Dems pick cop as constable candidate|[09/08/07]
Published 12:00 am Saturday, September 8, 2007
By the narrowest of margins, a 19-year veteran of the Vicksburg Police Department has become the pick of the Warren County Democratic Executive Committee for central district constable in the Nov. 6 general election.
Randy Naylor, 53, a certified resource officer assigned to the Vicksburg Warren School District, won the nomination Friday by a 7-6 vote of committee members. A criminal investigator for nearly 12 of his 19 years on the force, Naylor was also one of two applicants interviewed earlier Friday by Warren County supervisors. The county board is expected to name its choice Monday.
Whether Naylor is opposed on the November ballot is unclear. One applicant to the county, Lester R. Smith, has said he intends to run as a Republican. Warren County Republican Executive Committee members will meet privately Monday to consider endorsing his candidacy, chairman Karoline Finch said late Friday.
Democratic officials met Friday night in Warren County Circuit Court with six of eight people who applied for the party’s blessing. Naylor won the choice of the committee over W.H. Jefferson Funeral Home Director James E. Jefferson Jr.
Naylor touted his law enforcement credentials as his primary asset for the job of serving justice court papers and assured the panel he would not be distracted from either job.
“I wouldn’t jeopardize this job or my (VPD) job by putting one in front of the other,” Naylor said.
As for Naylor’s chances before the county board, Board President Richard George indicated the choice will not come without discussion because two supervisors were unavailable to take part in interviews with Naylor and Jefferson. The board chose not to interview the other eight of its 10 applicants, seven of whom also applied to the Democratic party.
“I’m certain there will be discussion,” George said. “We had two fine candidates.”
All eight of the local Democratic party’s applicants were invited to interviews, but they could only reach six, chairman Mary Katherine Brown said.
“We felt it was inappropriate to exclude people from the interview process,” Brown said. “We were obliged to keep our process open and as fair as possible.”
Also submitting applications to the party were former District 2 supervisor candidate Michael Gates, former U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employees Karen Magruder and Anthony Gibson, the Rev. Roosevelt Mitchell, Mose Hearron Sr. and Kelvin Mixon.
If elected in November, Naylor would follow another Vicksburg police officer in the job.
First-term incumbent constable Rudolph Walker resigned in July but did not resign from his candidacy in the Democratic primary election, creating the unusual arrangement between the party and the county. County officials solicited applications at the advice of the Secretary of State’s Office, but notified the party it must make a selection to replace Walker as its nominee. Walker was unopposed in the Aug. 7 primary and received 1,344 votes.
Walker, himself a 31-year veteran of the Vicksburg Police Department, said just before the primary he was leaving office because of medical problems from a traffic accident in January 2006. A lawsuit is pending in federal court against the city, which fired him in April saying his medical leave and other benefits expired.
The central district covers parts of 10 precincts, eight of which are in Vicksburg city limits.