Salisbury City Councilwoman April Jackson will face opposition from Timothy Sheppard and Mable E. Marshall for her District 1 seat in the city election on Nov. 5, but she hopes voters will give her a shot at a second term.

“I really love it,” Jackson said of her time on the council.

Her focus has been on economic development and job growth in District 1, the minority majority district that covers the West Side as well as parts of the Camden Avenue area. She also wants the city to turn more attention to rehabilitating blighted properties.

Jackson, a Parsons Road resident, said she tries to address the concerns of her constituents, many of whom are afraid to speak out in public, but often come to her for help.

The daughter of the late community leader Billy Gene Jackson, the councilwoman said she wants to create her own legacy apart from the father’s. Part of that is working together with the mayor and other council members.

“I want to leave a legacy of a cohesive council,” she said. “I don’t come with my own personal agenda.”

Sheppard, a Spring  Avenue resident and newcomer to city politics, said he also hears the concerns of district residents and he hopes to stage an upset in District 1.

A Salisbury native, he moved away to pursue a career in the culinary arts and hospitality industry, but came home in 2016 to care for a relative. He soon got involved serving on the Chipman Center board where he met former council member Shanie Shields who encouraged him to run for office.

“She told me, ‘you’ve got what it takes’,” he said.

Sheppard said he would like to focus on issues in his neighborhood, including the need for better mental health services, landlord-tenant issues and senior citizens.

The recent focus on Salisbury’s Downtown “isn’t for me,” Sheppard said. Instead, the city should focus more on neighborhoods and the people who live in them.

“The mayor has to do a better job building uptown,” he said.

Marshall of East Lincoln Avenue, the third candidate in District 1, declined to be interviewed.