The final round of qualifiers to beat the March 1 deadline runs the gamut of offices in Lowndes County.
Attorney Allison Pritchard Kizer qualified to run for the county attorney seat which will be vacated by Tim Hudson at the end of the current term.
Kizer, 40, graduated from New Hope High School and Mississippi University for Women before earning her law degree at the University of Mississippi. She”s worked closely with Hudson, first as an intern and for the past 15 years filling in for Hudson when he was unable to attend Youth Court or Justice Court. She also worked for former City Attorney and City Judge Tommy Wallace for four years and spent several years as a Lowndes County public defender.
“Fifteen years ago I began working as a guardian ad litem in Lowndes County to protect and advocate for the welfare of children. I”m seeking the position of county attorney to do the same thing for all citizens of Lowndes county. It will also allow me to continue my work on behalf of children,” she said.
Kizer will face Shane Tompkins in the Republican Primary. Chuck Easley qualified as a Democrat.
Roger Hill has joined a list of current and former Lowndes County School District administrators in seeking the position of Superintendent of Education.
Current Superintendent Mike Halford did not qualify to run.
Hill, 64, is the man behind Caledonia Elementary School”s achieving Star School status from the Mississippi Department of Education. He”s spent 34 of his 38 years in education at CES.
“I”m a no-nonsense person. I have high expectations of people. I don”t like to except just the status quo,” he said. “I like to give credit to the teachers. I”m the leader, but they did the work.”
Hill believes he can bring that same standard of excellence to the district”s Central Office.
“I”ve worked for a lot of superintendents in 34 years and I”ve learned from every one of them. I see thinks I feel like I want to accomplish. I”d like for us to be a star district and I think I know how to get us there.”
Hill is running as an independent. Current LCSD Assistant Superintendent Edna McGill, New Hope Middle School Principal Sam Allison and former New Hope High School Principal Lynn Wright have qualified as Republicans. West Lowndes High School Principal Cliff Reynolds qualified as a Democrat.
Making a second bid for District 2 Constable is Columbus Police Department Officer John Brown.
Brown, 54, has worked a litany of law enforcement jobs, including the CPD”s auxiliary in 1978, the Fulton Police Department, the Oktibbeha County Sheriff”s Department and the Lowndes County Sheriff”s Department. He also served as the director of Lowndes County E-911, Lowndes County Fire Coordinator and director of the Lowndes Emergency Management Agency. While in the Mississippi State Guard he played a role in forming the first military police battalion.
Brown taught at the Columbus Alternative School until December of last year when he left to become a patrolman with the CPD.
“I love law enforcement. That”s why I”m running,” said Brown. “I see it as a means of being able to help people in the area. A constable can do more than what they”re actually doing. I hope to look at the whole scope of the position and not just do one part.”
Brown will face incumbent Joe Ables.
Susan Robinson is making her first bid for chancery clerk to lend a fresh perspective. Robinson, 38, has worked as a legal assistant for former State Supreme Court Judge Charles Easley”s law practice since September. Prior to that she was a substitute teacher for Lowndes County schools. She graduated from Mississippi University for Women in 2008 with a degree in paralegal studies.
Robinson, a Republican, will face the winner of the Democratic primary between incumbent Lisa Younger Neese and Andre Deforrest Roberts.
Monique Brooks Montgomery also qualified as a Democrat for District 3 Justice Court Judge but could not be reached for comment.
Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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