Gluckstadt to hold city’s first elections

Gluckstadt gears up for its first municipal election as candidates for aldermen and mayor of municipalities state wide prepare for the municipal election set for this summer.

According to City Clerk Lindsay Kellum, only Mayor Walter Morrison and Alderman Jayce Powell have filed qualifying paperwork for the upcoming election.

There are five Alderman-at-Large seats and one Mayoral seat for the City of 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 explained.

The current board and mayor were appointed as part of the incorporation process that was made effective in June 2021.

As of Wednesday morning, no other candidates have qualified in Gluckstadt. Candidates have until 5 p.m. on Jan. 31, to qualify.

In Madison, Mayor Mary Hawkins-Butler and all seven sitting aldermen have qualified to run for another term.

Mayor Hawkins-Butler said she is “excited” about another Mayoral race.

“Madison’s future is bright,” she said. She went on to say that she and city officials have worked very hard to get the city where it is now.

“Madison is a city prayer has built,” Hawkins-Butler said. “There is more work to be done.”

As of Wednesday, no challengers for the incumbent seats 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.

In Ridgeland, Madison County’s second longest-serving mayor, Gene F. McGee, has qualified to run for another term.

Other incumbents who have qualified as of Wednesday are D. I. Smith for Alderman-At-Large, Ward 1 Alderman Ken Heard, Ward 5 Alderman Bill Lee and Ward 6 Alderman Wesley Hamlin.

Pat Truesdale has qualified as a candidate for the Ward 2 Alderman seat. That seat is currently held by Alderman Chuck Gautier who has not qualified as of Wednesday. No candidate has qualified for the Ward 3 or Ward 4 seat either as of Wednesday.

Current city officials are also working to include a proposed 2-percent tax increase on hotels and a 1-percent tax increase on restaurants to fund an estimated $50 million expansion to Freedom Ridge Park. The legislature will have to 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 at a regular meeting to submit the same proposition to the Legislature for approval to proceed with another vote.

No candidates in Canton or Flora qualified as of press time. Canton city officials said they expect to see a number of candidates qualified by mid-January. Flora City Clerk Anna Carole Evans said a number of prospective candidates have “picked up their papers” but noted none have turned them in as of Wednesday,

According to the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office, the party primaries for this election 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 resulting in this election will begin July 1.