Troy Kimble, who said he plans to run for North Ward Alderman, has resigned from the Vicksburg police department after almost 15 years in the department to seek the seat now held by incumbent Alderman Michael Mayfield.

Kimble submitted his resignation from the department Wednesday. He joined the police department in July 2005 and was a lieutenant in investigations when he resigned. He plans to qualify for the election in February.

Kimble said he is not running against Mayfield or deputy city clerk John Carroll, who qualified last week for the seat.

“I actually respect both those men,” he said. “Mike Mayfield has been an icon in politics over two decades here with his family, and John Carroll is an upstanding employee of the city and a minister, so I don’t see having any problems. I see it as being a race to where the best man wins.

“I’m running for the things that need to be done in the ward. There’s a good job done, but I think we can do a better job.”

Kimble said some of the issues he sees in the North Ward race are progress and equality in the ward. “What I mean by equality in the North Ward, there are some standards that are acceptable in one side of the ward that are not acceptable in the other. We want to make sure we give everybody the same quality of life,” he said.

Also, Kimble said, he hasn’t seen evidence showing progression in the ward, and the concerns of the citizens “I don’t feel, have been completely met.”

“I just want to be a conduit for those constituents to city government, not my personal belief, not my personal benefits, but to making the right decisions that benefit the entire area,” he said.

“I was born and raised in Vicksburg, and I’m a product of the North Ward. I’m a product of the Fuzzy Johnson Baseball League and all the programs that were in place. I grew up in Vicksburg. I moved away and I came back for personal reasons. I decided to stay.”

Other people, he said, have moved from he city and not returned.

“Our population hasn’t grown; we’re stagnant in population, and I have two young daughters I’m raising, and I want them to be able, for their future and the future of other kids growing up in that ward to be able to say, ‘Hey, I have something I’m proud of; I have something I can look forward to in the future, a productive future for me.

‘Once I go to school and comeback, I want to come back and be a part of making Vicksburg and keeping Vicksburg a good place to live, and making sure everybody in the ward has the same opportunity.’”

Kimble said he plans to run a campaign that will stay away from personal attacks.

“There’s not going to be any mudslinging,” he said. “I believe in honor and integrity, and I’m not taking anything away from the other candidates. I plan to take the high road on everything. I’ll allow my actual service and what I’ve done and my integrity to stand for all to see.”