Municipal elections are this year across Mississippi, and the qualifying period for candidates to enter races is coming to a close.

Qualifying for municipal elections began Jan. 2 and will run through 5 p.m. Friday. Party primaries are April 1 and the general election is June 3.

So, who is eligible to run for municipal offices? How does qualifying actually work? How could the races still shift before the end of the qualifying period? And who has turned in their paperwork to run for city offices in Starkville, Columbus and West Point?

Who is eligible to run for municipal offices?

To run for office in the state of Mississippi, the candidate must be a qualified elector (a registered voter), according to procedures outlined by the Secretary of State’s website.

All candidates also must have never been convicted of bribery, perjury or a felony, unless they have been pardoned of the offense. This includes felonies in federal court or courts of other states, excluding manslaughter and violations of the United States Internal Revenue Code or Mississippi tax laws – unless those offenses involved abuse of an office.

To be eligible to run for mayor, the candidates must typically be a resident of the city they are running in for at least two years prior to the general election. To run for a city board seat, the candidate is also generally required to live in the ward they intend to represent.

However, those residency requirements change based on the board’s structure, along with if a city has a population of less than 1,000 or fewer than six wards.

For candidates eligible to run, the next step required by the Secretary of State’s office is filing qualifying paperwork.

How does qualifying actually work?

Each candidate running for a municipal office with a party must submit a written statement of intent to their city’s respective municipal clerk, according to procedures outlined by the Secretary of State’s office.

Starkville, West Point and Columbus each supply forms for candidates to fill out that act as their statement of intent. These include the basic information candidates must submit required by the state – their name and address, the name of the party with which they are affiliated, and the office the candidate is seeking. These forms may also include other basic information, like the candidate’s contact information.

Party candidates must pay a filing fee of $10 to the municipal clerk by the deadline.

The statement of intent and filing fee are then forwarded to the secretary of the proper executive committee of the municipal party.

Independent candidates must instead submit a petition to run in the general election, including the signatures of at least 50 qualified voters of a municipality or ward, if that municipality or ward has a population of 1,000 or more. Officials then verify that each signature is from a qualified elector who that candidate would represent if elected.

Independent candidates are not required to pay a filing fee.

How could the races still shift before the end of the qualifying period?

By Jan. 24, 11 candidates had filed in Starkville, 18 had filed in Columbus and nine had filed in West Point. However, those races still have time to shift.

Starkville City Clerk Lesa Hardin said the city tends to see the most qualifying paperwork filed in the first and last three days of the qualifying period.

West Point City Clerk Delores Doss said she tends to see candidates rush to file early, and then trickle in over time, sometimes until the very end. That’s why it’s important that City Hall stays open until the last minute of the qualifying period, she said.

“I’m looking for more to come in,” she said. “We’ve had some that have come in on the last day at 4:55. We just never know. We just make sure we’re open until 5 p.m. on that last day.”

Who has filed their paperwork in Starkville, Columbus and West Point?

In Starkville, three candidates have filed to run for mayor, including incumbent Mayor Lynn Spruill, former Fire Chief Charles Yarbrough and computer science teacher Brenna Betts. All three are running as Democrats.

Incumbents have filed to run for reelection in six of the city wards represented by the Board of Aldermen, including Ward 1 Kim Moreland (Independent), Ward 2 Sandra Sistrunk (Democrat), Ward 3 Jeffrey Rupp (Republican), Ward 4 Mike Brooks (Democrat), Ward 6 and Vice Mayor Roy A. Perkins (Democrat) and Ward 7 Henry Vaughn (Democrat).

The only contested alderman race in Starkville is currently in Ward 7, with fellow Democrat Nedra Lowery facing Vaughn.

Ward 5 Alderman Hamp Beatty is not seeking reelection. Independent candidate William Pochop has filed to run for the Ward 5 seat.

In Columbus, four candidates have filed to run for mayor, including Lowndes County District 5 Supervisor Leroy Brooks (Democrat), current Ward 5 Councilman Stephen Jones (Democrat), Pastor Darren Leach (Independent) and local businessman Bill Strauss (Independent).

In Ward 1, incumbent Ethel Stewart (Democrat) faces Tommie Smith (Democrat). In Ward 2, incumbent and Vice Mayor Joseph Mickens (Democrat) faces Laisha “Ms. She-She” O’Neal (Democrat) and Roderick Smith (Democrat).

In Ward 3, incumbent Rusty Greene (Republican) is seeking reelection, currently unopposed. In Ward 4, Lavonne Harris (Democrat) is currently unopposed, after Robert S. Johnson IV dropped out of the race. In Ward 5, Cequeila Clark (Democrat), Sedrick Fenster (Democrat), Gregory “Gary” Jefferson (Democrat) and Mary Jeter (Republican) are all running for the seat. In Ward 6, Donald Pope (Independent) faces Jason Spears (Republican).

In West Point, incumbent Mayor Rod Bobo (Democrat) has filed to run for reelection and is currently unopposed. Incumbents have filed to run for reelection in all five wards, Ward 1 Leta Turner (Democrat), Ward 2 William Binder (Democrat), Ward 3 Ken Poole (Democrat), Ward 4 Keith McBrayer (Democrat) and Ward 5 Cole Bryan (Democrat).

Two selectman races are currently contested. In Ward 1, former Ward 1 Selectwoman Linda Hannah (Democrat) and Terell Harris (Democrat) have filed to run for the seat, facing Turner. In Ward 5, Myron Crawford (Democrat) filed to run, facing Bryan.

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