The field of candidates for Oktibbeha County’s special chancery court election expanded to six this week after a new Democrat and Republican joined the race.
A Republican Primary will now be held Aug. 8 after Tina Fisher qualified Wednesday. Fisher, 43, is a 25-year Starkville resident who has worked as a deputy clerk in the Lowndes County Chancery Clerk’s Office for 22 years.
She will face Republican Barbara Mitchell, 68, who serves as Oktibbeha County Youth Court’s intake clerk and as a part-time paralegal. She previously spent 33 years as the paralegal and office manager of the Brown Law Firm.
Democrats will now select between four candidates in the Aug. 8 primary after Hattie Ridgel filed her qualifying statement of intent Monday with the circuit clerk’s office.
Ridgel, 58, worked for three years as a deputy clerk under former Chancery Clerk Monica Banks and retired with 20 years of paralegal experience.
She will face three other Democrats — Martesa Flowers, Margaret Jordan and Sharon Livingston — in August’s primary.
Flowers, 35, is a contract and grant specialist at Mississippi State University. She previously worked for about a year and a half as an accounting assistant and payroll clerk for the City of Starkville.
Jordan, 49, has 21 years of work experience as an educator. She currently is employed as an eighth-grade science teacher at Armstrong Middle School.
Livingston, 49, was named interim clerk after Banks died in September from an extended illness. Livingston has worked in the chancery clerk’s office since 2000 and previously served as a deputy clerk over land records.
The winners of the two primaries will face off on Nov. 7, but runoffs could be held on Aug. 29 if a winner fails to secure at least 50 percent of the vote.
The qualifying period for the chancery clerk’s race runs through March 3.
To qualify, a candidate must be a resident of Oktibbeha County, at least 18 years old and hold a high school diploma or its equivalent. There is a $100 qualifying fee.
The chancery clerk’s salary is fee-based and set by statute not to exceed $90,000 annually.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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