Jennifer Hensley, Lyndsey N. Simpson and Gina Baxter won seats on the Hendersonville City Council.

The mayor and city council members serve staggered four-year terms. Elections are held every two years.

Two full-term seats, currently held by Hensley and Simpson, were open this election cycle, with both incumbents running for re-election and DJ Harrington also running. Another incumbent seat, currently held by Jeff Miller, was also up for grabs, with Baxter, Colby Coren and Lynne Elizabeth Williams running to fill it.

Miller had previously served two terms on the city council and decided not to run for re-election in 2021. But in October 2023 he was appointed to fill a seat previously held by Jerry Smith, who resigned.

“I’m very proud of the campaign I ran and all the work I do,” Hensley said after the results were announced on election night. “I work very hard, I do, and I’m very happy to see that the work is appreciated and that people want me to come back.”

The city council race is nonpartisan, but Hensley is a Republican. Voters elected Republicans in numerous Henderson County races, including county commission and school board.

“They want to feel safe,” Hensley said. “They want to make decisions about their families, they value their families and they work hard. We have some of the most hard-working, honest people here. I don’t think they’re necessarily Republicans and Democrats. I think it’s just… “This is like Middle America , hard-working, honest and good people.

Lynne Elizabeth Williams, who ran without party affiliation, said she was proud that “at 3 p.m., I got more votes than our current mayor got in her last mayoral election. I think that’s an important point.” “And I’m excited for Gina. I think she’s going to do a great job.”

Williams said she would remain active in local politics.

“I mean, we have a city council meeting on Thursday and I plan to be there to speak against the First Ave Villas (proposed condo project) because I think it’s going to create gentrification and displacement of the residents there.”

This article originally appeared in the Hendersonville Times-News: Hensley, Simpson and Baxter win seats on Hendersonville City Council