Mike Caruthers has announced his candidacy for the position of Warren County tax assessor.

He will oppose Democrat Angela Brown and independents Ben Luckett and Doug Tanner in the general election Nov. 8, seeking to fill the position becoming vacant with the retirement of Richard Holland.

Caruthers, 56, has owned and operated Caruthers Marine for 36 years.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and criminal justice and has studied at the University of London.

He is a life-long member of Crawford Street United Methodist Church, a 32nd-degree Mason and has been a chairman of Ducks Unlimited, a YMCA football coach, a member of the United Way Cannon Club and was secretary-treasurer of the Warren County Airport Authority for five years. He is a member of the Vicksburg Kiwanis and has been a lifetime member of the University of Southern Mississippi Alumni since 1978.

“My business speaks for my experience,” Caruthers wrote in a press release. “For the last 36 years, I have appraised and assessed personal property in day-to-day operations. I’ve worked as a team player and as a coach. It’s much harder to be a leader than a player.”

Caruthers said he pledges to Warren County property owners that he will have a strong staff, be informative about property values, have an open-door policy and not have automatic increases in assessments.

A life-long resident of Warren County, Caruthers and his wife, Wanda, have two sons, Rusty and Josh Geter.