Andre Roberts had not intended to run for Lowndes County Chancery Clerk against incumbent Cindy Goode. Although Roberts, a security supervisor at Leigh Mall, has run for office before, he has never held an elected position.
“I didn’t intend to run, but when I saw there was nobody running against (Goode), I decided to,” he said. “I think it’s good when a candidate runs against an opponent. I think it makes the person who wins better.”
Roberts is one of a dozen candidates who are competing for a wide range of local positions, everything from supervisor to sheriff, from constable to tax collector, district attorney to justice court judge, just to name a few. Like Roberts, many candidates have never held office. Some face established incumbents while other races will mean a new person in the position with the incumbent not seeking reelection.
In Lowndes County, 10 of 21 elected positions up for grabs will have competitive races. The number is eight of 19 in Oktibbeha County. In Clay County, 10 of 16 offices will be contested.
There are four candidates for District 16 District Attorney.
The one area where we did not see this kind of competition is in the Golden Triangle’s state legislative races, where six of the seven incumbent Representatives/Senators will face no opponent and will return for another term.
With that exception, we are pleased to see so many competitive races.
There will be a total of 121 candidates running for 64 offices in the Golden Triangle heading into the party primary elections in August. As Roberts said, we, too, believe competition raises the bar and that the ultimate winner is made better for service by going through a competitive campaign, which involves listening to voters’ concerns and refining their own ideas. Iron sharpens iron, as the saying goes.
We urge voters to take the time to learn about the candidates and, in the case of lesser known offices, what these jobs entail. One of the best ways to achieve this is by attending candidates forums, appearances or debates sponsored by local civic groups. We urge these organizations to invite candidates to their gatherings and encourage candidates to make the commitment to participate.
The Dispatch will also publish its typical Voter Guide as we approach the primaries.
We look forward to enlightening, vigorous and positive competition as the campaign season begins.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 47 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
