Six Of Ten Harrison County Sheriff's Candidates Show Up At NAACP Forum - WLOX.com - The News for South Mississippi

Six Of Ten Harrison County Sheriff's Candidates Show Up At NAACP Forum

Three of the candidates running for Southern District Transportation Commissioner came out to Thursday night's political forum, sponsored by the Magnolia Bar Association and the Gulfport NAACP.

Moderator Rip Daniels read questions submitted by those in the audience. One of the questions posed to candidates was whether or not they favored putting up elevated roadways through residential neighborhoods.

"I'm absolutely not in favor of putting an elevated roadway over residential neighborhoods, period," said Paul Stewart, Southern District Transportation Commissioner Candidate.

"Where they're called for, I'm in favor of them.  Where they're not, I'm not," says Wayne Brown, Incumbent Southern District Transportation Commissioner.

"It needs to be a community thing, not something that's decided in Jackson," says Larry Benefield, Southern District Transportation Commissioner Candidate.

In the race for the sheriff's seat, six of the ten candidates running were on hand. Among the questions citizens seemed most interested in knowing - how the candidates would work to restore the public's trust in the Harrison County Jail. 

"I have a plan for a Sheriff's Advisory Committee," says Glen Terrell, Harrison County Sheriff Candidate.

"We got to take the favoritism out of the sheriff's office and bring accountability back to the people," says Murray Ladner, Harrison County Sheriff Candidate.

"Pull every person's file that's an employee of the Harrison County Sheriff's Office and review it," says Neil Resh, Harrison County Sheriff Candidate.  

"What you do, like I said, is you hold people accountable for their actions," says Jimmy Johnson, Harrison County Sheriff Candidate.

"Logical, rational, sound and consistent decision-making," says Robert DeGroat Jr., Harrison County Sheriff Candidate.

"I wanted to have quarterly meetings throughout Harrison County," says John Finnegan Jr., Harrison County Sheriff Candidate.

The candidates answered a handful of questions during the hour alloted for each race. At the end of the forum, the citizens were left to judge who would be the best person for the job, among the candidates who showed up.

The primary is August 7th. Independent candidates, of course, will not appear on that ballot. Click here to see a complete list of who's running for office.

by Krystal Allan