Thirty-five candidates have now filed qualification forms for a variety of Oktibbeha County elections after new contenders emerged last week for a justice court position, District 1’s supervisor race and the county’s coroner job.
The already crowded contest for Oktibbeha’s third justice court judge seat again expanded when Republican Buddy Johnston entered the race. Additionally, first-term District 1 Supervisor John Montgomery will now face an election challenge as Democrat Donald Thompson submitted his qualification forms, and Coroner Michael Hunt, a Democrat, formalized his re-election bid.
Officials within the circuit clerk’s office also confirmed sheriff candidate George Carrithers switched parties and is now running as a Republican.
9 up for 3 justice court seats
Johnston’s entry into the justice court race is the first for the GOP. Previously, eight other Democrats, including three incumbents, declared their intent for the three seats up for election.
District 3’s post will now require a November election, as Johnston will face the winner of August’s Democratic primary between incumbent Judge James “Jim” Mills, local attorney C. Martin Haug and Cheikh A. Taylor, the executive director of the non-profit Brickfire project and part owner of Level III, a Main Street entertainment venue.
Mills previously defeated Johnston and Randall McClelland, an independent candidate, in 2011’s election. He received 1,237 votes, compared to Johnston’s 988 and McClelland’s 268.
Barring the introduction of another Republican candidate, a three-way Democratic primary will decide District 2’s seat, as Larnzy Carpenter, a former U.S. Marine with ties to county law enforcement, and Kennedy Neal, a long-time employee of OCH Regional Medical Center, are challenging incumbent Judge W. Bernard Crump.
In District 1, incumbent Judge William “Tony” Boykin Jr. faces Gay Lynn Williams, a deputy court clerk, in the Democratic primary.
Haug is the only attorney out of all nine justice court candidates.
A call to Johnston for background information went unreturned Monday.
Majority of supervisor seats are contested
Thompson’s filing means four of Oktibbeha’s five district supervisor seats are now contested.
Montgomery, a Starkville firefighter, became the GOP’s District 1 candidate in 2011 by defeating Jim W. Scrivener, Willie L. Thompson Jr. and Ed Whitehurst Jr. in the Republican primary. He went on to oust incumbent Carl E. Clardy with a 1,450-1,363 margin.
A call to Thompson for background information went unreturned Monday.
A rematch of the tightly contested District 3 race between incumbent Marvell Howard, a Democrat, and Republican Dennis “Denny” Daniels is guaranteed if no other challengers qualify for the two parties’ respective primaries.
Howard secured a second term in 2011 by defeating Daniels by three votes. Daniels won his party’s nomination by defeating Benny L. Perkins with a 404-172 margin in their primary
District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer, the longest-serving member and president of the board of supervisors, will face familiar foe Robert “Bubba” Lee Gray Jr., who filed as an independent candidate last month.
Trainer, a Democrat, previously defeated Gray, who ran as a Republican in the last election, by almost 700 votes.
A three-way Democratic primary for District 5’s seat manifested after incumbent Joe Williams, Starkville firefighter Sylvester “Dewayne” Davis and political newcomer Ernest Rogers Jr. filed their respective qualification forms.
Williams earned his seat by defeating Democrat John Young in 2011’s primary; Davis is an 18-year veteran of Starkville Fire Department; and 27-year-old Rogers is employed with the Lowndes County School District.
Hunt makes re-election bid official
Hunt, Oktibbeha County’s incumbent coroner, will face the winner of August’s Republican primary between Doug Hamilton and Chris Pollan.
Hunt defeated Republican Billy Miller by almost 4,000 votes in 2011.
Hamilton, the brother of Oktibbeha County Circuit Clerk Glenn Hamilton, currently serves as Sturgis’ police chief and is a 32-year veteran of the Mississippi Highway Patrol. Pollan, a licensed funeral director and embalmer, spent 10 years examining financial institutions as a forensic and fraud specialist.
Sheriff’s race now moving to Nov. decision
If the field remains the same, November’s general election will now decide the county’s top law enforcement position.
Carrithers’ switch to the Republican Party cancels the need for an August Democratic primary against incumbent Steve Gladney.
Carrithers served as former Sheriff Dolph Bryan’s right-hand man for decades until Gladney defeated the former sheriff by about 400 votes in 2011’s Democratic primary.
Gladney secured his seat by defeating Republican Rudy Johnson in that year’s general election.
No changes in clerks’ races
The county’s circuit and chancery clerks both face election challenges this cycle, but no new candidates emerged last week.
Chancery Clerk Monica Banks, a Democrat, will launch her first re-election campaign since 2007 after Republican Michael Womack qualified last month for the race.
Womack has worked as a paramedic for North Mississippi Medical Center and Baptist Memorial Hospital.
Banks was elected Oktibbeha County’s first African-American chancery clerk in 1995. In her last contest, she defeated Republican Debra Prisock Wood by almost 800 votes.
First-term Circuit Clerk Glenn Hamilton, a Republican, will face Democrat E. Regina Evans in November.
His seat opened up in 2011 after then-Circuit Clerk Angie McGinnis announced she would not run for re-election. He defeated Democrat Teresa Davis-Roberson by almost 600 votes that year.
Evans worked for years in the circuit clerk’s office and served as a chief deputy clerk during the McGinnis administration.
Other qualifiers
Two Democrats — incumbent Curtis Randle and challenger Andre Quinn — previously qualified for District 2’s constable position, and the primary winner will face Republican Tim Cook if no other candidates qualify.
Incumbent Constables Shank Phelps and James Lindsey will again run for their respective District 1 and District 3 positions.
Phelps, a Republican, won his election four years ago by almost 800 votes against Democratic challenger Curtis White, Randle defeated Cook by almost 900 votes and Lindsey, a Democrat, ran unopposed.
Other incumbents who have qualified include District 4 Supervisor Daniel Jackson, County Prosecutor Haley Brown and Tax Assessor Allen Morgan.
The qualification window for this year’s primaries and general election closes 5 p.m. Feb. 27. All candidates must be qualified electors of the territory in which they are running and must never have been convicted of bribery, perjury or other infamous crimes.
Party primaries are scheduled for Aug. 4. November’s general election will occur on the month’s third day.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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