Qualifying Begins For May’s City Election

WATER VALLEY – Two more candidates have qualified for the May 5 Primary Election, according to City Clerk Vivian Snider. Mayor Bill Norris had already filed his qualifying fee and statement of intent.

    Waymond White filed his statement of intent and paid the qualifying fee Tuesday to run for the position of Alderman in Ward Two.

    Incumbent Ward One Alderman Charles Harris filed after the city board meeting last Friday. Harris had already indicated his intention to run again for the post.

    The deadline to qualify for mayor, alderman-at-large, or alderman for one of the city’s four wards is March 6, just five weeks away.

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(from  January 15)

By Jack Gurner
Reporter

WATER VALLEY – The dust is just now settling from the November national elections and Mississippians are about to face a whole new group of campaigners.

The Primary Election for municipalities will be held May 5 and the General Election on June 2. Candidates for mayor, alderman-at-large and aldermen of the city’s four wards must qualify to run by March 6, just seven week away.

As of now, only Mayor Bill Norris has filed his qualifying fee and statement of intent. “There are still many more plans that I have for the city of Water Valley,” Norris said.

Among the current office holders who will be running is Ward One Alderman Charles Harris, who is seeking his sixth term. “Right now I plan to run,” Harris said.

So will Ward Two Alderman Fred White who will be seeking his sixth full term. He took over the position in 1987 after James Nicholson Jr. resigned to take the position of Beat Two Supervisor. “I plan to run again,” White said.

Among those who are not ready to commit is Alderman-at-Large Lance Clement, who is serving his first term.” I haven’t decided yet,” he said.

Also uncommitted is Ward Four Alderman Sherry Martin who is serving her fourth full term. She was elected late in 1992 to fill the term of Bill Norris, who resigned. “I haven’t decided,” she said.

Two-term Ward Three Alderman Tommy Swearengen, who has been ill, is not seeking reelection, “I’m not going to run,” he said.

Although there are several possible candidates who have expressed an interest in running for one of the city offices, the name of former mayor Larry Hart comes up most often in political discussions. Hart, who served three terms as mayor and one as alderman told the Herald, “I’m seriously considering running for mayor.”

Qualifying

To qualify for the city election a political party candidate much pay the $10 filing fee and file a statement of intent by the March 6 deadline, according to City Clerk Vivian Snider. “If they are running as independent, they must have 50 signatures of registered voters,” Snider said. Independent candidates don’t pay the filing fee.

All candidates must meet the following additional requirements to qualify for office:

• Qualified elector (registered voter) of the State of Mississippi in the municipality of the office for which the candidate seeks election.

• Never have been convicted of a crime punishable by confinement in the penitentiary (unless the candidate received a full pardon).

• Never have been convicted of a felony in federal court, or a felony in the court of another state, as provided in Section 44 of the Mississippi Constitution.

In addition, the Herald is asking all candidates for city office to sign the Mississippi Center for Freedom of Information pledge to adhere to the provisions of the Open Meetings Act and Public Records Act.

The open government pledge reads as follows:

As a candidate for public office in the city of Water Valley, Mississippi, I hereby pledge my dedication to the principles of open government. Specifically, I recognize that the holding of public office in a representative democracy is a public trust. I therefore pledge to abide by the provisions of the Mississippi Open Meetings Law (Miss. Code Ann. 25-41-1 et seq.) and the Mississippi Public Records Act (Miss. Code Ann. 25-61-1 et seq.) when carrying out my duties as a public servant. Further, if elected, I pledge to promote openness at all levels of the city administration through the understanding of and compliance with the state open meetings and open records laws.

Additional information about the upcoming elections and qualifying to run for office is available on the website of Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann at: http://www.sos.state.ms.us/.