2026 Georgia General Runoff

Nonpartisan

Mikquez Berry, 23, is originally from LaGrange and grew up in the heart of District 2 in the Thomas Town area. Berry currently works as a local insurance agent, a role he has had for about three years.

20 Under 40: Mikquez Berry

### Congratulations to our Board Member, Mikquez Berry, on graduating from the the University of Cincinnati with a Bachelor of Legal Studies and a focus in Criminal Law!

June 2025 e-Newsletter

Berry has a bachelors degree in legal studies and a degree in business administration. He also serves on the board of directors for Community Actions for Improvement (CAFI).

When Berry isn't working, he loves to help mentor and tutor kids in the Troup County area and getting involved with local leadership to ensure voices are heard. Berry helps mentor and tutor kids after school with the non-profit group Adaptive Growth and Cultural Advancement Organization (AGCAO). The tutoring program focuses on providing a safe place for kids to go after school twice a week and provides homework help to those kids who may not be able to receive help at home.

Mikquez Berry is originally from LaGrange and grew up in the Thomas Town area. He earned a Bachelor of Legal Studies with a focus in criminal law from the University of Cincinnati and has a degree in business administration. He serves on the board of directors for Community Actions for Improvement and mentors and tutors children after school with the Adaptive Growth and Cultural Advancement Organization.

Lewis to face Berry in District 2 runoff - LaGrange Daily News

As of the close of qualifying, the following eight candidates are seeking the seat: ▸ Mikquez Berry, managing agent/owner of The Financi Agency insurance company.

Eight candidates seek LaGrange Council seat as qualifying closes

My thought process behind starting my own business was rooted in both inspiration and realization. After spending several years in the insurance industry and holding various positions, including claims adjusting at State Farm and sales at Allstate, I found myself constantly observing how the business side operated.

Meet Mikquez Berry | Agency Owner | Insurance Agent | Business Law major proud Grad of University of Cincinnati

Mikquez Berry works as the managing agent and owner of The Financi Agency insurance company. He previously worked in claims adjusting at State Farm and in sales at Allstate.

Meet Mikquez Berry | Agency Owner | Insurance Agent

As of November 6, 2026, Mikquez Berry’s website did not contain information on this issue.

Economy

Berry said District 2 has seen a lack of investment. “I feel that in District 2, we have to clean up what we’ve got. We have to invest in what we’ve got, and we deserve a nice neighborhood. We deserve sidewalks and street lights. Our seniors deserve to be able to sit on their porch and drink a cup of coffee and feel a breeze or hear birds chirp without fear. We have to get our community back safe, and also invest in our youth. We have to invest money, time and energy in our youth because they are our future. I am the future. They are our future as well,” Berry said.

Berry says curbing blight and poverty will help with youth violence

Berry also suggested investing in the city’s youth by creating a hub where programs like the YMCA and the Boys and Girls Club can go and put all programs in one facility. Berry said that he will ensure residents' voices are heard by being accessible. “You can call me or email me. I will hear you out, and I will voice your concerns for you,” Berry said.

Calls for investing money, time, and energy in youth.

Pledges to hear residents' concerns and voice those concerns on their behalf.

- Calls for investing money, time, and energy in youth.
- Pledges to hear residents' concerns and voice those concerns on their behalf.

Public Services

“I got the smarts to do the job, but I'm always a student. I've been in this community working since I was 19. I've served with past administrations and current administrations. I've rallied behind some initiatives and stood up in communities where some people that sit behind city hall desks would never come to,” Berry said. “I brought [the city] to Tall Pines to show them the conditions and how people in the apartment complex were living to bring a change. I’ve fought against landlords that have these uninhabitable homes, and we've called them out, and called code enforcement, and put their foot to the fire, so I've done the work.”

Said he has pushed the city and code enforcement to address uninhabitable rental housing at Tall Pines.

Calls for cleaning up and investing in District 2 neighborhoods.

- Said he has pushed the city and code enforcement to address uninhabitable rental housing at Tall Pines.
- Calls for cleaning up and investing in District 2 neighborhoods.

Housing & Urban Development

Berry said investing in communities is important to maintaining LaGrange’s character. “We have to add sidewalks. If you go on Hamilton Road, you have pedestrians walking, and it's not safe. We have to make sure our community is safe. On Hamilton Road or Nile Street, you see there are no street lights or sometimes those street lights don't work. How can we tell a community that they are safe when the actual lights don't work? Anywhere there's blight and poverty, violence will breed, and we have to clean up the blight and we have to curb the violence,” Berry said.

Calls for cleaning up blight and curbing violence.

- Calls for cleaning up blight and curbing violence.

Public Safety

Calls for adding sidewalks and repairing streetlights on Hamilton Road and Nile Street to improve pedestrian safety.

- Calls for adding sidewalks and repairing streetlights on Hamilton Road and Nile Street to improve pedestrian safety.

