The field for Oktibbeha County’s circuit clerk’s race grew to three candidates Monday after Deputy Elections Clerk Sheryl Elmore qualified for the Nov. 7 special election.
Meanwhile, Brickfire Project Executive Director Cheikh Taylor abruptly ended his bid before it officially began.
Elmore, who has worked in the clerk’s office for eight years, joins Starkville Municipal Court Administrator Tony Rook and Mississippi State University Receiving Services Coordinator Teresa Davis as the candidates who have collected the required 50 signatures to run for office and filed their respective qualification paperwork.
Taylor, who previously said he was in the process of collecting the signatures and would file his candidacy forms this week, told The Dispatch Monday he was withdrawing his candidacy after “careful consideration and prayer.”
He did not elaborate on why he would not seek the position.
A fourth candidate — Elaine Boykin Turner — also confirmed her intent to run to The Dispatch last week but has not yet officially qualified for the race.
Turner works for MSU’s Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems and previously worked in an administrative role for the Mississippi Highway Patrol.
The circuit clerk’s position became vacant this month after Glenn Hamilton, 61, pleaded guilty to felony possession of methamphetamine in Clay County. He and 59-year-old Rufus Edward Lewis were charged with trespassing, drug possession and possession of Native American artifacts last summer.
Hamilton will serve one year of supervised probation and pay $1,500 in combined fines and restitution.
The Nov. 7 ballot will also include special elections for the Mississippi House of Representatives’ District 38 seat; Oktibbeha County chancery clerk and District 1 constable; and a referendum on a potential sale or lease of OCH Regional Medical Center.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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