GROVETOWN, Ga. (WJBF) – Incumbent Gary Jones will remain mayor after a close race with Ceretta Smith.

Jones beat out opponents Deborah Fisher and Ceretta Smith, gaining 42% of the votes.

Jones says this election was different from the first two he was in because of the two opponents. This didn’t deter him, and he tells NewsChannel 6 he’s happy people in Grovetown went out and voted even if they didn’t vote for him.

He says he will make certain values important within the city’s government. “Professionalism, honesty, integrity, transparency, accessibility, accountability, all of those things are characteristics and traits that I want to continue to work on, improve on, show the voting public and the citizens of Grovetown that the government can be honest and can serve you,” said Mayor Jones.

Mayor Jones says he’s looking forward to continuing to serve the City of Grovetown for the next 4 years. As for the Grovetown City Council race – incumbent Eric Blair will be keeping his seat, and Richard Bowman will be joining him.