List of all MS Coast candidates running for mayor, city positions in 2021 elections
“I’m out,” Pass Christian Mayor Chipper McDermott declared Friday as the 5 p.m. deadline passed for candidates to enter the April 6 Municipal Primary Election.
Although he had people calling him all day urging him to run again for the good of the town, said McDermott, he decided it was time to bow out.
Several candidates have filed to run for mayor in the Pass.
McDermott was elected alderman at large in 1997 and won the special election for mayor in 2006. His grandfather, J.H. Spence, served as mayor of Pass Christian for 22 years, and McDermott says on the city website that is a record he doesn’t expect to be broken.
Now 71, McDermott led the city through the Hurricane Katrina recovery, the oil spill, years of tropical weather and “more fights than Joe Lewis, Rocky Marciano and Muhammad Ali combined,” he said. “I just want to relax.”
He will still worry about the small town and the businesses in Pass Christian, he said, and thanked the residents for “the opportunity to have purpose in my life for a long 15 years.”
Three of the four mayors in Jackson County also said they would not seeking reelection — Dr. Steve Demetropoulos in Pascagoula, Shea Dobson in Ocean Springs and Mario King in Moss Point.
Mayors in the race
The longest-serving mayor on the Coast, Rusty Quave was elected 28 years ago in 1993 and is running for his 8th term as mayor of D’Iberville.
“A lot has happened since I took my first oath of office,” he said on Facebook. He is, so far, running unopposed.
Biloxi Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich and Gulfport Mayor Billy Hewes also announced they are running for reelection.
Other incumbents who are running again are George Bass in Long Beach, Mike Favre in Bay St. Louis, Nancy Depreo in Diamondhead and Phil Torjusen in Gautier, who will face Casey Vaughan, the current Ward 3 councilman.
Waveland Mayor Mike Smith has another year to decide whether to run since the city’s special charter has a different election cycle than the other 11 cities in South Mississippi.
Other candidates in the race
The deadline to file to run in the election is at 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 5. Candidates then have to be certified by the parties to get on the ballots.
Eight candidates have registered to become the next mayor of Moss Point, including Sherwood Bradford Sr., now serving as Ward 1 alderman.
Among the four candidates to be the next mayor of Ocean Springs is Kenny Holloway, brother of Biloxi’s longest-serving mayor, A.J. Holloway.
Candidates who have filed their intention to run are:
Bay St. Louis
Mayor — Incumbent Michael Favre (R)
Council:
At large — Incumbent Gary Knoblock (R), Jerry Felder (R)
Ward 1 — Incumbent Doug Seal (R), Tisha Murphy (R)
Ward 2 — Incumbent Gene Hoffman IV (R), Wendy McDonald (D)
Ward 3 — Incumbent Jeffrey Reed (D)
Ward 4 — Incumbent Larry Smith (R), Kyle Lewis (R)
Ward 5 — Incumbent Buddy Zimmerman (R), Thaddeus Collier (R)
Ward 6 — Incumbent Josh DeSalvo (R)
Biloxi
Mayor —Incumbent Andrew Gilich Jr. (R)
Council:
Ward 1 — Incumbent George Lawrence (D), Keith Anderson (R), Steve “Stevie” Brosh Jr. (R), Becca Vanderford (R)
Ward 2— Incumbent Felix Gines (D), Tracey D. Smith (IND)
Ward 3— Incumbent Dixie Newman (R)
Ward 4 — Incumbent Robert Deming III (R), Rodney McGilvary (R)
Ward 5— Incumbent Paul Tisdale (R), Terry Shelton (R), Sugar Stallings (D)
Ward 6 — Incumbent Kenny Glavan (R), Jason Gibson (R)
Ward 7 — Incumbent Nathan Barrett (R)
D’Iberville
Mayor — Incumbent Rusty Quave (R)
Council:
At-Large — Incumbent Joey Bosarge (R), Quentin Lyles (D)
Ward 1 – Incumbent Randall Pelous (R)
Ward 2 — Theresa “Sissy” Andrews (R), Kecia Lane-DeShazo (R), Carrie Taranto-Chipley (R)
Ward 3 — Incumbent Craig “Boots” Diaz (R), Crystal Wingo (IND), Zach Grady (R)
Ward 4 — Gerald Burdine (R), Travis Burke (R), Todd Echelberry (R), Jody Entrekin (R)
