Many ups, some downs in DeSoto County alderman races

With more than 50 candidates on the ballot in four cities, alderman races offered a mixed bag of primary election results throughout DeSoto County on Tuesday.

Many incumbents won their party nominations, according to complete but unofficial totals Tuesday evening, but not all. And some seats will require a primary runoff election May 19.

The winners Tuesday and in the runoff, incumbents and newcomers alike, will move on to the June 2 general election, though winning the primary meant probably winning the seat for many who face no general election competition unless there is a write-in challenger -- a possibility in any race.

Hernando will have two new aldermen, representing the newly created Wards 5 and 6. The two Republican winners Tuesday, Marcus Manning in Ward 5 and Jeff Hobbs in Ward 6, face no general election opposition.

Incumbents Gary Higdon and Jamie Tipton, also Republicans, won re-election in Wards 3 and 4, respectively, and incumbent Sam Lauderdale held on to the at-large seat by garnering 57.3 percent of the vote against John Heard. None of them face opposition in June.

Ward 1 incumbent Sonny Bryant faced no GOP opposition and has no general election opponent. Ward 2 incumbent Andrew Miller is an Independent and, therefore, will not appear on the ballot until the general election, where he also faces no opposition.

Horn Lake

A light turnout in Horn Lake resulted in primary runoffs in three races Tuesday night.

Mayor Nat Baker said the absence of primary contests for mayor and alderman-at-large altered the tone of the primaries.

"Instead of citywide campaigns like we have had in the past, it was pretty much a neighborhood-by-neighborhood campaign for the Board of Aldermen," he said.

Alderman Amy Lay won the Republican Party primary in Ward 1 and has no opposition in the general election in her quest for a second term.

Political newcomer Charlie Roberts defeated Alderman Tom Polzin for the GOP nomination in Ward 4. The victory virtually assures Roberts of election in June unless he is defeated by a write-in candidate.

Democrats in Ward 3 will return to the polls May 19 to decide the candidate to face Alderman Tim Smith, a Republican, in the general election.

The Ward 3 Democratic Party primary battle continues in a runoff between Lee H. Beddow and Jennifer Denniston. John William Dulaney III was eliminated Tuesday.

Smith was unopposed in the Republican primary.

Republicans in Ward 5 will have a new alderman, but a runoff will be needed between Don Hibbits and Bryan Pettigrew. Francis T. Miller was eliminated Tuesday.

The winner of the primary runoff will replace Alderman Derek Downing, who did not seek re-election. There is no opposition in Ward 5 in the general election.

A runoff will also be needed in Ward 6, where Alderman John E. Jones Jr. will face challenger Trey Agner. The Republican Party primary eliminated Angie Scott and Kevin Flynn on Tuesday.

The eventual winner of the primary runoff faces no opposition in the June 2 general election.

Republican incumbent Chris Sheley was unopposed in Ward 2 and faces no general election opposition.

Olive Branch

Incumbents in Olive Branch's aldermen races faced stiff opposition this election year, and not all survived the primary.

Incumbent Aubrey Coleman was unseated after 12 years of being Ward 1 alderman. Cindy Armistead, Coleman's main opponent in the primary four years ago, won a spot in the runoff. She will face Don Tullos, who had the most votes in the four-person race.

Joyce Haslip lost her seat in Ward 3. Harold Henderson, who'd been alderman and had lost to Haslip in the Republican primary four years ago, will face no opponents in the general election.

Also losing his elected position was Ward 5 Alderman Stephen Benson. He was beaten by school board member Susan Vanderburg Johnson. She has no opponents in the general election.

Ward 4 incumbent Maurice Wallace's position as alderman was secure after the primary. He beat three candidates by obtaining 53.3 percent of the total votes case.

Pat Hamilton, wife of state Rep. Forrest Hamilton, R-Olive Branch, won a spot in the general election against Independent and incumbent Randy Cowgill for Ward 2.

In the at-large contest, George Collins, who at 20 years has been on the Board of Aldermen longer than any elected official, beat Gary Kieffner, a certified financial planner and political newcomer who has been active in neighborhood issues as a citizen.

Southaven

Southaven Board of Alderman will have new faces after two long-standing members were defeated in Tuesday's Republican primary races.

Incumbents James Stark of Ward 2 and James "Jim" Loftis of Ward 3 were unseated.

Stark, 73, one of the longest-serving aldermen with 20 years, lost to Memphis Firefighter Ronnie Hale.

Hale, 48, a political newcomer, will now face Democrat Michael J. Smith and Independent candidate Bryant Scott Walker in the June 2 general election.

In Ward 3, Loftis, seeking his fourth term, lost in a close race to WMC-TV employee George Payne.

This is the second time, Loftis, 70, has faced Payne, 36, in the alderman race. In 2005, Loftis won against Payne.

Payne faces no opposition in the June 2 general election.

Other incumbents, At-large Aldermen Greg Guy and Dr. Randall Huling in Ward 6, won.

In the at-large race, Guy, 44, won his fourth term, by defeating former Alderman Oaty Hart, 64, and Alderman Paul Ollar.

Ollar, 35, ran for at-large alderman spot rather than the Ward 4 seat he has held since 2003.

Guy, as the winner of the primary, will face no opposition in the general election.

In Ward 6, Huling was seeking his fourth term and defeated former Horn Lake alderman Johnny H. Jackson.

Jackson, 67, a claims director for Lispcomb & Pitts Insurance, also ran against Huling in 2005.

Huling, 53, will now face Democrat Michael "Mike" Smith on June 2.

Incumbents Lorine Cady of Ward 1 and Ricky Jobes of Ward 5 faced no opposition in the Republican primary and have none in the general election.

Newcomer William Brooks, an Iraqi Army veteran running for the Ward 4 seat, also faced no primary or general election opposition.