When Bill Darnell announced he would not seek another term as aldermen for the town of Caledonia, it appeared there wouldn’t be a Darnell in town government for the first time since 1979.
As it turns out, that may have been premature. In the final 48 hours of the qualifying period, five candidates joined the race, including the wife and nephew of the long-time alderman.
Betty Darnell announced she will run for mayor, while William Darnell will be among the eight candidates for the town’s board of aldermen, which is chosen at-large.
Betty Darnell will meet Quinn Parham, a three-term alderman, in the mayoral race.
She said she was inspired to run for mayor because she feels her circumstances and experiences can aid the town as it looks to the future.
“Because I’m retired, I have the time to devote my full attention to being the mayor,” she said. “Caledonia is growing and if we’re going to grow in the right way, I really feel like it’s to the point where you need someone in the mayor’s office who can spend whatever time is needed to do the job.”
Darnell points to her 28 years as credit manager at Sanderson Plumbing as something that has equipped her for the job.
“The number part doesn’t bother me at all,” she said. “I think I’ll be an asset when dealing with the county budget. I also have experience managing people and have the leadership experience it takes to do the job.”
The election will be June 8.
Aldermen’s race
In alderman’s race, four new candidates qualified as the deadline approached — in addition to William Darnell, Amanda Boltwood, Robert Linn Jacobs and Joey Pounders join previously-announced candidates current Mayor Mitch Wiggins, incumbent Matt Furnari, incumbent Tammy McCool and Jason Chrest.
There are five alderman positions on the board. The top five vote-getters will serve on the board.
William Darnell said he decided to run for alderman in response to the community’s support of his efforts to bring a pumpkin patch and corn maze to the community last fall after the previous pumpkin patch had stopped operations.
“When I found out there was support from the community, my wife and I talked about me running for alderman,” said Darnell, who has farmed in Caledonia since graduating high school in the town. “With the help of my friends and family, I pledge to do my best to help make the tough decisions required to move our town forward for the next generation.”
Boltwood, a photographer, said her previous service to town puts her in a good position to serve in city government. Boltwood served two years as chairman of Caledonia Days and established two other town events — Market on Main and the Caledonia Father-Daughter Dance.
“All of these roles have helped me to get to know the community on a level I never imagined,” Boltwood said. “It has made me appreciate living in a small town so much more. Just seeing the community involvement alone brings so much joy to me.”
Although Jacobs waited near the end of the qualifying period to turn in his paperwork, he had made the decision to run for office two years ago, even changing jobs to allow him more time to devote to serving.
“I was an EMT for five years, but when I decided to run, I changed jobs,” Jacobs said. “Now I’m the weekend nursing supervisor at North Mississippi Medical Center in West Point. That leaves me free to do my duties as an alderman Monday through Friday.”
Jacobs, who owns rental property in town, said he’s invested both fiscally and emotionally in the town’s success.
“If I vote to pass something or make some change, it’s going to affect me just like everybody else in town, maybe more,” he said. “I’m here for the long haul.”
Pounders said he has long toyed with the idea of running for aldermen and believes his travels have provided him with some good ideas the town could implement.
“In my job (with NextGen Crane in Amory), I travel to a lot of small towns all around the South,” Pounders said. “I always pay attention to what small towns are doing, things that we might be able to do here in Caledonia. We have a great town, but there’s always room for improvement. I’d like to be a part of that.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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