Tuesday, voters throughout the state went to the polls to determine local, regional and state races, as well as a proposal to amend the state’s constitution.
There is likely no one who is entirely pleased with the outcome. Some are likely to be more disappointed (or more pleased) than others, of course, but we should all take a least a moment to take a broader view. In doing so, we are reminded we have a voice in determining how government on every level operates, a right citizens of many other countries have never enjoyed.
In more practical terms, of course, all elections are evaluated in terms of winners and losers.
Tuesday marked the end of two long careers of two long-time office-holders — Haley Salazar and Forrest Allgood. Although she will continue to serve as circuit clerk until the end of the year, Tuesday’s election was the last election conducted by Salazar, who is retiring after 24 years as circuit clerk.
Combined with her 15 years as a deputy clerk, Salazar, 61, leaves after 39 years of service in the circuit clerk’s office. She will be replaced from within — deputy clerk Teresa Barksdale held off three candidates, garnering slightly more than 50 percent of the vote.
Allgood, the incumbent District Attorney for the 16th District, fell in his bid for reelection to fellow Columbus native Scott Colom, a former prosecutor and city judge. It marks the end of 37 years in the district attorney’s office for Allgood, 61, who served as an assistant D.A. for 11 years before winning his first D.A. race in 1989.
Allgood won the Lowndes County vote by a few hundred votes, but it was a dead-heat in Oktibbeha County. The difference came in Clay and Noxubee counties where Colom won by 1,300-vote margins, easily enough to negate the effect of any affidavit or absentee votes yet to be counted.
Regardless of your preference in this race, we should commend Allgood for his long service in a job that is often emotionally and physically draining. Even his critics will acknowledge Allgood was deeply committed to the job.
Other races were less dramatic and the outcomes were hardly surprising.
Mike Arledge defeated former Columbus Police Chief Selvain McQueen to remain as Lowndes County Sheriff, Lisa Neese Younger easily retained her position as chancery court clerk and Hoot West was reelected as District 1 Constable.
Our delegation to the Legislature will feature just one new face; Columbus councilman Kabir Karriem, will go to the House of Representatives after emerging as the winner of the Democratic Primary in May.
He faced no opposition in Tuesdays’ election. He is joined by incumbents Gary Chism and Jeff Smith, an easy winner over James Samuel Sr. Chuck Younger, unopposed Tuesday, will head to Jackson for his first full term as state senator.
Finally, while the four Golden Triangle counties, collectively approved changing the state constitution through Initiative 42 to require the Legislature to fund education, the measure failed statewide.
Voters voted against the change in the constitution by 25,000 yet 42 received 78,000 more votes than 42A
Certainly, the issue of education funding will not go away and legislators would be wise to recognize more than 300,000 Mississippians said Tuesday public schools must be properly funded.
Finally, we applaud those who performed their civic duty by voting Tuesday. In Lowndes County, 17,859 people voted, 44.8 percent, far better than the 21-percent turnout in the primaries, but far from satisfying.
It is sad to think that fewer than half of the people chose to have their voices heard. Their votes could have made a difference in many races, after all.
That is the biggest disappointment to come from Tuesday’s elections.
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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