Two filings provided Monday show Ward 5 alderman candidate Kayla Gilmore and Ward 6 Alderman Roy A. Perkins met a Jan. 31 deadline to report campaign contributions and expenditures made last year in preparation for the 2017 municipal cycle.
On Thursday, City Hall provided The Dispatch with what was believed to be a comprehensive list of candidates who filed the report, and that list showed mayoral candidate Lynn Spruill and Ward 2 candidate Sandra Sistrunk as the only two filers.
Both Gilmore and Perkins filed their respective forms on Jan. 31, but those documents were not included in the city’s response to the newspaper because a city employee who accepted Gilmore’s and Perkins’ files took sick leave following their submissions.
Perkins’ collected $525 in donations for his attempt at a record seventh term. He loaned himself $275 in August, while he reported receiving a $275 donation from former Mayor Dan Camp on Jan. 6. Perkins also spent $275 in August on 2,500 push cards for his campaign.
Gilmore’s report states she did not raise or expend any money for her campaign last year.
Jan. 31 was the deadline for office seekers who accepted contributions or made expenditures “in furtherance of a campaign” last year — not specifically for 2017’s municipal cycle.
The first official campaign finance report — which reflects pre-primary receipts and expenditures from Jan. 1 through April 22 — is due from all candidates on April 25.
Gilmore, 33, faces an intra-party challenge from Starkville Planning and Zoning Commissioner Patrick Miller.
Miller, 26, is an employee of the Mississippi State University Extension Center for Government and Community Development, while Gilmore is a former city election commissioner who vacated her position in order to run for office. She is the owner of KMG Creations Dance, Fitness and Productions.
Ward 5 voters will have new representation after Alderman Scott Maynard declined to seek a second term.
Perkins, 60, is running unopposed and was last challenged in 2013’s Democratic Primary by Lerin Pruitt, the son of Maben Mayor Larry Pruitt. Perkins won that re-election bid with almost 70 percent of the vote.
A Starkville High School graduate, Perkins holds a law degree from Mississippi College and both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from MSU. He has practiced law for more than 25 years and previously served as a staff attorney for the Mississippi House of Representatives and as a special assistant attorney general for the state.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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