Jerry Flowers announced his candidacy for the office of Mayor of Winona. The municipal general election will be held on June 3, 2025.
Flowers served as Winona’s mayor for 14 years until he lost the position in 2021. Prior to serving as mayor, he was a member of the Winona Board of Aldermen for 14 years.
“Three-and-a-half years ago, a majority of Winona’s voters decided to make a change in leadership, and I respect their decision,” Flowers said. “However, change isn’t always for the better.”
After much prayer and urging from Winona’s citizens, Flowers said he chose to seek the position again.
“It seems progress in the City of Winona has become stagnant, and I want to see Winona move forward once again,” he said. “Outside of my wife and family and the good Lord above, serving the people of Winona as their mayor has been the greatest honor of my life.”
Under Flowers’ leadership, Winona’s financial standing was strong and above reproach, with a new budget created and adopted every year and an annual audit performed to ensure proper financial oversight.
Flowers, an accountant by trade and a local business owner for decades, worked with the city clerk and the board of aldermen each year to create a new budget, which saved the city thousands of dollars in professional fees for contract labor. Many municipalities pay outside accounting firms to prepare the annual budget. Flowers did not charge the city a fee for preparing the budget. Each department head would submit a wish list for the upcoming year, and funding those would be determined by the board of aldermen based on projected revenue for the city.
Each month, the city clerk would reconcile the city’s financial accounts and present those and an up-to-date budget overview to the board of aldermen.
Every spring, an official audit would be completed by an independent CPA firm.
“The city used the FY2021 budget for both 2022 and 2023, with no revisions,” Flowers said. “The board finally adopted a new budget for FY2025 this year.”
In addition, in a recent meeting of the Winona Board of Aldermen, the new city clerk informed the board that the city’s financials have not been reconciled in more than three years.”
Flowers explained that not only is it impossible to keep track of the current budget without reconciling financial statements, but the city is not eligible for most grant funding without a current audit.
“During my time as mayor, the city stretched taxpayers’ dollars through grants and other funding sources to continue to improve services for the citizens of Winona,” Flowers said. “It is a shame to leave money on the table when it could greatly benefit the citizens of Winona.”
Since 2007 when Flowers was elected Winona’s mayor, the city has been awarded more than $7.5 million to fund infrastructure and community improvements, funds that allowed the city to make improvements without raising taxes, while Flowers was mayor.
Prior to Flowers leaving office, the city was awarded $3 million in grant funds to expand and improve the city’s water system and complete the rehabilitation of the city’s sewer system. This was the largest amount of funding received by the city for a single project. The project includes the construction of a new elevated water tank at the Winona Recreational Park, digging a new water well, rehabbing the city’s water treatment plant, and rehabbing phase two and three of the city’s sewer lines. Phase one was completed in 2018 thanks to a $346,000 Community Development Block Grant. The total cost of the project is estimated at $4.8 million.
“Improvements to streets and the city’s infrastructure were made regularly as money and grant funds became available. Most of the projects recently completed or nearing completion were funded prior to the current leadership taking office,” Flowers said.
Flowers said if elected, he will continue to seek funds to renovate the water and sewer system citywide. In addition, he will work to reestablish the city’s paving plan based on available funds.
In his 28 years of service to the city, Flowers said he is most proud of his work championing the Winona Recreational Park. Built in 1980, the Winona Recreational Park was volunteer-led, and the city did not budget much money for its upkeep and expansion.
However, then-Alderman Flowers approached the board about hiring a full-time recreation director and expanding the park into a popular destination of youth sports. In 2009, after Flowers became mayor, the city hired Mike Narmour, who had connections with the USSSA baseball league in Mississippi.
Throughout Flowers’ administration, new lighting was installed for its baseball fields, a grant-funded recreational walking trail was constructed, new and renovated bathrooms were built, tennis courts resurfaced, and turf was installed on the park’s four main baseball fields.
Under Flowers, Winona Recreational Park became a destination for youth sports, not only for tournament play but with an emphasis on recreation league sports for all of Winona’s young people participating in soccer, baseball, softball, football, and basketball. In addition, the park provides recreation for citizens of all ages with its recreational walking trail, tennis courts, and adult tennis league.
“The Winona Recreation Park was the largest tourism draw to Montgomery County, with thousands flocking to the city for weekend tournaments,” Flowers said. “Mike Narmour made Winona a competitive location for baseball and softball tournaments, and tournaments bring families to stay in our hotels, eat in our restaurants, and shop in our retail establishments. Under the current administration, tournament bookings have dramatically decreased, and that has left a negative impact on the local economy.”
Flowers said as in the past, he will remain diligent in seeking improvements to the park and develop other family-friendly activities for the City of Winona.
Flowers and his wife, Becky, have three children, Rachel, Butler, and Lexie, and five grandchildren, Dayton, Randy Caroline, Madilyn, Judah, and Truitt.
“Nothing I do is possible without the love and support of my family,” Flowers said. “I understand the importance of family, and the impact our young people will have on this community. They are our future leaders, and our actions should set an example for them.”
Flowers went on to say, “Winona needs an experienced leader with a proven record of financial oversight, a commanding knowledge in municipal operations, and a fair and no-nonsense voice for the people. Together, we can bring solid leadership, good stewardship of taxpayer dollars, and positivity back to the City of Winona.”
