With 54% of the vote and all districts reporting, Ronnie Marks will remain Athens’ mayor for four more years — and Marks says it’ll be his last years in the role.

Marks was the only candidate remaining in Athens City Hall as the final numbers rolled in. Even though other outlets had already called it in his favor, he told The News Courier he wouldn’t believe he had truly won until he saw it on the projector screen in council chambers.

Sure enough, he walked away more than 20 percentage points ahead of opponent Russell Johnson and more than 40 ahead of opponents Brian Terry and Mark Wilson.

“It feels great. I tell you, it does feel great,” Marks said after the results were announced in City Hall.

He attributed his success to the greatness of Athens and his grassroots campaign strategy.

“We hit the ground with about eight or 10 people that worked their rears off for me,” he said. “If we saw (voters) on the street or anywhere else, we talked to them. We probably had 10 or 12 negative comments through the whole thing. That feels good.”

The former city councilman was appointed mayor in 2010, then elected mayor in 2012 and re-elected in 2016. Looking ahead to his third full term, Marks said he hopes his opponents remain interested in the position, because he doesn’t plan to run again in 2024.

“This will absolutely, 100% be my last election,” Marks said, but he said he’s got big plans for the city between now and the end of his final term.

“We’ve got a lot of projects. We’ve got two or three industries we’re looking at, a couple of retails, and I’m so excited to get back to work.”

Johnson, who walked away with 31% of the vote, admitted he was disappointed the race didn’t go to a runoff but praised Marks for running a good race.

“It didn’t turn out exactly how we wanted, but it went well,” Johnson said of his own campaign. He said they were able to point out issues that needed attention, and he hoped Marks would keep those in mind over the next four years.

Johnson said he had no regrets about running in 2020, but when asked if he’d run again in 2024, he said he wasn’t sure.

“That’s four years away,” he said. “We’ll see.”

In the meantime, he plans to focus on his current position as president of the Athens City Board of Education. Johnson said in addition to getting the new Athens Elementary School built, they’ll be looking to build another new school to better accommodate the growth in Athens.

He’s not the only one with plans for Athens, either. Wilson ran a campaign focused primarily on bringing more diversity to the city’s leadership and improving District 5, and he plans to continue appearing at city council meetings and working on those goals.

“I got to make sure Ronnie’s gonna do the right for the people — all of the people,” he said. “I have to get this neighborhood upgraded. It’s my neighborhood, and the neighborhood of all the people supporting me as well, so we gotta get it upgraded, regardless of who the mayor is.”

Wilson garnered less than 5% of the vote Tuesday, but he said running for mayor “was a good experience” and thanked everyone who supported him.

“The city is still great, and I think it’s a great city for everybody,” Wilson said. “We just gotta make sure the mayor is going to do the right thing for everybody.”

Terry, with 10.6% of the vote, congratulated Marks in the council chambers but left before the final results were announced. Speaking with The News Courier later Tuesday evening, he admitted to also being disappointed with the results but pleased with his experience in the race.

“I had a group of people that encouraged me to run, and I was willing to put myself out there,” he said. “… The people have spoken, and Ronnie will continue for the next four years.”

Like the other candidates, Terry couldn’t say now whether he’ll run again in 2024, but he hopes there are positive changes in Athens between now and then.

“I think the mayor and the council need to take some of the issues that were brought up in the forum and in the discussions and by the public,” he said. “See if they can’t enact some of those very good points that were brought up. We’ll see if there’s any changes.”

The results announced Tuesday will remain unofficial until next week, when the City Council meets to announce the official results with provisional ballots included. The mayoral term is set to begin Nov. 2.