Ocilla's first black mayor, Melvin Harper, embraces challenges and emphasizes transparency with a focus on moving the city forward

written by Patrick Davis

Economic development is vital to all cities, especially in rural Georgia. The town of Ocilla, with a population of more than 3,000 residents, is no exception, which sits off Interstate 75 and one hour north of Valdosta.

One of the new businesses in Ocilla is Jack's Restaurant. This new location was initially estimated to bring 50-60 new jobs to Ocilla, offering comprehensive benefits such as health and dental insurance, flexible scheduling, and weekly employee pay. 

Besides good food, bringing jobs helps to lower the current  21 percent poverty rate --according to the most recent Census--in majority-black Ocilla.

Melvin Harper became Ocilla’s first black mayor by avoiding a runoff in a crowded field of mayoral candidates and was officially sworn into office in October 2023.

Harper is filling the unexpired term of the former mayor, Horace Hudgins, who passed away in the summer of 2023.

Harper was quoted in local media as saying that his victory means more to him than just making some history in the city.

“I never really thought about being a history maker during the campaign, it was more important that our citizens make the right choice at the poll. Being made aware that I was the first black mayor didn’t come until after I had won,” said Harper.

Within a year, Harper had to deal with preparing the city of Ocilla in regard to severe weather events such as Hurricane Helene in September 2024 along with the aftermath and the most recent snowstorm in late January.

The Impact of The Village In The Greatest Way