In a year, the county is guaranteed at least a new sheriff, tax assessor, and constable, as well as two new supervisors.

After two days of qualifying, contested races are already taking shape for several positions.

Shank Phelps, a Republican, and Democrat John Rice have qualified for sheriff. Three-term incumbent Steve Gladney confirmed he will not seek reelection.

The deadline to qualify is Feb. 1. Party primary elections are Aug. 8, and the general election is Nov. 7.

Phelps, who has more than 30 years experience in law enforcement, is serving the end of his third term as District 1 constable. His law enforcement career started in 1992 as a jailer with Oktibbeha County Jail. He served a brief stint as a Starkville police officer before spending 11 years as an Oktibbeha County sheriff’s deputy and three years as the county’s Emergency Management Agency director, retiring in 2017.

A Starkville native, Phelps said he wants to maintain a fair and professional sheriff’s office for the county.

“This is a place I love, and I’ve spent my entire professional career working for the people of this county,” he said. “I have the experience, and I want to pass it on.”

Rice, also a Starkville native, spent almost a decade as an Oktibbeha County sheriff’s deputy before taking medical retirement in 2020 due to a knee injury, he told The Dispatch. He started his law enforcement career in 2009 as a Columbus police officer.

He narrowly lost to Gladney in the 2019 Democratic primary and said this time around his campaign is better prepared.

“I didn’t have the boots on the ground I needed last time,” Rice said. “I will this time.”

Rice said, if elected, he will focus on youth programs, effectively addressing mental health issues and getting the community more involved in law enforcement. He specifically mentioned a “violence interrupter” philosophy that essentially utilizes respected mentors in the community to prevent violence among youth.

“Everybody has an old head, an O.G. or an older uncle they look up to,” he said. “… They can help prevent things from happening.”

Tax assessor
A contested race has already formed for tax assessor/collector as Republican John Montgomery, the sitting District 1 supervisor, and Democrat Johelen Walker, a deputy in the tax assessor’s office, have qualified. Incumbent Allen Morgan will not seek reelection.

Montgomery is serving his third term as supervisor and is also a retired Starkville firefighter. With a degree in business finance and financial management, he called himself a “statistical guy” who is familiar not only with county government but also with the functions of the tax office.

“As much as I love (being a supervisor), I’m ready for a new challenge. I have been around the whole gamut of government, so I feel well qualified for this position. There’s nothing that will come at me that will blow my doors off and surprise me.”

Walker has more than 20 years experience as a deputy tax assessor, starting in Lowndes County and spending the last 12 years in Oktibbeha. She took banking courses for two years at Mississippi University for Women.

“I’ve been doing this so long, I know it like the back of my hand,” she said.

Supes, other qualifiers
So far, Republican Ben Carver is the only official qualifier to take Montgomery’s place in District 1.

Serving his fourth term as Starkville alderman for Ward 1, Carver said he felt Montgomery’s departure was the right time to represent his constituency “in a broader context.” While interoperability between the city and county is crucial, he said, the county has other big issues to tackle on its own.

“Obviously the county lake is a big issue. I think the county hospital may be one of the first issues we’ll deal with (in the 2024 term),” he told The Dispatch, adding he “imagines” a new board might revisit old issues such as privatizing OCH Regional Medical Center. Voters overwhelmingly chose to keep OCH county owned in 2017.

David Little, a Republican and former alderman for Ward 3 in Starkville, is the sole qualifier so far for District 4 supervisor. Incumbent Bricklee Miller, serving her second term, confirmed she will not seek reelection.

Little served two terms as aldermen before not seeking reelection in 2021. He said he is ready to jump back into public service as he looks toward retiring in the next few years as a district claims manager for Farm Bureau, where he has worked almost 34 years.

He said he would prioritize fiscal responsibility — relying on organic tax growth and only raising taxes as a last resort — as well as improving county roadways, if elected. Part of both aims would rely on better planning, especially for road spending. He looks to his city experience for guidance there.

“In my first term as alderman, we were ward specific with street money, and it didn’t really go very far,” he said. “Toward the end of that term, we sort of flipped it, pooled our money and let the city engineer prioritize a list of streets based on need and usage.”

The only other contested race so far is for District 3 constable, where Republican incumbent James Lindsey and Democrat Ronald Hannah have both qualified.

Republican Will McNeel qualified as a Republican for District 3 justice court judge. Incumbent Democrat Marty Haug had not qualified by press time.

Other incumbents that have qualified include: Tony Rook, independent, circuit clerk; Sharon Livingston, Republican, chancery clerk; Orlando Trainer, Democrat, District 2 supervisor; Marvell Howard, Democrat, District 3 supervisor; Joe Williams, Democrat, District 5 supervisor; Tony Boykin, Democrat, District 1 justice court judge; Larnzy Carpenter, Democrat, District 2 justice court judge; Curtis Randle, Democrat, District 2 constable and Haley Brown, Democrat, county prosecutor.

Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.

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