There are seven countywide races. District Attorney, County Attorney, and Chancery Clerk have already been decided, because no one is running against the incumbent. However, the rest are very heated. Two key races, Tax Assessor and Sheriff, will be decided Tuesday, because only two Democrats are running. I have posted previous articles indicating why I think it is important to support Reynolds Atkins for Tax Assessor and Charles Woods for Sheriff. (Click here to read all articles about the Elections.)
The other three races, Coroner, Circuit Clerk, and Tax Collector, will likely not be decided until a runoff on Tuesday, August 28. Remember, that only people who voted in the Democratic Primary on August 7 will be allowed to vote in the Runoff on August 28. There are no Republicans or Independents running in any of these races, so you must vote this Tuesday to have a say in these results.
Unfortunately, I will have to vote absentee in the runoff, since I'll be out of town. I have absolutely no faith in the absentee ballot process since Circuit Clerk Binky Vines is in charge of it. He is desperately trying to get reelected and is flagrantly violating the absentee rules - which is what happens when you let a crook stay in office. Absolutely disgusting! (See this article.) Some people are writing in Binky Vines for Attorney General in the hopes their ballots will not be thrown out. Hopefully, Vile Vines will be thrown out by the voters on Tuesday - so we don't have to wait another three weeks. By the way, if absentee ballots are key to certain elections, you'll definitely see a challenge.
We're also voting for our representatives to the State Legislature, which I wrote about here, as well as the Southern District Representatives to the Public Service Commission and the Transportation Commission.
There are eight statewide offices: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, State Auditor, State Treasurer, Commissioner of Agriculture & Commerce, and Commissioner of Insurance. Six of these races really will be decided in the General Election in November, but two have heated primaries - one Republican and one Democrat. The Republican primary is between Phil Bryant and Charlie Ross for Lt Governor, and they have been busy attacking each other. However, few local voters will be involved in this decision. According to the poll on this blog, only 18% will vote in the Republican primary - and it will probably be lower. This is because all the important local races will be decided in the Democratic Primary. (See this article.)
The statewide Democratic Primary is for Insurance Commissioner, where Incumbent George Dale is being challenged by Gary Anderson. This race has become interesting because Dale is basically a tool of insurance companies, and he betrayed the voters of Mississippi after Katrina. Check out the blog A M in the Morning, described as "dispatches from Katrina's ground zero by Ana Maria" for several articles about Dale - start with Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Doesn't Get It - His Job, That Is . . . Those poor insurance companies complained so about their losses after Katrina, but the insurance industry made $108 billion net profit in 2005 & 2006, after paying taxes and Katrina claims - and fraudulently sending the federal government a $23 billion Katrina bill. According to Forbes Magazine, "Mississippi, dead last in income, is the sixth most expensive place to insure a house." To protect their cushy situation in Mississippi, insurance companies are major contributors to Dale's campaign. It's time we had an Insurance Commissioner who protects the public, not insurance companies - so vote for Gary Anderson.
On Election Night, I will be live blogging about the results, if you want to check it out. Also, the Natchez Democrat will be posting the results live online. They also have an excellent Election section, where you can learn about candidates and other election information. I wish they would do a little investigative work on some of these candidates, but otherwise, they've done a good job of providing the basic information. I was also disappointed in their endorsements - all incumbents, except for Binky.
VOTE ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 7
THE FUTURE OF ADAMS COUNTRY DEPENDS ON IT
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6 comments:
Nice breakdown and enjoyed the links. Okay everybody, pick who you think is the best person for the job.....Vote, Vote, Vote.
Thanks Casey for the inside view, some people think things and some people say them, this blog is much needed for a better Natchez, for the record absentee ballots cast total 900 plus with only 55 republican votes, that shows me that folks are listening..... THANKS AGAIN!!!
Do you really believe people are gonna vote based on what they read here?
Remember this is Adams County and votes are cast on "what can a candidate do for me".
Your comment that Binkey would throw away ballots is truly reprehensible -
absentee ballots are sealed and opened after the polls are closed - Binkey would have no idea what ballots to throw away - Binkey may not be able to balance a check book but despite the Natchez Democrat and your assertions Binkey was not convicted of stealing any money - he plead guilty to bad checks - If bad checks were grounds for being unfit for office - Woods, Bubba West, Danny and probably many others could not be elected either.
He got my vote! --- The election seems to be well run from what I have seen and heard. The real test will come with the results. If all goes well we will have results quicker than ever before.
Good Luck
Ronny, Binkey, Charlie, Mike Smith, Reynolds, Peter Burns, and James Lee.
your presentation of "facts" is just as biased as the news media.....how much influence does your cousin have over your choice of sheriff? Maybe you need to really investigate the FACTS, not what your relatives tell you. If you didn't leave here during the "FERRELL REGIME", don't comment!! Ferrel was a tyrannt...
Binkey has had numerous problems with his bookkeeping - All of the charges in the indictment were from errors made prior to the last election - All these problems were revealed in an audit - Binkey realized he had screwed up and called in the auditors - If he had stolen $225,000 - would he have called in the auditors? He paid back money unaccounted for and paid the fines.
Most of the missing funds were used on expenses for his office that were not recorded correctly. Anyone that has had an audit knows that they almost never leave without you owing money. The big question is why years after he notified state auditors of problems - paid the fines and repaid missing funds: indictments were filed? - Binkey had lost support of some powerful people - so it was time to have him removed from office. Natchez politics is controlled by a few very powerful people - upset them and you are out of office or threatened with jail time. I am not sure what replacement they were supporting - but maybe the new monkey will dance better.
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