Elections are now guaranteed for all five Oktibbeha County supervisors after a new District 4 candidate emerged last week, while the county’s most-crowded race — the contest for District 3 justice court judge — has now expanded to five candidates.
Thirty-seven candidates for a variety of Oktibbeha County elections have submitted their qualification notices as of Friday.
District 4 Supervisor Daniel Jackson, the last county supervisor without an opponent, will face Bricklee Miller, who serves as the Miss. Horse Park’s facility manager, in November unless other primary candidates emerge.
Miller filed paperwork to run as a Republican last week.
Also joining the fray for the district’s third justice court seat is Hardy Mitchell, an independent candidate.
He is only the second independent candidate to qualify this year for countywide races.
Supes races have familiar feel
With Miller’s entry, three of the county’s five district supervisor races feature contests between familiar opponents.
Jackson, a Democrat, beat Miller by almost 450 votes in 2011’s general election. He was first elected District 4’s supervisor in 2007 after defeating Republican Jim Morgan.
A rematch of the tightly contested District 3 race between incumbent Marvell Howard, a Democrat, and Republican Denny Daniels also appears ready for November’s general election.
Howard edged out Daniels by three votes in 2011.
District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer, the longest-serving member and president of the board of supervisors, will face Robert “Bubba” Lee Gray Jr., the only other independent in this year’s election cycle.
Trainer, a Democrat, defeated Gray, who ran in 2007 as a Republican, by almost 700 votes.
First-term District 1 Supervisor John Montgomery faces his first re-election campaign after Democrat Donald Thompson, a retired rural mail carrier, qualified for the position earlier this month.
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.
Davis is an 18-year veteran of Starkville Fire Department; Rogers, 27, is employed by the Lowndes County School District; and Williams earned his seat by beating fellow Democrat John Young in 2011’s primary.
10 candidates up for 3 justice court seats
While 11 candidates fight for five supervisor seats, 10 are trying to become one of Oktibbeha County’s three justice court judges.
Mitchell’s inclusion means three candidates will be on November’s ballot. He, along with Republican Buddy Johnston, will face the winner of the 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.
For Johnston, 2015’s election marks his third attempt at securing a seat on the bench.
Mills previously defeated independent Randall McClelland and Johnston in 2011’s election. He received 1,247 votes, compared to Johnston’s 988 and McClelland’s 268.
Barring the introduction of a Republican candidate, a three-way Democratic primary will decide District 2’s seat as incumbent Judge W. Bernard Crump faces challenges from 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.
In District 1, incumbent Judge William “Tony” Boykin Jr. will face 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 Mitchell for background information was not returned by press time.
Clerks face re-election campaigns
The county’s circuit and chancery clerks both face election challenges this cycle.
Chancery Clerk Monica Banks, a Democrat, is launching her first re-election campaign since 2007 after Republican Michael Womack qualified last month for the race.
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.
Womack has worked as a paramedic for North Mississippi Medical Center and Baptist Memorial Hospital.
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.
Current, past administration faces off for sheriff
The race for Oktibbeha County’s top law enforcement position pits Sheriff Steve Gladney against former Chief Deputy George Carrithers in November’s general election.
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 runoff election.
He would go on to secure his seat by defeating Republican Rudy Johnson in that year’s general election.
Carrithers qualified as a Democrat in January but switched to the Republican Party this month.
Three up for coroner
Oktibbeha County Coroner Michael Hunt, a Democrat, will face the winner of August’s Republican Primary between Doug Hamilton and Chris Pollan.
Hunt previously defeated GOP nominee Billy Miller by almost 4,000 votes last election cycle.
Doug Hamilton, the brother of Glenn Hamilton, 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.
Other qualifiers
Two Democrats — incumbent Curtis D. 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 Prosecutor Haley Brown and Tax Assessor Allen Morgan.
The qualification window for this year’s party 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.
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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