Election deadline nearing
Candidates have until 5 p.m. next Friday to qualify for municipal elections across Madison County’s five municipalities.
All but two incumbents have qualified in Gluckstadt.
Party primaries are set for April 1.
The deadline to register to vote for the primaries is March 3.
The general election is scheduled for June 3.
The deadline to register to vote in that election is May 5. The new terms will begin July 1.
Gluckstadt
Gluckstadt Mayor Walter C. Morrison IV and Alderman Jace Powell were the first two candidates to qualify. They qualified as Republicans.
Since then, incumbent Alderman Miya Warfield Bates has qualified as a Democrat, and incumbent John Taylor has filed as a Republican.
Two other Republicans have qualified. They are Paul Harty and Jessie Young Campbell.
Qualified candidates are updated at gluckstadtms.org, according to City Clerk Lindsay Kellum.
Five alderman seats and mayor will be on the ballot in Gluckstadt.
“At this time, due to our population being less than 5,000, the city has not been split into wards; therefore, all board seats are currently at-large and not by ward,” Kellum said.
The current mayor and board were appointed as part of the incorporation process in June 2021.
As of Wednesday morning, no other candidates have qualified in Gluckstadt, including two incumbents, Alderman Wesley Slay and Alderman Lisa Williams.
Ridgeland
Incumbent Ridgeland Ward 2 Alderman Chuck Gautier has qualified as a Republican. Gautier has a Republican challenger, Pat Truesdale.
Other incumbents who have qualified as of Wednesday are Mayor Gene F. McGee, Alderman-at-Large D. I. Smith, Ward 1 Alderman Ken Heard, Ward 5 Alderman Bill Lee and Ward 6 Alderman Wesley Hamlin.
No candidate has qualified for the Ward 3 or Ward 4 seat as of Wednesday. Those seats are currently occupied by Kevin Holder and Brian Ramsey respectively.
City Clerk Paula Tierce said a number of people who have not yet filed their qualifying paperwork have shown interest in running in the upcoming election.
“A couple of individuals have picked up paperwork, but have not turned them in,” Tierce said.
Madison
In Madison, Mayor Mary Hawkins-Butler and all seven aldermen have qualified to run for another term as Republicans.
As of press time, no challengers have filed in Madison. The current Madison board consists of Alderman-at-Large Sandra Strain, Ward 1 Alderman Tawanna Tatum, Ward 2 Alderman Pat Peeler, Ward 3 Alderman Janie Jarvis, Ward 4 Alderman Paul Tankersley, Ward 5 Alderman Mike Hudgins and Ward 6 Alderman Guy Bowering.
Flora
In Flora, Mayor Les Childress has qualified.
The only other incumbent to file as of Wednesday is Ward 2 Alderman Kenny Jenkins.
Three fresh faces have qualified in Flora with Jeff Rankin qualifying in Ward 1, Jimmy Jones in Ward 3 and Sheila Blakely in Ward 4.
Ward 1 is currently held by Michael Westbrook, Ward 3 by Mary Sumler and Ward 4 by Ray Allard.
No one has qualified for the alderman-at-large position currently held by A.J. Lunsford.
All candidates in Flora run as independents.
Canton
No one was available in the Canton City Clerk’s office who could give an update when a Journal reported reached out on Wednesday. It had previously been reported that no one has qualified in Canton.
$50 million park expansion
Ridgeland plans to include a proposed 2-percent tax increase on hotels and a 1-percent tax increase on restaurants on the ballot to fund an estimated $50 million Freedom Ridge Park expansion.
The Legislature must pass legislation allowing the vote before the election this summer.
Senate Bill 3221 authorizing the city to proceed the first time was signed by Gov. Tate Reeves on May 10, 2024.
This will be the city’s second attempt at the proposed tax. The item was on the ballot in the November general election but it failed to garner the necessary 60 percent of the vote to pass.
Ridgeland aldermen voted unanimously in early December to submit the same proposition to the Legislature for approval to proceed with another vote.