Qualifying Starts Monday For City Positions

WATER VALLEY – Starting Monday candidates in most Mississippi cities and towns including Water Valley, Coffeeville and Oakland can begin qualifying to seek municipal offices. The qualifying period for mayor and aldermen positions runs from Jan. 4 until February 5.
Candidates who plan to run with a party identification must submit qualifying papers to the city clerk’s office and pay a $10 fee. Candidates who plan without a party affiliation as an independent must submit a qualifying statement of intent to the city clerk’s office along with a qualifying petition signed by at least 50 registered voters of the municipality or ward from which the candidate seeks office.
The party primaries are scheduled on Tuesday, April 6, and primary runoffs, if needed, are scheduled on Tuesday, April 27. The general election is scheduled Tuesday, June 8. The new four-year terms will start on July 1.
According to the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office, candidates must meet the following requirements:
• Qualified elector of the State of Mississippi and in the municipality/ward of the office for which the candidate seeks election.
• Resident of the municipality that he or she seeks to represent for two years immediately preceding the day of the election.
• Never have been convicted of bribery, perjury or other infamous crime, being defined as a crime punishable by a minimum of one year confinement in the state penitentiary, unless pardoned for the offense.
• Never have been convicted of a felony in a court of Mississippi or, of a felony in a federal court, or of a crime in the court of another state which is a felony under the laws of Mississippi, on or after December 8, 1992; excluding, however, a conviction of manslaughter or a violation of the United States Internal Revenue Code or any violation of the tax laws of Mississippi, unless the offense also involved the misuse or abuse of an office or money coming into a candidate’s hands by virtue of an office.