Longtime Mississippi lawmaker and Inverness mayor William Green Poindexter passed away at his home Monday morning at 80 years old.
The Greenwood native, born January 10, 1944, graduated from Greenwood High School before getting his undergraduate degree at Mississippi State University in 1967. After spending one year on staff under then-U.S. Sen. John C. Stennis and working as a farmer, Poindexter set his eyes on a career in public office.
Poindexter began building a reputation as a public servant early on after he was elected mayor of the town of Inverness in 1971 – becoming the youngest person to ever be elected to the mayoral office, earning the spot at 27 years old.
After his tenure as Inverness’ top politician ended, the young politician moved on to represent three different Delta districts (13th, 32nd, 31st) in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1976 to 1993. Poindexter’s long stretch in the House came to an end after being defeated by William Richardson, a teacher at Gentry High School in Indianola.
The capstone of a multi-decade career in public office for Poindexter was as a legislative liaison for then-Mississippi Gov. Kirk Fordice.
Poindexter’s obituary and funeral details can be found here.
