[07/11/02]Robert C. Arledge remains in the spending lead, at nearly 100 times more than the average of the other three candidates in the race for Warren County judge who reported spending, according to reports required to be filed Wednesday.

Arledge, 44, reported having expenses of $94,015. The other three candidates whose campaigns have reported spending are William Bost Jr., 57, with a reported total spent for the race of $516; Warren County Prosecutor Johnny Price, 55, with $1,108; and Clarence A. Whitaker, 59, with $1,270. The campaign of incumbent Gerald Hosemann, 50, filed a report listing no contributions or expenditures.

The five candidates are to be on the Nov. 5 general-election ballot. If no one candidate receives a majority of votes cast in the race, the top two vote-getters will be in a runoff election, scheduled for Nov. 19.

Each candidate’s committee is required by the state to file periodic reports beginning May 10 and ending Jan. 10, as well as reports seven days before and, under certain conditions, two days before general and runoff elections.

Candidates are required to list those who give to or receive from election accounts more than a total of $200 during any one year. The annual campaign-contribution limit for individuals and political committees is $2,500 for county court races and $5,000 for Supreme Court races.

Arledge, as he pledged, has financed his own campaign entirely.

Bost reported his campaign’s receiving June contributions of $1,950, including $500 from Dr. and Mrs. William M. Bost Sr. of Starkville and $250 from Moody M. and Bethna D. Culpepper of Vicksburg.

Price has reported a receipt total of $1,400 with no itemized contributions.

Whitaker has reported he funded $5,000 of his campaign’s total income of $5,400.

Also for the June reporting period, in the special election for a state Supreme Court seat from the district that includes Warren County, the campaign of Ceola James of Vicksburg reported receiving $1,445, spending $1,195 and having $250 in cash on hand.

Incumbent appointee Justice James Graves’ campaign reported no income, $2,524 in expenses and $25,448 in cash on hand.

The Supreme Court election is a special election to fill the remainder of an unexpired term. A new state law allowing appointed justices to complete unexpired terms in some cases is awaiting U.S. Justice Department approval, and could make the election unnecessary.

Arledge’s June report shows that about 93 percent of the total his campaign has spent has gone toward advertising. In June he spent an additional $17,993 with a Jackson billboard company, bringing his total with that vendor, his largest, to $31,366. He also reported spending an additional $20,756 on radio advertising, with Vicksburg station WBBV, bringing his spending total for radio advertising to $33,466.

Bost reported spending $516 in June, $357 of that on envelopes and invitations for a fund-raising dinner.

Price reported spending $289, all on bumper stickers from Stamm Advertising of Vicksburg.

Whitaker reported spending $419, all on cards from The Print Shop, also in Vicksburg.

Hosemann was first elected to the job in 1986 and unopposed in elections for it every four years until this year. He remains suspended from hearing cases since April 24 by the state Supreme Court though the Hinds County felony indictment on which his suspension was based was dismissed May 23 after he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace.

His case remains under review by the state’s Commission on Judicial Performance.