4 Coast mayors will be decided at Tuesday’s general election in South Mississippi
Voters in four Coast cities still have to decide who their mayor will be for the next four years, along with the winners of 19 contested council and aldermen races in the Tuesday, June 8 municipal primary election across South Mississippi.
Polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and voter turnout traditional is scant, since many of the races were decided in the primary and the runoff elections in April.
Diamondhead also has two non-binding questions on the ballot, asking residents if they want the Diamondhead Fire Department and the Water & Sewer District to come under the city government.
Mayors
One of the most closely watched races is for mayor of Gautier. Current mayor Phil Torjusen, a Republican, faces former councilman Casey Vaughn, an Independent candidate.
Also in Jackson County, a three-way race has set up going into the Moss Point election for mayor. Billy Knight won the Democratic primary and now faces Republican Richard McBride and Independent candidate Howard Bailey.
In Gulfport, Mayor Billy Hewes (R) is running for a third term. His opponent is Democrat Howard Page, a community organizer and policy analyst.
The big drama in the race for a new mayor of Pass Christian came in the primary, won by Republican Jim Rafferty. He faces Democrat Peggy Norman Johnson and Independent Zenas Cappie.
Voting is in 9 of 12 Coast cities
The general election isn’t needed in Long Beach and Pascagoula, where all the races were decided in the primary and runoff elections.
Waveland’s municipal election is in 2022.
Here are the contested races for all the cities where elections will be held Tuesday, followed by the list of city officials who already are elected:
Bay St. Louis
Ward 2
Incumbent Eugene “Gene” Hoffman IV (R)
Wendy McDonald (D)
Elected
Mayor — Mike Favre
Council at large — Gary Knoblock
Ward 1 — Doug Seal
Ward 3 — Jeffrey Reed
Ward 4 — Kyle Lewis
Ward 5 — Buddy Zimmerman
Ward 6 — Josh DeSalvo
Biloxi
Ward 1
Incumbent George Lawrence (D)
Keith Anderson (R)
Ward 2
Incumbent Felix Gines (D)
Tracey Smith (Ind.)
Ward 5
Incumbent Paul Tisdale (R)
Sugar Stallings (D)
Elected
Mayor — Andrew “FoFo” Gilich
Ward 3 — Dixie Newman
Ward 4 — Robert Deming III
Ward 6 — Kenny Glavan
Ward 7 — Nathan Barrett
D’Iberville
At Large
Incumbent Joey Bosarge (R)
Quentin Lyles (D)
Ward 3
Incumbent Craig “Boots” Diaz (R)
Crystal Wingo (Ind.)
Elected
Mayor — Rusty Quave
Ward 1 — Randall Pelous
Ward 2 — Carrie Taranto-Chipley
Ward 4 — Gerald Burdine
Diamondhead
At large
James Hightower (D)
Gerard Maher (R)
Elected
Mayor — Nancy Depreo
Ward 1 — Shane Finley
Ward 2 — Alan Moran
Ward 3 — Richard “Ricky” Sheppard Jr.
Ward 4 — Charles “Chuck” Clark
Questions (non-binding, advisory only)
Question 1 — Do you favor the consolidation of the Diamondhead Water & Sewer District into city government by combining the operations of the Diamondhead Water & Sewer District to become a department within the City of Diamondhead and thereby eliminating the need for a separate water and sewer district within the City of Diamondhead?
Question 2 — Do you favor the consolidation of the Diamondhead Fire Department into city government by combining the operations of the Diamondhead Fire Department to become a department within the City of Diamondhead and thereby eliminating the need for a fire district within the City of Diamondhead?
Gautier
Mayor
Incumbent Phil Torjusen (R)
Casey Vaughn (Ind.)
Ward 4
Incumbent Charles “Rusty” Anderson (R)
Wayne Golder (Ind.)
Elected
At Large — Adam Colledge
Ward 1 — Cameron George
Ward 2 — Richard “DJ” Jackson
Ward 3 —Gordon Gollott
Ward 5 — Dante Elbin
Gulfport
Mayor
Incumbent Billy Hewes (R)
Howard Page (D)
Ward 2
Incumbent Ron Roland (R)
Patrice Lombard (D)
Ward 5
Incumbent Myles Sharp (R)
Bajon Williams (D)
Ward 6
Incumbent Robert “R. Lee” Flowers (R)
Taylor Moran Godwin (D)
Elected
Ward 1 — Kenneth “Truck” Casey Sr.
Ward 3 — Ella Holmes-Hines
Ward 4 — F.B. “Rusty” Walker IV
Ward 7 — Richard Kosloski
Long Beach
No general election needed
Elected
Mayor — George Bass
At Large — Donald Frazer
Ward 1 — Patrick Bennett
Ward 2 — Bernie Parker
Ward 3 — Angela “Angie” Johnson
Ward 4 — Timothy McCaffrey Jr.
Ward 5 — Mike Brown
Ward 6 — Pete McGoey
Moss Point
Mayor
Billy Knight (D)
Richard McBride (R)
Howard Bailey (Ind.)
At Large
Incumbent David Chapman Sr. (D)
Jason Jackson (Ind.)
Ward 5
Willie “Coach” Chestang (D)
John Mosley Jr. (Ind.)
Ward 6
Incumbent Gary Wayne Lennep (Ind.)
Gerald Jackson Sr. (D)
Elected
Ward 1 — Houston Cunningham
Ward 2 — Darius Wilson
Ward 3 —Timothy DuBose
Ward 4 — Ennit Morris
Ocean Springs
At Large
Incumbent Robert “Bobby” Cox (R)
Matt Stebly (Ind.)
Ward 1
Jennifer Burgess (R)
Brandon Riches (D)
Greg Gipson (Ind.)
Ward 4
Incumbent Ken Papania (R)
Elizabeth Feder-Hosey (Ind.)
Elected
Mayor — Kenny Holloway
Ward 2 — Rickey Authement
Ward 3 — Kevin Wade
Ward 5 — Robert Blackman
Ward 6 — Michael “Mike” Impey II
Pascagoula
No general election needed
Elected
Mayor — Jay Willis
Ward 1— Michael Hyde
Ward 2 — Felix Fornett
Ward 3 — Johnny Walker
Ward 4 — Matt Parker
Ward 5 — Chris Blythe
At Large — Patrick Gatchell
Pass Christian
Mayor
Zenas Cappie (Ind.)
Peggy Norman Johnson (D)
Renaud James “Jim” Rafferty (R)
Ward 1
Incumbent James “Buddy” Clarke (R)
Betty Sparkman (Ind.)
Ward 3
Incumbent Anthony “Baba” Hall (D)
Kirk Kimball (R)
Elected
At Large — Kenny Torgeson
Ward 2 — Regina Charlot
Ward 4 — Victor Pickich
Waveland
Municipal election is in 2022
Sample ballots for 2021 general election
Get the election results at SunHerald.com Tuesday as the votes are counted.
This story was originally published June 6, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
