Douglas challenges Ward 4 council primary in circuit court
A special judge has been appointed to hear a civil suit filed last week over the results of the April 6 Democratic primary for Ward 4 Columbus City Council.
Patricia Ann Douglas
According to court filings, Patricia Ann Douglas filed the civil suit on May 6 in Lowndes County Circuit Court against her opponent, former councilman Marty Turner, in a bid to overturn Turner’s narrow victory.
Monday, Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Randolph appointed former Mississippi Court of Appeals Judge Larry E. Roberts of Meridian to hear the case.
As of Thursday, no date for the hearing before Roberts had been set.
Slimantics: As good as it gets?
Slim Smith
About halfway through the Columbus Exchange Club’s candidate forum Thursday, my thoughts turned to a line from one of my favorite movies, “As Good as It Gets.”
In the scene, a character is explaining to a neighbor a crisis he is facing and seeks his advice. But he soon grows frustrated by the response he is getting.
“I’m out here drowning and you’re on the bank describing the water,” he laments.
That was the impression I took away from Thursday’s forum. The five city council candidates who participated Pierre Beard, Kori Bridges, Rusty Greene, Kallie Phillips and Marty Turner along with Jacqueline DiCicco, who has no general election opponent and will be seated as the Ward 6 councilman on July 1 all were able to “describe the water.”
Council candidates highlight issues facing city at forum Exchange Club moderator Jerry Fortenberry leads a question-and-answer session with the five city council candidates who turned out for Thursday’s candidate forum Ward 4 challenger Marty Turner, Ward 4 incumbent Pierre Beard, Ward 3 candidate Rusty Greene, Ward 1 candidate Kallie Phillips and Ward 3 candidate Kori Bridges. Slim Smith/Dispatch Staff
Put charitably, Thursday’s Columbus Exchange Club meeting/candidate forum was an example of brevity being the soul of wit.
Candidates for city council races were given five minutes each to speak, which turned out to be more than enough time in every case as they spoke mostly in generalities about the issues facing the city and their plans to address them.
Ward 4 primary challenge could be filed in circuit court
Patricia Ann Douglas
Ward 4 council candidate Patricia Ann Douglas said she will be speaking with her attorney about the next steps in her challenge to the April 6 Democratic primary election after the Columbus Municipal Executive Committee declined to act on the challenge during its Tuesday meeting.
In a letter hand-delivered to executive committee chairman Melodie Cunningham on Monday, Jackson attorney Spencer Ritchie, who is representing the Douglas campaign, released a list of eight voters who voted in the primary who the Douglas campaign says are not residents of Ward 4. Of the eight voters alleged to live outside the ward but used Ward 4 addresses to vote in the primary three listed their address at the home of Marty Turner, who was declared the winner of the primary.
Turner beats Douglas in certified Ward 4 primary
By Dispatch Staff Report 4 hours ago
Marty Turner
Former Columbus councilman Marty Turner has been certified as the winner of the April 6 Democratic primary for Ward 4.
The election results were certified Friday with three affidavit votes added to the April 6 totals. All three votes went to Turner, who finished with 94 votes to 90 for his challenger, Pat Douglas.
Turner, who served on the city council from 2013-17, will now meet incumbent Pierre Beard, running as an independent, in the June 8 general election.
The June 8 election features the mayor’s race between incumbent Democrat Robert Smith and independent challengers Montrell Coburn and Keith Gaskin.