Sheriff’s Race Is Up To Four
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WATER VALLEY – A fourth candidate has submitted qualifying paperwork to run in the special election for Yalobusha County Sheriff. Roger Pollan turned in his paperwork Monday to the circuit clerk’s office, joining Brent Anderson, Luther G. Folson and Jerimaine Gooch in the race for the badge. The special election was triggered by the August 9, 2020 death of Sheriff Mark D. Fulco.
Pollan’s entry into the race marks his second run for the county’s top elected law enforcement position following an unsuccessful bid in the Democratic Primary election in 2019. He placed third in a field of five candidates in that race, trailing Folson and Lance Humphreys.
Anderson was first to qualify for the special election, turning in paperwork back in January. He was formerly elected First District Constable in 2011 and served until 2014, when he resigned.
Folson also qualified in January, marking his fourth time to run for sheriff. He ran unsuccessfully in 2011 and 2015. In 2019, he led the ticket in the Democratic Primary and runoff, securing the Democratic nomination. Folson lost to Fulco by four votes in the 2019 General Election, spawning a legal battle that was ultimately settled by the Mississippi Supreme Court with a new election in two of the county’s precincts. Fulco was the top vote-getter in the new election, and served from January until his death in August.
Gooch currently serves as sheriff after he was appointed by the Yalobusha County Board of Supervisors after Fulco’s death. Gooch has worked at the sheriff’s department since 2004, starting as a deputy. He served as chief deputy under Fulco.
Candidates must pay a $100 filing fee and obtain 50 signatures from registered voters in the county to qualify. The qualifying deadline is Sept. 8, and the special election is scheduled Nov. 8, the same date as the General Election in the state. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast, a runoff will follow on Nov. 29. The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of the four-year term that extends through the end of 2023.
The campaign cycle will not end if the winner of the special election decides to seek a four-year term. Although the winner will serve 13 months to fulfill the remainder of the current term, qualifying for the 2024-2027 term will start in January, 2023, less than two months after the special election.