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East to Remain Sheriff; Four New Supervisors to Sit on Board in January
By Alyssa Schnugg
News editor
Lafayette County voters kept Sheriff Joey East at the helm of the Sheriff’s Department and ousted two incumbent supervisors in tonight’s election.
About 44% of Lafayette County’s 33,190 registered voters turned out Tuesday to cast their votes in the general election.
Come January, the Board of Supervisors will all be new, save for District 1 Supervisor Brent Larson who had no opposing candidate in the general election.
In District 2, current Oxford Alderman Republican John Morgan won by a narrow margin, earning 1,859 votes against Democrat Avery Dunn who garnered 1,620 votes. The incumbent, Larry Gillespie, did not seek re-election.
In District 3, incumbent Republican David Rikard lost to Democrat Dale “Timothy” Gordon, also in a close race. Rikard earned 1,805 votes and Gordon took 1,951 votes.
District 4 incumbent Supervisor Chad McLarty, running as an independent, lost to Republican challenger Scott Allen. McLarty earned 823 votes to Allen’s 1,307 votes. Democrat candidate Anne M. Klingen earned 765 votes.
In the District 5 Supervisor race, Republican Greg Bynum beat Democrat Don Mason. Bynum earned 1,274 votes to Mason’s 499 votes. Incumbent Supervisor Mike Roberts did not seek re-election but rather tossed his hat into the Chancery Clerk race, which he won, earning 6,603 votes. His challengers, Lloyd Oliphant earned 1,559 votes and Marsha Pierce Theobald earned 5,847 votes.
East, running as an independent, earned 10,701 votes against Republican candidate Jeffrey C. South who earned 3,508 votes.
In the race for coroner, Republican Glenn Coleman won earning 9,112 votes against Democrat challenger LaVera “Deede” Hodges who garnered 5,396 votes. The incumbent coroner, Rocky Kennedy, did not seek re-election but instead ran for Tax Assessor-Collector. He won the race against Republican Shelia Busby Kelly. Kennedy earned 7,946 votes against Kelly’s 6,115 votes.
Another incumbent to win his race was Justice Court Judge for the Southern District, Johnny Wayne McLarty, who earned 1,566 votes against Krisi Allen with 1,085 votes and Benjamin Justus with 795 votes.
In the Justice Court Judge for the Northern District race, Brent Johnson won with 3,319 votes against LaSonja “Sue” Pettis, who garnered 2,907 votes.
District 12 House Rep. Clay Deweese will also retain his seat, winning Tuesday against Donna Niewiaroski.
Click here for the complete listing of tonight’s election results from the Lafayette County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office.
Uncontested races:
- Lafayette Circuit Clerk Jeff Busby
- Lafayette County Prosecuting Attorney Vote Bella ‘Jay’ Chain III
- Supervisor District 1 Supervisor Brent Larson
- Election Commissioner District 2 Erin W Smith
- Election Commissioner District 4 Laura Antonow
- Justice Court Judge – Central Justice Court Judge Central Mickey Avent
- Constable – Central Constable Central Kenneth Drewrey
- Constable – Northern Constable Northern Greg ‘Spankey’ Pettis
- Constable – Southern Constable Southern Jack E. Theobald II
- District Attorney – Ben Creekmore
Read Hotty Toddy News Wednesday for more election coverage.
| Sat, Aug 31 |  | vs Furman | W, 76-0 |
| Sat, Sep 7 |  | vs Middle Tennessee | W, 52-3 |
| Sat, Sep 14 |  | @ Wake Forest | W, 40-6 |
| Sat, Sep 21 |  | vs Georgia Southern | W, 52-13 |
| Sat, Sep 28 |  | vs Kentucky | L, 20-17 |
| Sat, Oct 5 |  | @ South Carolina | W, 27-3 |
| Sat, Oct 12 |  | vs LSU | L, 29-26 (2 OT) |
| Sat, Oct 26 |  | vs Oklahoma | W, 26-14 |
| Sat, Nov 2 |  | @ Arkansas | W, 63-35 |
| Sat, Nov 16 |  | vs Georgia | 2:30 PM ABC |
| Sat, Nov 23 |  | @ Florida | 11:00 AM ABC or ESPN |
| Sat, Nov 30 |  | vs Mississippi State | 2:30 PM ESPN or ABC |