Kabir Karriem announced Monday his candidacy for District 41 state representative.
The Columbus councilman launched his campaign just after 9 a.m. at his mother’s restaurant, Helen’s Kitchen on 15th Street North.
Karriem vowed to take a “servant’s attitude” with him to Jackson if he unseats veteran incumbent Esther Harrison in this year’s Democratic primary.
Mississippi Democratic Party officials confirmed both Harrison and Karriem have qualified to run for the District 41 seat — which serves a portion of Lowndes County.
No Republicans have qualified to run for that seat as of Monday evening.
Karriem said, if elected, he would advocate for what he called “pocketbook issues,” such as raising minimum wage and equal pay for women for equal work. He said he would also work toward prison reform and ensuring the state adequately funds K-12 public education.
Karriem commended Harrison for her service but said District 41 needs more hands-on leadership.
“I’m not trying to throw the current representative under the bus,” Karriem said. “We just need somebody who is a little more active, will have those meetings in the district to tell people what’s going on in Jackson, and someone who will offer a bit more transparency on how state government works.”
Harrison was first elected to the state House in 2000. She is the vice chair of the state library committee and also serves on the investigate state offices, ports, harbors and airports, tourism and ways and means committees.
The Dispatch could not reach Harrison for comment on Monday.
Karriem is a second-term Columbus city councilman.
In District 36, which serves portions of Lowndes, Clay and Monroe counties, Democratic incumbent Karl Gibbs will face at least two primary challengers. General contractor Jimmy Davidson and retired Clay County Drug Court director Edward Houston, both of West Point, have also qualified to run.
Gibbs first won election in 2013 to fill the unexpired term of his late father, David Gibbs. He serves on the agriculture, apportionment and elections, military affairs and youth and family affairs committees.
Davidson has owned the contracting firm Davco LLC for 16 years and is making his third attempt at the District 36 seat. Houston, also retired after 24 years with the Army National Guard, unsuccessfully ran for Clay County sheriff in 2011. No Republicans have qualified for the District 36 seat.
In other state legislative elections in the Golden Triangle, state party officials report only one candidate has qualified in each district.
In the House, Republican incumbents Chris Brown (district 20), Charles Jim Beckett (23), Joey Hood (35), Gary Chism (37) and Jeffrey Smith (39) have qualified, as has Democratic incumbent Tyrone Ellis (38). Rob Roberson, a Republican of Starkville, is also the sole qualifier for the District 43, which includes portions of Oktibbeha and Winston counties. That district lacks an incumbent because of the way its boundaries changed from the most recent redistricting.
In the Senate, Republican incumbents Gary Jackson and Charles Younger, of districts 15 and 17, have qualified thus far, as well as District 16 Democratic Sen. Angela Turner.
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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