On the Ballot: Chancery Clerk and Coroner

By Alyssa Schnugg

News editor

alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com

Voters will head to the polls from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Aug. 8 to vote either on a Republican or Democratic ballot on Tuesday in the Mississippi Primary.

There are races in several state offices, as well as House and Senate races and local county elections.

This week Hotty Toddy News is running a story each day, breaking down the races and who will be running on each ballot. Due to the number of candidates, particularly in the local county elections, bios and separate stories will not be run for each primary candidate but will be done before the general election in November.

Today, we look at the Coroner and Chancery Clerk races.

The Coroner investigates all deaths and determines the cause of death, whether suicide, homicide or based on natural causes. The Coroner also identifies the need for autopsies and is responsible for coordinating the autopsy with the medical examiner.

Currently, the coroner in Lafayette County is Rocky Kennedy; however, Kennedy opted to not re-run for coroner but to run for the Tax Assessor/Collector race. He has one opponent, Shelia Busby Kelly. But since Kelly is the sole Republican candidate and Kennedy is running as an Independent, they will not be on the primary ballot and will, instead, face off in November.

There are four candidates – two Republican and two Democrats vying to take over Kennedy’s post as coroner.

On the Republican ballot will be Shawn Bennett and Glenn Coleman

On the Democratic ballot will be Marilyn P. Delbridge and Lavera “Deede” Hodges.

The winner of each primary will face off in November.

Another busy race is for Chancery Clerk.

The Chancery Clerk serves as clerk of the court, the custodian of all Chancery Court records and public land records, clerk of the Board of Supervisors, county auditor and county treasurer. The Chancery Clerk also oversees land redemption and serves as the local Passport Accepting Agent.

Incumbent Sherry Wall elected not to re-run for the position that she’s held for many years so like the coroner race, there will be no incumbent on the ballot.

On the Republican ballot will be Kasey Hayne Daniels and Mike Roberts, who currently serves as District 5 supervisor. There are no Democratic candidates. However, there are two Independent candidates – Lloyd Oliphant and Marsha Pierce Theobald. They will run against the Republican winner on Tuesday in November.