Six incumbents get jump on re-election
Published 8:31 am Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Six incumbents elected countywide were the first to qualify for this year’s local elections.
County Prosecutor Ricky Johnson, Chancery Clerk Donna Hardy and Tax Assessor Angela Brown, justice court judges Eddie Woods and James Jefferson, and District 3 Supervisor Charles Selmon filed qualifying papers to run for re-election Monday and Tuesday. Qualifying ends Feb. 27 for statewide, district and county-level offices across Mississippi.
Primaries are Aug. 4 and the general election is Nov. 3.
Johnson, an independent, seeks a fourth term in charge of prosecuting misdemeanor cases in justice and county courts. The job also handles criminal appeals to circuit court from county court. Hardy, a Republican, is seeking her second term as clerk of the chancery court system. The job also functions as clerk for the Board of Supervisors, custodian of all land records and collector of taxes after properties are sold at tax sale. Brown, a Democrat, seeks her second term as assessor, an office that also keeps records of all maps and plats of the county.
Woods, first elected northern district justice court judge in 2003, would face voters for the second time in a year, having lost a race for circuit judge in November to incumbent judge Jim Chaney. Selmon, a Democrat, has represented the central Vicksburg district on the county board since 1995. Jefferson, owner of W.H. Jefferson Funeral Home, first won the central district judicial seat in a 2010 special election.
In addition to 24 county and district races, eight statewide offices appear on Warren County ballots this year, including governor and lieutenant governor. Two multicounty district races on the ballot this year are for the Public Service Commission and Transportation Commission. Each elect northern, central and southern district commissioners.