GOP looks to gain ground in municipal races

The city of Starkville has never had a Republican mayor, which won’t change in 2017.

However, local GOP leaders are looking to hold the ground they still occupy, while attempting to unseat incumbents in several Board of Aldermen races.

Marnita Henderson, chairwoman of the Oktibbeha County Republican Party’s executive committee, told the SDN on Wednesday that low voter turnout has been a consistent problem in the past, but something the party hopes to remedy in the races for Wards 1, 2, 4 and 7.

The task may seem Herculean in practice, but Henderson is confident that high voter turnout could mean positive results for local Republicans.

“Just everyone please vote, we need a big turnout in Starkville,” Henderson said. “It’s been quoted as one out of six voting. We hope to get one out of two this time.”

Henderson ran for mayor of Starkville as a Republican eight years ago, ultimately losing to current Mayor Parker Wiseman in his first bid for the office. She finished with 41.5 percent of the vote - a total that is strong in comparison to past Republican attempts for the city’s highest office.

The deadline for primary pre-election campaign fi-

nance reports was Tuesday, with the Oktibbeha County GOP reporting $600 doled out in non-itemized contributions from Jan. 1, 2017 to the deadline date. In total, the party’s executive committee reported $10,222.62 in cash on hand.

Republican aldermen currently occupy three of the seven seats on the board, with incumbent Ward 1 Aldermen Ben Carver facing off against Republican challenger Jason Camp in the May 2 primary.

Ward 3 Alderman David Little is running unopposed as a Republican and will help maintain the minority GOP presence in city hall.

Despite having a lock on Ward 3, local GOP leaders recently lost all hope in keeping a Republican in the Ward 5 seat for the next term, with Republican candidate Chase Neal opting to withdraw from the race earlier this week.

The two remaining candidates in the Ward 5 race - Kayla Gilmore and Patrick Miller - are both Democrats.

Current Ward 5 Alderman Scott Maynard - one of the three Republicans currently on the board - chose not to seek re-election. With Maynard stepping away from the board and Ben Carver facing a primary and general election, Republicans only have one seat guaranteed on the board for the next term.

Outgoing Democratic Mayor Parker Wiseman, who chose not to seek re-election, will be replaced by one of the three Democrats competing in the mayoral race. Henderson said there have been several Republicans come close to winning the mayoral race in the past - including herself - but the office remains unchartered territory for local GOP leaders. This year proved no exception to the long-standing tradition, with no Republicans qualifying for the mayoral race.

The mayor also represents the tie-breaking vote for the board when necessary, which stacks the box even more in favor of Democratic leadership in city hall.

Henderson said while the county GOP may only have one alderman race to watch in the primary, it is still excited for the possibilities ahead.

“For people for who live in Ward 1, they will have to make a choice about voting in the mayor’s race and alderman race,” she said. “Because the alderman race is Republican and all the mayor candidates are Democrat.”

Ahead of the June 6 General Election, GOP leaders will seek to maintain the party’s spot in Ward 1, while trying to unseat several incumbents.

Republican Jesse Carver brother of Ward 1 Republican incumbent Ben Carver - will try to defeat Independent Ward 2 incumbent Lisa Wynn and Democratic challenger Sandra Sistrunk, who previously served on the board from 2009 to 2013.

“We hope people get out and vote but people do need to make a choice as to which they want to vote in,” Henderson said.

In Ward 4, transmission shop owner Pete Ledlow represents the GOP opposition in the effort to unseat Democratic incumbent Jason Walker in the June 6 General Election. Walker is vying for his second term on the board.

The Ward 7 race will also likely be decided in the June 6 General Election, with Republican and political newcomer Roben Dawkins - a senior pilot at Mississippi State University - looking to defeat incumbent Henry N. Vaughn, Sr.

Before welcoming the prospect of defeating his conservative challenger, Vaughn will also have to face Margaret Ann Moore in the Democratic primary on May 2.

Henderson said following the May 2 primary, efforts will be ramped up in an attempt to get more Republicans in city hall.

“After our May 2 primary is over, we are going to be hitting the streets campaigning, looking forward to the June General Election,” Henderson said.

Candidates running in the primaries were required on Tuesday to file campaign finance reports by the April 25 deadline.

The primary pre-runoff campaign finance report deadline is slated for Tuesday, May 9, while the pre-election campaign finance reports deadline is set for Tuesday, May 30.