In the waning days of the qualifying period, new candidates poured into three county supervisor races, highlighted by a last-minute husband-wife switch in District 4.
Just 15 minutes before Wednesday’s qualifying deadline, David Little dropped out of the race for District 4 supervisor, and his wife Pattie qualified in his place. David, a Ward 3 alderman in Starkville from 2013-21, entered the race as a Republican early in the qualifying period. In a statement texted to The Dispatch, he said he was dropping out to focus on his job as a district claims manager at Farm Bureau.
“While this was not my intention, unfortunately, it is the best decision for my family currently,” he wrote. “I plan to continue my full-time career as I approach my retirement date. I hope I can serve this community in a different capacity in the next few years.”
Pattie works for Warrior Energy Corporation as a territory sales specialist and has worked in the oil distribution industry for more than 15 years. She is a founding member of the Oktibbeha County Republican Women.
If elected, she plans to work on workforce development, job creation, roads and bridges, quality of life and public safety, she wrote in an email.
“In a state which has continued to lose population, Oktibbeha County has continued to grow. I want to continue this growth to see our county flourish, where opportunities are thriving for our children, so they can continue to call this place their home,” Pattie wrote. “… I intend to begin knocking on doors and meeting the people that make our community the best place to live, work, and play in Mississippi!”
She will have some competition in the Republican primary from Austin Check, who is employed with the Office of Technology Management at MSU and has 20 years of public safety experience as both an emergency medical technician and firefighter.
He has lived in the county for 12 years and serves as chief for the District 5 Volunteer Fire Department. He’s a former training officer for the county fire services, as well, and ran unsuccessfully in 2021 for Ward 4 alderman in Starkville.
If elected supervisor, he said he wants to help make the county government more efficient — from making sure it is getting the best deals on purchases to improving citizen access to information. For example, he said, if a citizen requests a road sign or a culvert, there should be a way for the status of that request to be tracked on the county website.
“I also want to focus on economic development, specifically promoting growth both inside and outside Starkville’s city limits,” he said.
Incumbent Bricklee Miller is not running for reelection.
Party primaries are set for Aug. 8. The general election is Nov. 7.
District 1 supervisor
Easily the most crowded race in this year’s county elections will be for District 1 supervisor, where six candidates are running.
Democrats Ronnie Clardy and Erik Young and Republicans Sammy Wade Jones and Ed Whitehurst most recently joined the field. Republicans Ben Carver and Greg Fulgham qualified earlier this month.
All are vying to replace John Montgomery, who is running for tax assessor/collector.
Clardy is a lifelong Oktibbeha County resident and owns Clardy Construction. His uncle, Carl Clardy, served three terms as supervisor years, losing to Montgomery in 2011. But this is the first time for Ronnie to “kick the ball” in politics, he said.
“I think maybe I can help with some of the issues in the county,” he said. “I’d say my two main priorities are improving road conditions and trying to cut taxes when and where we can.”
Young has lived in the Sunset subdivision since 1988. He has worked more than 18 years with 4-County Electric Power, most recently as a fiber operator with its FASTnet high-speed internet service. He described Montgomery as a “stand-up guy” and decided to step up and run when he learned the incumbent would not seek reelection.
As a supervisor, he wants to serve all constituents equally and address problems quickly that need to be fixed.
“Especially roads and ditches,” he said. “They are tough in a lot of spots.”
Jones, a Mathiston native, has lived in the Double Springs community for 10 years. He works at MSU’s South Farm as a supervisor for the Animal Rescue Center. Before that, he said, he worked stints in construction, at Georgia Pacific in Louisville and at the Borden plant in Starkville.
He, too, wants to focus on improving roads and said “several folks” encouraged him to run.”
Whitehurst has owned EZ Auto and Tire Sales in Starkville for the past 15-plus years, where he helps businesses and governments buy and sell vehicles in their fleet, as well as repairs their vehicles when needed.
An Oktibbeha County resident since the 1970s, he started work as an equipment repairman at MSU’s laundry department before being promoted to plant supervisor. He then worked stints in sales at Chevy and Ford dealerships in Starkville before starting his own business.
As a supervisor, he said his business experience would help promote wise, accountable county spending.
“I think we need people on the board who have been in business making those kinds of decisions,” he said. “As far as I’m aware, I’m the only candidate with 30 years of experience in business, who has owned a business for 15-plus years that I built from the ground up.”
District 5 supervisor
By the deadline, three challengers had qualified to try to unseat incumbent Democrat Joe Williams as District 5 supervisor.
Republican Les Lindley and Democrat Walter James Stewart joined the fray most recently. Stewart will face Williams in a primary, while Lindley will face fellow Republican Anthony Watt.
Lindley, a retired businessman and cattle farmer, is a Noxubee County native who has lived in the Browning Creek community the last 17 years. This is his second foray into politics. He said he ran unsuccessfully for a state Senate seat in the 1990s.
If elected, he said he would focus on opposing property tax increases and vowed he would be accessible to his constituents.
“We’re pretty high on taxes, especially with the number of houses going in,” Lindley said. “They don’t need to go up any from here. The roads aren’t in the best shape in the world either.
“We need somebody who can help the people of District 5,” he added. “I will answer my telephone.”
Stewart, a lifelong county resident, works in dirt construction. Before that, he worked 17 years for 4-County Electric Power as a warehouse manager./building maintenance.
He said he would focus on supporting education programs and better roads.
“We need more programs for kids after school that teaches them life skills,” he said.
Oktibbeha County qualifiers
*-incumbent
Sheriff
Shank Phelps (Republican)
John Rice (Democrat)
Tax Assessor
John Montgomery (Republican)
Johelen Walker (Democrat)
Circuit Clerk
*Tony Rook (Independent)
Chancery Clerk
*Sharon Livingston (Republican)
Coroner
*Michael Hunt (Democrat)
County Prosecutor
*Haley Brown (Democrat)
Supervisors
Dist. 1
Ben Carver (Republican)
Greg Fulgham (Republican)
Sammy Wade Jones (Republican)
Ed Whitehurst (Republican)
Ronnie Clardy (Democrat)
Erik Young (Democrat)
Dist. 2
*Orlando Trainer (Democrat)
Dist. 3
*Marvell Howard (Democrat)
Dist. 4
Austin Check (Republican)
Pattie Little (Republican)
Dist. 5
Les Lindley (Republican)
Anthony Watt (Republican)
Walter James Stewart (Democrat)
*Joe Williams (Democrat)
Justice Court Justice
Dist. 1
*Tony Boykin (Democrat)
Dist. 2
*Larnzy Carpenter (Democrat)
Dist. 3
*Marty Haug (Democrat)
Brian Michael Lindner (Republican)
Will McNeel (Republican)
Constable
Dist. 1
William Ford (Democrat)
Joe Morse (Republican)
Kenneth Watkins (Republican)
Shannon Williams (Republican)
Dist. 2
*Curtis Randle (Democrat)
Dist. 3
*James Lindsey (Republican)
Ronald Hannah (Democrat)
Election Commissioner
District 2
*Sissy Smitherman (Independent)
District 4
Dave Holley (Independent)
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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