Dismissed former New Hope High School principal Lynn Wright has qualified to run for superintendent of the school district he is currently suing.
Wright was fired by the Lowndes County School District along with New Hope varsity baseball coach Stacy Hester in May for allegedly improperly purchasing a $15,000 lawn mower for the school”s athletic fields. Both men have lawsuits pending against the district.
Now Wright will campaign to run the district.
“I had a lot of people ask me to run. If I had remained principal at New Hope I probably never would have considered it,” he said.
Wright, 58, began his career in education in 1975. He”s been a teacher, a coach, an athletic director, a headmaster and a principal. The Columbus native returned to Lowndes County in 2007 from Alabama to take the principal job at NHHS.
“I feel like I”ve learned a lot in the last three years at New Hope. I know the people and administrators at many of the schools in Lowndes County. My interest is to do whatever I can to keep Lowndes County moving forward,” he said. “You either get better or get worse. Nothing ever stays the same.”
Wright said he doesn”t know what will happen to his lawsuit if he”s elected as superintendent or what effect it will have on his candidacy.
He will meet current New Hope Middle School Principal Sam Allison in the Republican primary. West Lowndes High School Principal Cliff Reynolds is the lone qualifying Democrat as of Wednesday.
Current Superintendent Mike Halford has yet to qualify.
New sheriff candidates
A trio of experienced lawmen have qualified to run for Lowndes County Sheriff.
Lt. Selvain McQueen, 48, has helmed every division, with the exception of narcotics, in the Columbus Police Department since joining the force in 1988. The Rock Island, Ill., native is currently in charge of criminal investigations.
McQueen”s accomplishments with the CPD include revamping its training academy to achieve reaccreditation. He”s also completed the nationwide Certified Public Manager course. He”s a certified law enforcement instructor through the state, a graduate of the Mississippi Command College at Ole Miss and is working toward a bachelor”s degree at Jackson State University.
“I plan to protect your family, your property and your future,” he said Wednesday. “I would like to see some more well-thought out protective services, to streamline some things and correct anything that”s not working.”
Commander Joey Brackin, 56, is head of the Lowndes County Sheriff”s Office”s Metro Narcotics Unit. His 30 years of experience in law enforcement began with nine years with the Columbus Police Department before moving to the LCSO.
For the past two years he”s also served as Law Enforcement Commander for the 19-county Eastern Central District of the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security, which deals with disaster response.
Brackin believes his experience in budgeting, administration, patrol and investigations within the LCSO give him the best perspective on how to improve the department.
“I want to initiate some programs to provide better law enforcement to the citizens of Lowndes County. I”d like to see more community interaction with the sheriff”s department. In today”s society, that will play a big role in how effective law enforcement is,” he said.
Anthony C. Nelson, 50, has run the Lowndes County Juvenile Detention Center for the past eight years. The Detroit, Mich., Police Department veteran moved to Lowndes County 17 years ago and went to work for the LCSO, where he still works part-time as an investigator.
“I have a high degree of familiarity with the sheriff”s department and the community. I know the ins and outs,” said Nelson. “I”m familiar with county procedures, budgeting and personnel issues.”
Nelson, who is currently pursuing a bachelor”s degree from St. Leo University, expressed his intention to reach out to local emergency response agencies to prepare the county for a disaster.
“The world of law enforcement is no longer just catching shoplifters. We”ve got terror, natural disasters, school shootings. There”s hardly any interagency cooperation. The police department, the sheriff and the ambulances need to work together. If there”s ever a large scale disaster we need interoperability,” he said.
McQueen will square off with Sherman Vaughn in the Democratic primary while Brackin will meet Bo Harris in the Republican primary. Both Harris and Vaughn have run for sheriff in the past.
Nelson qualified as an independent.
District 2 Justice Court Judge Mike Arledge has also expressed his intention to enter the sheriff race, but will delay qualifying to hear more cases.
Sheriff Butch Howard has announced plans to retire.
Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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