(Editor’s note: At presstime, Panola Circuit Clerk Melissa Meek-Phelps confirmed that she is seeking re-election to the post she now holds.)

By John Howell
Candidates who will seek state, county and district offices in Mississippi’s 2015 election cycle have until 5 p.m. Friday, February 27 to qualify for office.

That includes candidates for party primaries and independents for elected offices from governor all the way to constable.

In Panola County, it was Second Court District Constable Raye Hawkins who first qualified on Monday at the Batesville office of Circuit Clerk Melissa Meek-Phelps. In Sardis, James Birge was the first to qualify for re-election.

Hawkins is seeking re-election to the constable’s post he was first elected to in 1998.
Birge is seeking re-election to the post of Supervisor, District One, a seat he has held since 1999.

Both qualified for the Democratic Party Primary Election on Tuesday, August 4.

Both incumbent state representatives now serving Panola County have also indicated they will seek re-election. Nolan Mettetal serves District 10, and Lataisha Jackson serves District 11.

Two of three incumbent state senators whose districts will include portions of Panola County, starting with 2015 election, have indicated they are seeking re-election.
Tollison

Senator Gray Tollison’s Senate District Nine will include all of Lafayette County plus seven Panola precincts — Pleasant Mount, East Sardis, Cole’s Point, Cold Springs, North Batesville A, East Batesville and Batesville 3.

Tollison, a Republican, is seeking re-election to the post he has held since 1996. Tollison practices law in Oxford in addition to his legislative duties. He is chair of the Education Committee, vice chair of the Executive Contingent Fund Committee and also serves on the Constitution, Finance, Judiciary B, Public Health and Welfare, Rules, Universities and Colleges and Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Committees.

Jackson
Senator Robert L. Jackson’s District 11 will include Panola precincts Como, Longtown, Crenshaw, West Sardis, Pleasant Grove, South Sardis, Macedonia-Concord, Curtis, North Batesville B, Enon, Tocowa and Courtland in the redistricting that becomes effective this year. District 11 also includes all precincts of Quitman and Tunica Counties and six Coahoma County precincts.

At presstime The Panolian had been unable to contact Jackson to confirm his 2015 political plans, but he has been widely thought to be seeking re-election to the post he has held since 2004. A Democrat and community development practitioner, Jackson chairs the Executive Contingency Fund Committee. He is vice-chair of the Labor Committee and serves on the Agriculture, Appropriations, Business and Financial Institutions, Energy, Ports and Marine Resources and Public Property Committees.

Chassiniol
Senator Lydia Graves Chassiniol is seeking re-election to Senate District 14 which, with legislative reapportionment, will become the most geographically disbursed district in the state.
The Pope, Eureka and South Springport precincts in Panola County are included in District 14 along with precincts that include portions of Tallahatchie, Yalobusha, Grenada, Montgomery, Attala and LeFlore Counties along with all precincts of Carroll County.

A Winona restaurant owner, Chassiniol, a Republican, has served in the Senate since 2007.
“I am chair of the Senate’s Tourism Committee and view this as an important part of the state’s economic development picture,” Chassiniol stated in an e-mail confirming that she is seeking re-election to the District 14 Senate post. She is also vice-chair of the Corrections Committee and serves on the Agriculture, Drug Policy, Elections, Ethics, Finance, Investigative State Offices and Municipalities Committees.