Nothing changed in Clarksdale following Tuesday’s city election.
All four incumbent commissioners defeated their challengers and maintained their posts on the Clarksdale Board of Mayor and Commissioners.
Tuesday’s municipal election saw 2,296 ballots cast from the approximately 9,000 registered voters living in the city limits.
The following candidates won the Democratic Primary and there will be no runoff: Ward 1 Bo Plunk, Ward 2 Ken Murphey, Ward 3 Willie Turner, and Ward 4 Ed Seals. Candidates had to win the primary by 50-percent plus one vote.
There was no qualified candidate running against incumbent Mayor Chuck Espy in the Democratic primary. Espy will face Independent candidate Cassandra Wilson in June.
Democratic mayoral challenger Scotty Meredith did not qualify to run in Tuesday’s election and he has appealed both the Clarksdale Democratic Executive Committee and a Coahoma County Circuit Court ruling to that effect to the Mississippi Supreme Court.
“The election went real smooth,” said City Clerk Cathy Clark, who is charged maintaining election paperwork. “It was a light turnout.”
Clark did say a new election law will allow ballots postmarked April 5 to be counted if any come to City Hall over the next five days.
Democratic Executive Committee Chairman Norvell Gooden said COVID-19 did prompt some regular poll workers to not work Tuesday’s election.
“We pulled together resources and got experienced workers from the Presidential race,” said Gooden. “Most of those came from the county side.”
Gooden also said the race went smoothly. Tentative but not final numbers were made public at 8:37 p.m.
The following are preliminary Clarksdale Democratic Primary election results listed by ward, name, votes cast, percentage, ballots cast, absentee ballots:
WARD 1
(Lee Dr. Fire Station)
Bo Plunk – 345 (58-percent) 327 ballots, 18 absentee.
Ray Sykes – 246 (42-percent) 245 ballots, 1 absentee.
WARD 2
(City Auditorium)
Ken Murphey – 550 (74-percent) 505 ballots, 45 absentee.
George Hines – 185 (25-percent) 183 ballots, 2 absentee.
Jeff Simmons – 4 (1-percent) 4 ballots, 0 absentee.
WARD 3
(Expo Center)
Willie Turner – 276 (64-percent) 264 ballots, 12 absentee.
Buster Moton – 152 (36-percent) 144 ballots, 8 absentee.
WARD 4
(National Guard)
Ed Seals – 307 (57-percent) 301 ballots, 6 absentee.
Greg Hoskins – 231 (43-percent) 227 ballots, 4 absentee.
This spring’s Clarksdale Municipal Election were conducted by the city. Ballot counting was handled by the Clarksdale Democratic Committee who also tallied numbers.
Primary elections, which have traditionally been held in June, were held Tuesday, April 6 this year. The General Election will be held Tuesday, June 8.
The Mayor of Clarksdale is paid $86,421 a year, plus expenses. Commissioners get $26,650 annually, plus expenses.
To run for a City of Clarksdale office, the candidate must be a qualified voter and not have been convicted of certain crimes or misdemeanors.
Questions or concerns about voting issues, policy and procedure for any election should be directed to the Secretary of State’s office at (601) 359-1350.
State law says anyone who seeks to influence the vote of any person by absentee ballot or offers anything of value for a vote, or destroys absentee ballots can be charged with voter fraud and upon conviction be fined not less than $500 and not more than $5,000 and be sentenced from one to five years in the state penitentiary, or both. The statute also includes those who offer to submit a ballot for something of value.
Questions or concerns about candidate qualifications, ethics and conduct while in office should be directed to the Attorney General’s Public Integrity Division at (601) 359-4258.
Qualifications vary from office to office but the main requirements to be a candidate for public office are to be a resident and qualified voter from the ward, district or county they plan to represent. Candidates may not have been convicted of a federal crime or certain Mississippi crimes defined as felonies punishable by incarceration in a state penitentiary, unless they have received a full pardon. They also may not be convicted of a crime in another state that is considered a felony under Mississippi law.
Candidates cannot have been legally declared mentally incompetent.
Candidates must fill out a statement of economic interest online within 15 days of qualifying with the Secretary of State and routinely throughout the year. The most recent campaign finance report deadline was March 30 with the next deadlines April 20 and June 1 for any contribution over $200. Failure to file these reports can result in fines and possible removal from office.
For additional voter information, visit yallvote.ms.
