Columbia City Council’s newest member Roy Lovelady says he is ready to serve

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Roy Lovelady is now Columbia City Council's newest member after Tuesday's election, and he says he is ready to serve Ward 3.

Lovelady, who owns a business and runs a non-profit organization, took the seat from incumbent Karl Skala, who represented the Third Ward seat for four terms. The final result was Lovelady with 1,419 votes, while Skala received 1,269 votes-- a mere 150-vote difference. The historic special election was necessary because the two men tied in their April race.

Lovelady is expected to be sworn in at the next council meeting.

Minutes after hearing the final results Lovelady said, "It's not a me thing, it's a we thing," a phrase he used a lot in his campaign. He says he is ready to be a team player and work together with the other members of the council to make change.

Lovelady says that now that he is a public figure, he wants to make himself accessible to everyone in the community by hosting office hours.

"It might be a Kool-Aid hour, or something else because I don't drink coffee," Lovelady says.

Lovelady says he will be sworn in at the next council meeting. He says he wants people in the community to show up to council meetings to put pressure on him.

"I am going to ask of them to come to council, to start putting the pressure on me, to make sure that I am accountable for the things that they are asking me to do," Lovelady says.