Election battles taking shape in DeSoto
The filing period for municipal elections in Mississippi came to a close Friday afternoon with no huge surprises, setting the stage for municipal primary elections throughout DeSoto County on May 2.
Incumbent mayors in all five DeSoto municipalities are seeking re-election, and the three who face opposition — Scott Phillips in Olive Branch and Patti Denison in Walls don’t — would have to be considered favorites. The added pull of the incumbency, in fact, prompted a lawsuit in Southaven by Republican candidate Tommy A. Henley. He said the city’s sign regulations, as they relate to campaign signs, make an uphill battle against an incumbent with greater name recognition even more formidable. The city temporarily suspended its regulations on political signs in response to the suit, and it’ll be interesting to see how much Henley blames things on the sign dispute if his bid falls short.
Henley is challenging incumbent Darren Musselwhite, who won a first term four years ago when he unseated Greg Davis as Davis was facing assorted legal issues. The third candidate in the GOP primary for Southaven mayor is James Weifenbach.
Chip Johnson is seeking another term as Hernando mayor and, like Musselwhite, only has to defeat a Republican challenger to win re-election barring the virtually non-existent chance of a writein candidate winning the general election. Johnson faces N.C. Tom Ferguson Jr.
In the county’s only other contested mayoral race, Horn Lake Mayor Allen Latimer faces Michael Guice in the Republican primary and has no Democratic opposition.
It’s also refreshing to see the number of women on DeSoto County municipal ballots. Elected representation in both county and city governments is still mainly white men, but more than a dozen women incumbents and challengers also are on this year’s ballots. SCHOOL FUNDING We didn’t find out in time to mention this in last week’s column, but word has come from Jackson that the DeSoto County school system will be a big loser as a result of a new round of state budget cuts.
DeSoto County Schools, the state’s largest district, is set to lose more than $700,000 in state funding in the spring because of the cuts. It’s the largest loss in dollars by any district in the state, with only the Jackson school system coming close. It is also the second time in as many years that the district has had to absorb a large cut in state funding during the school year. The district lost more than $600,000 in spring 2016, presenting a major challenge to DeSoto Supt. Cory Uselton and school board members. SCAM ALERT Warning to grandparents — scammers may be playing on your emotions.
State Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley warns of a new telephone scam making the rounds that targets grandparents. According to Presley, constituents have reported calls from someone telling them a grandchild had been involved in an accident or is in trouble and needs money.
Presley advises anyone receiving such a call to report it to the Federal Trade Commission at 877-382-4357. For more contact the PSC at 1-800-637-7722.