By Billy Davis

Despite being grilled in April over their allegiance to the Democratic Party, 32 candidates have been certified to run for county offices in the August 2 party primary.

All Panola candidates who qualified as a Democrat have been certified to seek office, said Mack Dandridge, spokesman for the Panola County Democratic Executive Committee.

Candidates were notified of their certification in a letter mailed in late May from Rufus Manley, chairman of the Executive Committee.

The names of 32 Democrat candidates were listed on page two of the letter.

Panola’s county races also include five Republican candidates and nine who qualified as independents, the most ever to qualify as Republicans and independents for sheriff, supervisor, and other offices.  

The Panolian reported in May that some Democratic candidates cried foul after the Executive Committee questioned them about past votes cast in Republican primaries.

Mississippi has open primaries, which allow voters to cast a ballot in the party primary of their choice.

“They asked me why I voted for Republicans. I told them because I’m conservative,” Kelly Morris, a District 4 supervisor, told The Panolian last month.

Brad Baker, who is running for tax assessor/collector, also complained after he was questioned about voting in a Republican presidential primary in 2008.   

The questioning took place at the county courthouse in Batesville, where Democratic candidates had been summoned by letter to attend a meeting before the Executive Committee.

Batesville attorney Mona Pittman, whom candidates said led the meeting, told The Panolian at the time that Democrat candidates are required to pledge their support for Democrat nominees.  

Pittman, who is herself seeking the District 10 state senate seat, serves as secretary for the Mississippi Democratic Party.

Manley told The Panolian that candidates were asked to prove their qualifications, such as being a U.S. citizen.

Travis Brock, who heads the Mississippi Democratic Party, agreed that the questioning fell in line with requirements from state Democrats.

“It’s not an uncommon practice to vet candidates’ primary voting history to ensure they’re running under the banner of the political party and that they do in fact represent that party,” Brock said.

Asked if the Mississippi Democratic Party has a written policy for county committees to scrutinize candidates, he said, “That’s not specifically spelled out.”

Brock, asked about any punishment for candidates, pointed out that the county executive committee has the authority to refuse to certify a candidate seeking to run as Democrat.

Panola County’s Republican Party also urges people to support Republican candidates, “but we don’t chastise or admonish anybody,” said Calvin Land.

Land chaired the Republican Executive Committee until he stepped down to run for tax collector/assessor.

“We want them to support Republicans, of course,” Land said. “But it’s more like we say, when they vote the other, ‘Told you so.’”

Tim Saler, who heads the Mississippi Republican Party, claimed questioning in Panola County mirrored an effort by state Democrats in 2007, when the state tried to “purge” conservative legislators from the Democratic Party.

“Frankly I’m not that surprised to hear that what happened at the state level has trickled down to the county level,” said Saler.

Asked about the so-called “purging” in 2007, Brock noted that he only became executive director of the Mississippi Democratic Party in March of this year.

Brock said the state Democratic Party wants elected Democrats to “share the values of Mississippi voters,” namely by supporting education and job creation.  

“It’s a free country,” said Land. “I’m glad we have a two-party system. It’s still the best system in the world.”