Ward 2 Commissioner Jimmy Harris won his race out-right but other Clarksdale commissioners and candidates for mayor will head to an April 22 run-off election.
The Democratic Primary saw a sizable turnout with polls busy most the day. Election officials said about 250 absentee and affidavit ballots were cast city wide and they are included in the numbers in this article.
The Clarksdale Press Register will publish a final recapulation sheet next week with ballots cast on election day and also absentee and affidavit ballot numbers that will be sent to the Secretary of State’ office next week.
Clarksdale had 9,005 registered voters as of this election, with 5,979 – or 66.4-percent – of eligible voters casting a ballot.
Clarksdale had a population of 13,850 as of July 2024. That number is down from 14,890 in April 2020.
Mayoral elections tend to bring out the vote and Tuesday’s numbers reflect that.
Current Mayor Chuck Espy and long-time Ward 4 Comissioner Ed Seals are not seeking re-election.
Clarksdale pays some of the highest salaries for city elected officials and that also prompted a number of candidates to get in this year’s city races.
The Clarksdale Mayor has a current salary of $122,421.92 per year and Commissioners are paid $46,650 per year. Both Mayor and Commissioners get a monthly mileage and travel expense plus a home office expense, despite having office space at City Hall.
The annual compensation for Mayor went from $86,421 to $122,421.92 and Commissioner went from $26,650 to $46,650 on the city first meeting following their election in June 2021.
State law allows retirement to be based on the top four years of pay in the Mississippi Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) that is not able to sustain itself. City, county, school and all state employees qualify for PERS and must be at state employee to be fully vested.
Election officials said there were no major problems in Tuesday’s election. The Clarksdale Press Register got calls of candidates being within 150-feet of polling place doors and reported them to election officials.
Races and Totals, in alphabetical order are:
(Candidates advancing to a runoff are in BOLD)
MAYOR
• Bill Gresham – 309
• Gregory Hoskins - 355
• Charles Jones - 187
• Bubba O’Keefe -815
• Orlando Paden - 728
• Henry Smith Jr. - 264
• Mark Webb -337
Ward 1
• Willie Dawson Jr.- 23
• Bradford Fair - 138
• Bo Plunk - 353
• Ray Sykes - 234
Ward 2
• Phillip Davis - 150
• Jimmy Harris - 669
• Martin Strong - 101
Ward 3
• Eddie Earl - 195
• Crystal Hardmon - 6
• Buster Moton - 182
• Willie Turner - 223
Ward 4
• Frank Anthony - 54
• Linda Downing - 282
• Lekitha Y. Hill - 50
• Kim Seals - 210
• Jordan Sledge - 114
State law says candidates were to submit their first campaign finance report listing donor contributions and expenditures to the City Clerk by March 25, a second one by April 25 and a final one July 27. Campaign Finance reports are public record and failure to file can result in $50 fines accruing daily and the State Attorney General shall file suit and prosecute the delinquent candidate and appropriate political committee.
Mississippi Code § 23-15-811 states that persons who fail to file campaign finance disclosures “shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine in a sum not to exceed Three Thousand Dollars ($3,000.00) or imprisoned for not longer than six (6) months or by both fine and imprisonment.”
The statute goes on to note that, “No candidate who is elected to office shall receive any salary or other remuneration for the office until he or she files all reports required by this article that are due as of the date the salary or remuneration is payable.”
The law also disqualifies a candidate who has not filed campaign finance reports from the ballot.
Candidates for city office must also clear up any outstanding fines, taxes or warrants from the municipalities they represent.
All candidates must be qualified voters of the city or ward they represent and must not have been convicted of certain felonies that resulted in incarceration, unless they have received a full pardon from the State of Mississippi. Candidates who have been pardoned must present that proof to their respective party and the City Clerk to qualify. Convicted felons wishing to receive a pardon must wait seven years before having their voting rights restored.
Candidates must also have lived in the city or ward they represent for the past two years and be able to prove that fact through voter registration rolls, Mississippi driver’s license or homestead exemption. Fraudulent filing of homestead exemption is a federal tax offense.
Candidates cannot have been legally declared mentally incompetent.
