Three candidates are now running for Starkville’s Ward 5 alderman seat after Kayla Gilmore entered the race.
Gilmore, owner of KMG Creations Dance, Fitness and Productions, qualified to run on Wednesday, which was the deadline. Gilmore ran for the seat in 2017 but lost with 101 votes to former alderman Patrick Miller’s 395 in the May 2017 Democratic primary.
Miller resigned from his seat on the board last month to take a job in Biloxi.
The Ward 5 special election is set for May 30.
Speaking to The Dispatch, Gilmore said she wasn’t deterred by her 2017 loss and is running again for the seat with the hope of helping Starkville continue to make positive progress.
“There are still development issues in our ward, but I want to be part of moving the town forward in a positive direction, as the board of aldermen and Mayor Spruill are doing,” she said. “If it doesn’t work the first time, do it again. I’m already a community philanthropist and work hands-on in the community.”
Gilmore works at Habitat for Humanity’s Restore, and has hosted the annual Dancing in the Park event, which is held on the fourth Saturday in July. Gilmore also initiated Starkville’s Veterans Day parade last year, which was the first in the city’s history. She’s also served two terms on Starkville’s election commission.
She said, if elected, she’d like to see the city work to support veterans through community programs. In addition, she’d also like to see Starkville strengthen its education system and wants to tackle issues like bullying.
Gilmore also said she supports the city’s efforts to build a new tournament-ready recreation facility at Cornerstone Park. Starkville will hold a citywide election on May 30, in addition to the Ward 5 election, to implement a 1 percent increase to its 2 percent food and beverage and hotel/motel taxes to help fund the park.
“I’m a strong supporter of parks and recreation,” she said. “I am for building Cornerstone Park. I’m for expansion and pretty much anything necessary to get it done for our youth.”
She said she also supports looking at certain areas near the city for annexation, if it helps to further economic development. Starkville is eyeing land to its east, along the Highway 182 and 82 corridors, for annexation.
Gilmore is a Brookhaven native. She came to Starkville to attend Mississippi State University and has lived in the community for 18 years.
As the town continues to grow, Gilmore said she wants to do what she can to help make a positive impact. If elected, she said, she hopes to be a voice for continuing progress on the board.
“We can talk about what we want to do — keeping people’s taxes low and all of that — but it’s about getting to the ground, rolling up your sleeves and getting to work,” she said. “It’s about being a strong voice to move the city forward and I never stopped doing that.”
The three-candidate field is set with Gilmore, Hamp Beatty and John Michael. Each of the candidates had to register as independents for the special election.
Absentee ballots for the election will be available beginning Friday.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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