Qualifying continues through Feb. 1
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Two investigators with the Jones County Sheriff’s Department are running for sheriff — but not in Jones County.
Abraham McKenzie, who lives in Shubuta, is running for sheriff of Clarke County, and Wesley Waites is running for sheriff of Wayne County, where he resides.
Greg “Red” Dickerson of Ellisville and Kim Knight of Laurel joined ex-JCSD deputy Scott Paxson in the race for circuit clerk of Jones County. All qualified as Republicans.
It’s still a four-man race, so far, for sheriff of Jones County — incumbent Joe Berlin and three-term predecessor Alex Hodge qualified as Independents, and Macon Davis and Michael Reaves of the Laurel Police Department qualified as Republicans.
A former JCSD investigator, Scott Gable, filed qualifying papers to run for Beat 1 Supervisor, along with Barry Dunagin, to challenge longtime incumbent Johnny Burnett. All qualified as Republicans.
Former sheriff and current Beat 2 Supervisor Larry Dykes also picked up a Republican challenger, David Miller of Soso. Beat 4 Republican Supervisor David Scruggs also had an opponent file — Joey Bradshaw of Ellisville. Beat 3 Supervisor Phil Dickerson (Republican) and Beat 5 Supervisor Travares Comegys (Democrat) are unopposed so far.
JCSD reserve deputy Joey Davis qualified to run against incumbent District 3 Constable David Livingston. Both are running as Republicans.
Sgt. Jake Driskell of the JCSD Narcotics Division is the lone qualifier for District 1 Constable, and incumbent District 2 Constable Danny Gibson is being challenged by Larry Strickland, the man he beat to get the job in the last election. All are qualified as Republicans.
Coroner Burl Hall of Ellisville also has a Republican challenger, Zachary Rowell of Ovett.
In the justice court races, only the incumbents have qualified so far — Grant Hedgepeth (District 1), Sonny Saul (District 2) and David Lyons (District 3). Circuit Clerk Concetta Brooks is the only qualifier for chancery clerk and Tina Gatlin Byrd is the only one in the tax collector/assessor race. Both are running as Republicans, as are Risher Caves (county attorney) and Harvey Saul (county surveyor).
Party primaries are set for Aug. 8 and the general election is Nov. 7. Qualifying will conclude at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 1.
The filing fee for all county offices is $100. Those who plan to run as an Independent, instead of Democrat or Republican, will have to provide signatures of 15 to 50 registered voters — depending on whether it’s a district or county-wide office — to go along with the other qualifications of each office. Because of that extra requirement, those who plan to run Independent need to turn in their paperwork well ahead of the deadline, Brooks said.
All county elected offices — including Beat 2 and Beat 4 election commissioner — will be on ballots.
The Jones County District Attorney — which is a state office — along with local lawmakers’ seats in the state House and Senate will also be on ballots along with the top elected offices in state government — governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, state auditor, treasurer, commissioner of agriculture/commerce, commissioner of insurance, public service commissioner and transportation commissioner.
Incumbent Auditor Shad White, a Sandersville native, filed qualifying papers this week to seek another term in that office.
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