Johnson, Board of Aldermen sworn into office at Hernando Sunday
Photo: Mayor Chip Johnson and the Hernando Board of Aldermen. (Bob Bakken/desotocountynews.com)
June 29, 2025 – Hernando Mayor Chip Johnson made a point during Sunday’s swearing-in ceremony at the Gale Center for him as Mayor and for the new Board of Aldermen to ask the group to come together and stand as one.
“I’ve asked the board members to stand with me today, because that is how we’re going to govern, as a team,” Johnson said.
With that, the Mayor went on to remind all that the Board of Aldermen make up the governing body for the city of Hernando.
“Although we have separate and defined roles, only by pulling together as a team can we make this work and move Hernando forward,” Johnson said. “Now that we’ve been elected and sworn in, it’s time to put the elections behind us.”
The new Board of Aldermen will be made up of five returners and two newcomers. Lauren Leigh McLendon and Kit Kitchens were elected in the 2025 elections. McLendon became the new Alderwoman-at-Large and Kitchens became the new Alderman Ward 5. Both reached their seats through the primary process and were unopposed so no vote was needed in the June general election.
The returning aldermen were Natalie Lynch (Ward 1), Andrew Miller (Ward 2), Bruce Robinson (Ward 3), Chad Wicker (Ward 4), and Ben Piper (Ward 6).
Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Robert Chamberlain of Hernando issued the oaths of office to the mayor and new board.
McLendon won a Republican primary runoff vote over Jeff Hobbs for the at-Large position and Kitchens defeated incumbent Beth Rone Ross in the Ward 5 Republican primary. Both did not have a Democratic challenger for the general election, so no June vote was needed.
Johnson urged the citizenry to stay in contact with their representatives during the next four years.
“We need to listen to you. We want you to interact with us. We cannot govern if we don’t hear from you,” Johnson said. “And when I say, hear from you, I don’t mean put it on Facebook. Y’all, please call these board members and call me.”
The mayor said the board will be making hundreds of decisions over the next four years and said as resident, you may agree with what is decided, “but I hope at the end of the four years, we will be able to say that we made Hernando an even better place to live, work and play.”
The new board will get right to work Tuesday night at 6 p.m. in the City Hall board room. It has an extensive agenda facing them in their first official gathering as a governing body.