Transportation & Infrastructure

Energy & the Environment

Mikquez Berry

- Calls for cleaning up and investing in District 2 neighborhoods.

Buket Urgen

Raised and educated in LaGrange, this community has shaped every part of who I am. As a graduate of LaGrange High School and LaGrange College, and now a master's-level public policy professional pursuing my Ph.D., I understand how government works and how it impacts everyday people. With more than eight years in state government and fourteen years working directly with youth and families, my roots here run deep.

Tabitha Lewis for LaGrange City Council District 2

I went back to school at Troy University to earn my Masters of Public Administration and thought that would catapult me into my dream career. Around the same time, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, and when I could have given up, I decided to work harder.

Meet Tabitha Lewis-Coverson of Communities In Schools of Georgia

My family, especially my mom, my husband and my two daughters, were my cheerleaders and I pushed beyond my fear and I finished my MPA program with a 4.0. I took a job with the Department of Behavioral Health in Atlanta, despite my doctor trying to convince me that I would probably need to look into applying for disability, that was not and still is not an option for me.

Tabitha Lewis was raised in LaGrange. She graduated from LaGrange High School and LaGrange College and earned a Master of Public Administration from Troy University; she is pursuing a Ph.D. She has a husband and two daughters.

For many years after graduating from LaGrange College, I was trying to decide what could I do that would not just be a job but a career. I worked as an engineer, in banking, juvenile justice and with the State of Georgia in many roles, but never felt like any of those fit.

Tabitha Lewis has worked in engineering, banking, and juvenile justice, as well as in roles with the State of Georgia. She also worked for the Department of Behavioral Health in Atlanta.

Kia and its suppliers have proven LaGrange can grow. Now the retail and amenities need to catch up. Tabitha will fight to bring real investment back to LaGrange Mall and the surrounding corridor, and support the local, minority-owned, and family businesses already carrying downtown, so growth creates opportunity on every block of District 2, not just the ones already thriving.

Plans investment in the LaGrange Mall corridor and support for local, minority-owned, and family businesses downtown.

- Plans investment in the LaGrange Mall corridor and support for local, minority-owned, and family businesses downtown.

Lewis suggested forming small groups of trusted people within different communities to serve as liaisons between the mayor and council and their communities, similar to what the city already does with its youth council, noting that otherwise there is often misinformation spread about what is actually going on.

Tabitha Lewis says LaGrange needs to move forward together

LaGrange's future depends on the young people growing up here today, and not every student is headed to a four-year degree. Tabitha will champion trade and apprenticeship partnerships between LaGrange City Schools, LaGrange College, and local employers, and back the mentorship programs and safe spaces that keep District 2's youth engaged, supported, and headed somewhere real.

Proposes community liaison groups between residents and city leaders.

Advocates trade and apprenticeship partnerships, youth mentorship programs, and safe spaces for District 2 youth.

- Proposes community liaison groups between residents and city leaders.
- Advocates trade and apprenticeship partnerships, youth mentorship programs, and safe spaces for District 2 youth.

Lewis said the city probably could do more in the area of supporting workforce development.

“I know there's a lot of talk about affordable housing, and that's an area where we can and should see more support, but it’s not just building structures, but also helping local people with development, so local businesses, local contractors, local homeowners are able to either purchase homes, develop neighborhoods, communities or stay in their current homes,” Lewis said.

LaGrange is growing, and that's a good thing, but growth shouldn't mean pricing longtime neighbors out of the neighborhoods they built. Tabitha will push for responsible development standards, real affordable housing options for working families, and infrastructure that keeps pace with new rooftops, so District 2 keeps its small-town character even as the city keeps growing.

Advocates affordable-housing support that helps local businesses, contractors, and homeowners purchase homes, develop neighborhoods, or remain in their homes.

Supports responsible development standards and affordable housing options for working families.

- Advocates affordable-housing support that helps local businesses, contractors, and homeowners purchase homes, develop neighborhoods, or remain in their homes.
- Supports responsible development standards and affordable housing options for working families.

As of November 6, 2026, Tabitha Lewis’s website did not contain information on this issue.

Plans infrastructure that keeps pace with new housing development.

- Plans infrastructure that keeps pace with new housing development.

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Tabitha Lewis

- Advocates trade and apprenticeship partnerships, youth mentorship programs, and safe spaces for District 2 youth.

- Supports responsible development standards and affordable housing options for working families.

- City council members work together with the rest of city council to set and implement city policy. 
- City council is tasked with ensuring the health, comfort, and safety of residents of the city 
- City council members work with the mayor to govern city departments, such as the police department, fire department, transportation department, and parks and recreation department. 
- City council members represent either the whole city or residents of a specific district. 
- Most city council members in Georgia are elected in odd years to four year terms. Elections are nonpartisan. 

Passes laws and regulations for your city.

LaGrange City Council Member Runoff, District 2

Candidates (2)