor assumes a pivotal role in managing and coordinating the city’s response efforts. As mayor, I will collaborate, compromise, and contribute to the betterment of the City of Jackson.

If the mayor in your city is not a member of the city council and oversees the day-to-day administration of the city government, what do you believe is the ideal relationship between the mayor and city council?

n/a

What do you love most about your city?

I am an humble servant, a husband, a father, a businessman, founder of Genesis and Light Center, and a lifelong resident of Jackson, MS. What I love most about my city are "the people". People who have invested so much into me and I want to continue to invest back into them because they deserve so much more than what they have been given. I'm offering my many talents to become their next and their best Mayor of the City of Jackson. I love Jackson, but we all know much work is needed to make Jackson a safer place for businesses, entertainment, and to live. Other candidates will talk about what they are going to do, but I have an extensive track record of doing and will continue to do in service to the citizens of Jackson.

What do you perceive to be your city's greatest challenges over the next decade?

The city's greatest challenge to our city is monies which comes from economic development. However economic development will not come until crime is under control, our infrastructure is fixed, and our education system is improved. I will prioritize restructuring business regulations to foster a more conducive business landscape to support the needs of entrepreneurs and business owners currently in the city. Furthermore, I will identify and secure funding through grants, public-private partnerships, and realistic budget reallocations to support business development, and address previously ignored conflicts for economic development that have driven business to neighboring cities.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between your city and the state government?

The ideal relationship between city and state government is a partnership to improve and move our capitol city forward. I will prioritize regaining the trust of state officials working with experts, community leaders, policymakers, and stakeholders to develop a sustainable, resident-centered plan for the future of our City.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between your city and the federal government?

The ideal relationship between city and federal government is a partnership to improve and move our capitol city forward. I will leverage partnerships with local, state, and federal leaders and agencies to promote collaborative solutions that resolve past mismanagement issues but not replace our local leadership/ownership. This involves my plans to spearhead the implementation of accountability mechanisms, so the citizens of Jackson and all stakeholders can hold us accountable for achieving positive results in managing these facilities and institutions.

Tell us your favorite joke.

Jamie Foxx - "Jesus why you keep bring up old "sugar honey ice tea".

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the mayor's office and law enforcement?

The ideal relation is working together to make Jackson a safer place to work, shop, and be entertained. We will change the climate and culture of Jackson, starting with my own City of Jackson police force. Any type of crime will not be tolerated, ignored, or justified, criminals will be sought after, arrested and face the maximum legal penalties available under the law for their actions.

• Coordinated partnership between JPD, Capitol Police and Hinds County Sheriff’s Department, community organizations, and the citizens of Jackson (if you see something say something, if I say something law enforcement got to do something)
• We will implement technology including upgrading/adding more high-definition security cameras, security drones, and develop an efficient call/monitoring management system.

• We will increase police presence in high-crime areas which will also decrease response time.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Not seeking endorsement only seeking to do the business of the people.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Transparency helps create an environment of honesty and accountability. Transparency helps build strong relationships with citizens and stakeholders and
brings government accountability. So being open and honest, and sharing information openly and honestly is important to me.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2019

Ballotpedia survey responses

Albert Wilson did not complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

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Footnotes

↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on March 2, 2025

[1] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on March 2, 2025

[1]

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Albert Wilson

Biography

Elections

2025

General election

General election for Mayor of Jackson

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary runoff election

Democratic primary runoff for Mayor of Jackson

Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for Mayor of Jackson

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Mayor of Jackson

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Mayor of Jackson

Endorsements

2019

General election

General election for Governor of Mississippi

Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for Governor of Mississippi

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Mississippi

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Mississippi

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

2019

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also

External links

Footnotes

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