Gadsden’s council appointed Jessica Wilson to District 5 on Tuesday. It was not on the agenda.

GADSDEN, AL – The Gadsden City Council appointed Jessica Wilson to the vacant District 5 seat at its noon meeting Tuesday, filling the seat left empty by her husband’s death on Aug. 19.

Councilman Jason Wilson had held the seat for eight years.

The appointment was handled as new business. It did not appear on the agenda the city published ahead of the meeting.

Michael Rodgers, the city’s public affairs coordinator, confirmed the action in a written response to GadsdenThrive on Tuesday afternoon. “As a matter of new business, Jessica Wilson was appointed to the District 5 Council seat to fill the vacancy following Councilman Jason Wilson’s death,” Rodgers said.

The council had left the seat unfilled for two weeks. It formally declared District 5 vacant on Aug. 26 and took no other action on it that day.

Who is Jessica Wilson?

She is Jason Wilson’s widow, and this outcome has been expected since the day he died.

In the statement announcing the councilman’s death, Council President Kent Back said Jessica was willing to serve the remainder of her husband’s current term if the council appointed her. Back also said that because state law kept Jason Wilson eligible for the Aug. 25 election, she was willing to serve the new term as well if he won it and the council chose her.

Tena King of Mayor Craig Ford’s office told GadsdenThrive on Aug. 21 that the council wanted to appoint her.

Under state law, the only requirement for the seat is residency. The person appointed has to live in District 5. “There are no other stipulations,” King said in August.

So the name was never the question. The timing was. What the city did not announce in advance was that the vote would happen Tuesday.

GadsdenThrive is seeking a photograph and biographical information from the city.

Why was this not on the agenda?

GadsdenThrive reported Saturday that District 5 was not on the published agenda for Tuesday’s meeting. The posted business was the canvass of the Aug. 25 election and a public hearing on the FY 2027 budget.

Alabama’s Open Meetings Act does not bar a council from taking up business that was not advertised in advance. Nothing in the record so far suggests the council did anything improper. But the practical effect is that District 5 residents had no notice their seat was going to be filled that day, and no chance to speak to it.

King had said in August that the appointment would be made by ordinance and would take effect immediately. Whether Tuesday’s action was taken by ordinance, as the statute contemplates, is one of the things the meeting record will show.

How long does the appointment last?

Not long. King said the appointee would serve through Nov. 3, 2026, the end of Jason Wilson’s current term. That is roughly nine weeks.

The seat has already been decided for the term that follows. Linda Riggins Aaron won District 5 on Aug. 25 with 385 votes, or 56.12 percent. Jason Wilson, whose name state law did not allow the city to remove from the ballot after his death, received 301 votes, or 43.88 percent. The new administration takes office Nov. 2.

So the appointment covers the gap and ends. It does not carry into the new term.

What does state law require?

Section 11-43B-12 of the Alabama code says the council “shall appoint a person from the district to serve the unexpired term,” according to King, who answered GadsdenThrive’s written questions on behalf of the mayor’s office.

As GadsdenThrive reported last week, that wording gave the council no choice about whether to fill the seat. Leaving it empty until November was not an option available to it.

What is still unknown?

Most of the detail.

The city has not said how the council voted, whether the vote was unanimous, or who made the nomination. It has not said whether Jessica Wilson has been sworn in or when she will first sit with the council. It has not released the text of the ordinance.

The meeting itself was recorded but not streamed. Rodgers said the video will post to the city’s YouTube channel at the usual Friday afternoon time, which is the first chance the public will have to see how the appointment was handled.

GadsdenThrive is seeking the ordinance, the vote, and the minutes from the city clerk’s office, and will report them when they are available.

For District 5, the two weeks without a representative are over. Anyone in the district with a street complaint, a zoning question or a problem that would normally go to a council member now has one again, for about nine weeks.

Frequently asked questions

Who was appointed to Gadsden’s District 5 council seat?

Jessica Wilson, appointed by the city council at its noon meeting on Sept. 1, 2026.

Is Jessica Wilson related to Jason Wilson?

She is his widow.

Why was the seat vacant?

District 5 Councilman Jason Wilson died Aug. 19. The council declared the seat vacant on Aug. 26.

How long will the appointee serve?

Through Nov. 3, 2026, the end of Jason Wilson’s term, according to the mayor’s office. That is about nine weeks.

Who won District 5 in the election?

Linda Riggins Aaron won the seat on Aug. 25 with 385 votes. She takes office Nov. 2.

Was the appointment on the agenda?

No. It was taken up as new business at Tuesday’s meeting.

Where can I watch the meeting?

The city recorded but did not stream it. The video is expected on the city’s YouTube channel Friday afternoon.

Sources

Written response from Michael Rodgers, City of Gadsden public affairs coordinator, Sept. 1, 2026; written responses from Tena King of the Gadsden mayor’s office, Aug. 21 and Aug. 25, 2026; City of Gadsden statement on the death of Councilman Jason Wilson, August 2026; City of Gadsden published agenda for Sept. 1, 2026; city unofficial election results, Aug. 25, 2026; prior GadsdenThrive reporting.