Local attorney Richard &#8220Ricky” Smith Jr., will try a second time to unseat 9th Circuit District Attorney Gil Martin, filing qualifying papers Wednesday with the Secretary of State’s Office as a Democrat.

Smith, 48, ran unsuccessfully in 2003 as an independent for the office, getting 41.5 percent of the vote to Martin’s 58.5 percent.

This time, Smith would appear on primary ballots Aug. 7.

Martin, 62, an independent, had not filed for re-election but said this morning he intends to do so before the March 1 deadline. He was first elected in 1991 to prosecute criminal cases and track court fines in Warren, Sharkey and Issaquena counties. Since then, the office has expanded to include assistance with victims and a worthless check unit.

Smith has practiced law in Vicksburg for 14 years and served one term as Northern District Justice Court Judge, resigning that post four years ago to run for DA.

In the last grand jury in late January, 85 indictments were returned by jurors. Twenty-one who faced charges were either not indicted or had other charges recommended.

Sheriff Martin Pace also filed paperwork Wednesday, making official his run for a fourth term.

Pace, 48, was appointed sheriff in 1995, succeeding 28-year sheriff Paul L. Barrett for whom he had been a deputy. Pace, an independent, won a special election for the post in 1996 and was re-elected twice more.

In the past year, Warren County’s top cop has been instrumental in lobbying supervisors for crime-fighting equipment such as computers to file reports remotely.

&#8220I’m truly honored that the people of Warren County have allowed me to be their sheriff.” Pace said this morning. &#8220It is a responsibility that I do not take lightly.”

General election voting is Nov. 6. All incumbents on the local level are running for re-election, including all five Warren County supervisors.

On the state level, Rep. George Flaggs, D-Vicksburg, is running for a sixth term representing central and north Vicksburg. Rep. Chester Masterson, R-Vicksburg, has said he will run for state Senate District 23, a seat vacated when Sen. Mike Chaney, R-Vicksburg, said last week he would not run again.

Local attorney W. Briggs Hopson III made his candidacy official for the Senate seat last week, making the race as a Democrat.

As for Masterson’s seat representing House District 54, local businessman Alex Monsour, a Republican, remains the only candidate in the race.