Voters stayed home during last election, says challenger
By Billy Davis
Voters in Panola County’s District 2 – at least a portion of them – will return to the polls in one week to cast a ballot in a run-off election.
In the runoff, challenger William Pride is attempting to unseat Supervisor Vernice Avant.
The special election came after the death last year of longtime Supervisor Robert Avant.
Mrs. Avant was appointed to her late husband’s seat.
Mrs. Avant outpaced five challengers in a special election on November 3, finishing first with 43 percent of 1,347 votes cast.
She also won at five of six precincts (The Panolian has erroneously reported she won all six; Pride won at Pleasant Grove).
Avant’s vote total represented an impressive win, but it was too little to prevent the coming runoff.
Pride, asked if the election results showed voters were happy with Avant, replied that that only one-third of them cast a ballot on November 3.
“You’ve got 3,800 voters here in District 2. She only got 614 of that 3,800,” Pride said in a question-and-answer interview (see stories, page A1).
Reaching those non-committed voters is a must, Pride said.
Pride, who lives in the Curtis community, owns longtime car dealership Pride Hyundai in Batesville.
Avant oversees an adult day care center in Crenshaw. She is from Longtown.
In the interviews, Mrs. Avant gave brief answers to a reporter’s questions. Pride spoke much longer. Both candidates took pokes at each other.
“My opponent hasn’t done anything but just fill in for 14 months,” Pride said, drawing a comparison between his resume and that of Mrs. Avant.
Mrs. Avant, asked what separates her from Pride, responded that she is “open-minded” and said she wants “the entire county to grow, not just one end.”