WEST POINT, Miss.–It’s a go for the run-off in West Point today after a federal judge said no dice to a group trying to stop the election. Alderman Jasper Pittman lost his seat by one vote in the recent Democratic primary and he claimed the city had no authority to conduct the election because there is no Democratic Executive Committee.
Pittman also asked the Board of Selectmen to pay for a law firm to conduct a review of the May 7 primary after his opponent, Gary Dedeaux, won by one vote.
In Canton the incumbent mayor, Dr. William Truly, is facing businessman Arnel Bolden in a run-off. The two are neck in neck, with Bolden having the slight edge, after the May 7 primary that saw the tally being counted some four days past the election.
One of the reasons was a voting machine hang-up that was caused by a ballot stuck there since the 2012 presidential election. The Canton primary was wrought with accusations of voter fraud and plenty of name calling (Dr. Truly’s ‘you’re a lying snake’ was caught on camera by a TV crew).
In Jackson, current Mayor Harvey Johnson, Jr. is out, but it may be a toss-up between Jonathan Lee and Ward 2 Councilman Chokwe Lumumba. Both have taken to local radio airwaves in the past two weeks since the primary, with some of the expected bashing that called Lee a traitor to the Democratic Party and Lumumba a racist.
Polls are open until 7 p.m.
