With the deadline to qualify past, four candidates have qualified to run for 16th Circuit district attorney, and three area legislative races are contested.
In the district attorney race, incumbent Democrat Scott Colom is seeking a third term. Assistant District Attorney Marc Amos is running as a Democrat, and attorneys Jace Dalrymple and Chuck Easley are both running as Republicans.
The district covers circuit courts in Lowndes, Oktibbeha, Clay and Noxubee counties.
Colom, who was elected in 2015, confirmed to The Dispatch he is running for reelection but declined to comment further.
U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-2nd Congressional District) recommended Colom for the judgeship vacated by the retirement of Michael P. Mills in November 2021. Appointment requires Senate confirmation.
Amos, who has been an assistant district attorney in Colom’s office since Jan. 1, 2016, told The Dispatch that he is “not running against (Colom).”
“I want to be real clear on that,” Amos said. “I am running with the hope that he gets confirmed as the next Mississippi federal district judge.”
Amos said he doesn’t plan to change the direction of the DA’s office if he is elected.
“I think we’re doing it right,” he said. “We’re putting violent criminals in jail. We’re trying to make sure people that need rehabilitation are getting that rehabilitation in the form of drug court or whatever other sort of help is appropriate.”
Before joining Colom’s office, Amos served as a Columbus municipal judge from 2010-15 and as the city’s drug court judge for about two years.
Dalrymple has served as public defender in Lowndes, Noxubee and Oktibbeha counties.
“I think crime rates are steadily increasing in our entire district, and I think I can make a difference,” he said. “I want to work with law enforcement to prosecute violent crimes, especially with those committed with a gun.”
If elected, he said he would “crack down on every corner of the law.”
“In drug cases, I’m all about rehabilitation,” he said. “If the drug usage has led to something violent, or to burglary, that’s really important to me. I don’t think anyone should be afraid in their home. One way to stop people breaking into homes is by making them scared to do it. … They should be scared of coming to court because they’re going to get a very lengthy sentence.”
Easely, a Columbus-based attorney, served on the Mississippi Supreme Court from 2001 to 2008.
Last year, Easley unsuccessfully ran against Jim Kitchens for circuit court judge. He also qualified to run for Lowndes County circuit clerk in 2015 but pulled out of the race.
He did not return a Dispatch phone call for comment by press time.
Dist. 41 representative
Incumbent Kabir Karriem picked up a challenge from Libertarian Claude Simpson in the District 41 House race.
Karriem was elected to the House in 2015. Before that he served two terms on the Columbus City Council.
Karriem said he was running again because there was still much to do.
“We’ve done quite a bit of things in the legislature, and we still have a lot of work to do,” he said. “We’ve been a champion of economic development, and I was one the authors of the bill that created the (Steel Dynamics Inc. aluminum mill). We need health care, we need Medicaid expansion, we need help on criminal justice reform. There’s a plethora of issues.”
Karriem said he has a chance of being appointed to a powerful committee should he be reelected.
“As a senior member of the delegation I have a chance of getting an appointment to either the Ways and Means or Appropriations committees,” he said.
Simpson is retired but has served in the United States Air Force, worked for the U.S. State Department and has an extensive history in computer science.
“Our country is in a lot of trouble at the moment,” Simpson said. “Our government doesn’t seem to be getting anything done. I think the Democrats and Republicans are just going to fight among themselves. I think the Libertarian Party can maybe wake some people up.”
Simpson said he backs gun control and eliminating the grocery tax.
“I absolutely support gun control,” he said. “We got people shooting each other endlessly. I also believe the state should pass not having sales tax on food.
“We need to get rid of a lot of government control and let people take care of themselves,” he added.
In other contested races, incumbent Republican Bart Williams is facing primary challenger Alan Sibley in the District 15 Senate race. In the District 43 House race, incumbent Rob Roberson is facing Kenneth Aasand in a Republican primary.
Uncontested incumbents include District 16 Senator Angela Turner Ford (D-West Point); District 17 Senator Chuck Younger (R-Lowndes County); District 39 Rep. Dana Underwood McLean (R-Columbus); and District 38 Rep. Cheikh Tayor (D-Starkville).
Primary elections are Aug. 8, and the general election is Nov. 7.
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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