STARKVILLE – The city has gotten its first contested alderman race in Ward 7. Meanwhile, the Ward 5 incumbent announced Thursday he would not seek reelection.
Nedra Lowery, 40, is trying again to run as a Democrat in Ward 7, after she was disqualified in 2021 because she had not lived in her ward for the two-year minimum required by state law to be a candidate.
The Columbus native has unsuccessfully run for office there. Lowery is mostly retired today, but told The Dispatch she’s worked in public communications both for McDonalds and as a private contractor.
She said she’s running because she wants to give a voice to people typically left out of Starkville’s politics.
“There’s a real chance now for us to have effective leadership,” she said. “Not to say Starkville doesn’t have effective leadership, but now is the time. We don’t have another four years to not have people that are visible, people working solely for the constituents, to be more, ‘We’re for the people’ and not, ‘I’m for myself.’”
Lowery is running against incumbent and fellow Democrat Henry Vaughn.
Qualifying for municipal elections will run through 5 p.m. Jan. 31. Party primaries are April 1 and the general election is June 3.
Ward 5
Incumbent Hamp Beatty, 69, told The Dispatch on Thursday that he will not seek reelection.
Beatty has lived in Starkville for 20 years, working for MSU’s Center for Government and Community Development before winning his seat in a 2019 special election. He also served as the mayor of his hometown Newton from 1992-2005, and as an alderman before that.
He said he feels he has served his time in city government and the time is right to make room for someone new.
“It’s a combination of things,” he said Thursday. “I’ve had my opportunity to serve, and hopefully I’ve been part of getting some good things for Starkville. When I finish in June, I will have had 21 years as a municipal official. I consider all of that time a privilege and an honor, but it comes time for a person to reflect … maybe it’s time for somebody else to take over.”
Beatty’s decision clears the field, for now, for newcomer and independent William Pochop, with no other contenders in that race as of Thursday.
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