Oktibbeha County’s six chancery clerk candidates are now preparing for a nonpartisan race in November since election law changes effective July 1 will repeal statutes on party primaries ahead of special elections.
Cheryl Elmore, Oktibbeha County’s deputy elections clerk, began alerting the local Democratic and Republican parties’ leadership this week after it was learned House Bill 647, as signed by Gov. Phil Bryant, repeals a portion a state law – Mississippi Code Ann. 23-15-841 – that provides for the holding of party primaries ahead of special elections for county positions.
That change, she said, means Oktibbeha County has no legal authority to hold the Aug. 8 primaries.
The county’s six chancery clerk candidates, who declared their party affiliations before March’s qualification deadline, will now have to gather 50 signatures from verified residents and pay $100 to register before Sept. 8’s qualification deadline for independents.
Calhoun County officials recently wrote to Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood’s office seeking an opinion on a similar situation there, and the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Election Division suggested Oktibbeha County seek the same guidance, said MSOS spokesperson Leah Smith.
All six candidates – Tina Fisher, Martesa Flowers, Margaret Jordan, Sharon Livingston, Barbara Mitchell and Hattie Ridgel – confirmed they will take the necessary steps to continue their campaigns. Each candidate also said the change to a nonpartisan race does not impact their overall strategies of meeting with voters and discussing their platforms and beliefs.
Since the qualifying window remains open for independents into September, it is possible more candidates could qualify for Nov. 7’s special election. A runoff, scheduled for Nov. 28, is likely to be held since the crowded field is expected to keep candidates below the 50 percent margin needed to secure a victory.
Both Oktibbeha County Democratic Party Chair Albert Gore and Oktibbeha County Republican Party Chair Marnita Henderson confirmed they were alerted to the upcoming election changes by the circuit clerk’s office this week.
“It’s not like we didn’t ask. We went through all the channels we were supposed to do in setting dates for the primaries. The candidates did exactly what they were supposed to do, and now the rules have changed in the middle of the game,” Henderson said. “I imagine it’s going to be difficult to go back out there now and explain why there’s no longer a primary after you’ve told voters to come out and vote for you in August.”
Fisher is a 25-year Starkville resident who has worked as a deputy clerk in the Lowndes County Chancery Clerk’s Office for 22 years.
Flowers is a contract and grant specialist at Mississippi State University. She previously worked for about a year and a half as an accounting assistant and payroll clerk for the City of Starkville.
Jordan has 21 years of work experience as an educator. She currently serves as an eighth-grade science teacher at Armstrong Middle School.
Livingston was named interim chancery clerk after Banks died in September from an extended illness. She has worked in the chancery clerk’s office since 2000 and previously served as a deputy clerk over land records.
Mitchell serves as Oktibbeha County Youth Court’s intake clerk and as a part-time paralegal. She previously spent 33 years as the paralegal and office manager of the Brown Law Firm.
Ridgel worked for three years as a deputy clerk under Banks and retired with 20 years of paralegal experience.
The winner of the special election will complete former Chancery Clerk Monica Banks’ term, which comes back up for election in 2020.
Banks, 58, was elected Oktibbeha County’s first African-American chancery clerk in 1996. She died in September after an extended illness.
The chancery clerk’s salary is fee-based and set by statute not to exceed $90,000 annually.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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