At-Large- Joey Bosarge
Mayor- Rusty Quave
Diamondhead
Mayor — Incumbent Nancy Depreo (R)
Council:
At large — Jason Hightower (D), Gerard Maher (R)
Ward 1 —Incumbent Shane Finley (R)
Ward 2 — Incumbent Alan Moran (R)
Ward 3 — Richard “Ricky” Sheppard Jr. (R)
Ward 4 — Incumbent Charles “Chuck” Clark (R)
Gautier
Mayor — Incumbent Phil Torjusen (R), Casey Vaughan (Ind.), the current Ward 3 councilman
Council:
At Large — Incumbent Mary Martin (R), Adam Colledge, (R)
Ward 1 — Incumbent Cameron George (R), Tony Miller (R))
Ward 2 — Incumbent Richard Jackson (D)
Ward 3 — Gordon Gollott (R), Chris Hoover (R)
Ward 4 — Incumbent Charles “Rusty” Anderson (R)
Ward 5 —Dante Elbin (R)
Gulfport
Mayor — Incumbent Billy Hewes (R), Jennifer Adams (R), Howard Page (D), William Thompson (R)
Council:
Ward 1 — Incumbent Kenneth “Truck” Casey Sr. (D), Lorraine Price (D)
Ward 2 — Incumbent Ron Roland (R), Patrice Lombard (D)
Ward 3 —Incumbent Ella Holmes-Hines (D), Patrick White (D)
Ward 4 —Incumbent F.B. “Rusty” Walker (R), Derek Bullock (R), Steve Martin (R)
Ward 5 — Incumbent Myles Sharp (R), Bajon Williams (D)
Ward 6 — Incumbent Robert “R.Lee” Flowers (R), Taylor Moran Godwin (D)
Ward 7 — Incumbent Cara Pucheu (R), Richard Kosloski (R), Barbara Nalley (R), Shawn Petro (R)
Long Beach
Mayor — Incumbent George Bass (R), John Ruth (R)
Alderman:
At large — Incumbent Donald Frazer (R) Allen Holder Jr. (R)
Ward 1 — Incumbent Ronald Robertson (R), Patrick Bennett (R), John Shupe (R)
Ward 2 — Incumbent Bernie Parker (R), Shane Walker (R)
Ward 3 — Incumbent Angela “Angie” Johnson (R)
Ward 4 — Incumbent Timothy McCaffrey Jr. (R)
Ward 5 — Jason Boyd (R)
Ward 6 — Junior Husband (R), Peter McGoey (R), Owen McNally (R)
Moss Point
Mayor — Jeramey Anderson (D) Howard Bailey (IND), Tenesha Batiste (D), Sherwood Bradford Sr. (D), Billy Knight (D), Richard McBride (R), Ashelia McCorvey (D), Shira Stallworth (D)
Alderman:
At-Large — Incumbent David Chapman Sr. (D), Isaiah “Ike” Hayes (D), Jason Jackson (IND), John Mosley Jr. (IND)
Ward 1 — Houston Cunningham (D), Rosa Dorsey (D)
Ward 2 — Incumbent Charles Redmond (D), Darius Wilson (D)
Ward 3 — Deloris Braxton (D), Timothy DuBose (D), Jimmy Lee Wilson Jr. (D)
Ward 4 — Incumbent Ennit Morris (D)
Ward 5 — Joshua Barton, D, Willie Chestang (D)
Ward 6 — Incumbent Gary Wayne Lennep, (Ind.) Gerald Jackson Sr. (D), Lazaro Rovira (D)
Ocean Springs
Mayor —Melanie Allen (R), Frederick “Chic” Cody (R), Summer Devrow (R), Jeff Guice (R), Kenny Holloway (R)
Alderman:
At Large — Incumbent Bobby Cox (R), Matt Stebly (Ind.)
Ward 1 — Michael Bryant (R), Jennifer Burgess (R), Greg Gipson (Ind.), Brandon Riches (D)
Ward 2 — Incumbent Rickey Authement (R), Karen Stennis (R)
Ward 3 — Incumbent Joey Bellman (R), Kevin Wade (R), Doug Walker Wineki (R)
Ward 4— Incumbent Ken Papania (R), Richard Daniels (R), Elizabeth Feder-Hosey (IND)
Ward 5 — Incumbent Robert Blackman (R), Jeffrey Mortenson (R)
Ward 6 — Incumbent Mike Impey II (R), Melanie Milburn (R)
Pascagoula
Mayor — Jay Willis (R)
Council:
At Large — Incumbent Jennifer Colmer (R), Patrick Gatchell (R)
Ward 1 — Michael Hyde (D)
Ward 2 — Incumbent Felix “FeFe” Fornett (D)
Ward 3 — Johnny Walker (R), Ernie Denmark (R)
Ward 4 — Incumbent Matt Parker (R), Burton “Burt” Hill (R)
Ward 5 — Chris Blythe (R), Christopher Langston (R)
Pass Christian
Mayor — Bob Adams (R), Zenas Cappie (Ind.), Peggy Johnson (D), Adam Pace (R), Jim Rafferty (R)
Alderman:
At-Large — Incumbent Kenny Torgeson (R), Calvin Ishee (R)
Ward 1 — Incumbent Buddy Clarke (R), Betty Sparkman (IND)
Ward 2 — Incumbent Regina Charlot (D), Joseph Piernas (D)
Ward 3 — Incumbent Anthony Hall (D), Kirk Kimball (R), Catherine Williams (R)
Ward 4 — Incumbent Victor Pickich (R)
Wavelandpas
The city’s elections are in 2022.
The Sun Herald will update this list online Monday with any additions filed just before Friday’s deadline to file.
This story was originally published February 5, 2021 at 5:50 AM.
