Buddy Dickerson, Mark Maharrey qualify for Lee County supervisor's race
Jul. 26—TUPELO — Buddy Dickerson, a local business owner and private athletics coach, and Mark Maharrey, a sales representative for a media company have qualified to run in the special election for the District 3 seat on the Lee County Board of Supervisors.
Both candidates qualified on Friday.
Dickerson, 68, is a native of Tupelo and graduated from Tupelo High School in 1971. He later graduated from Itawamba Community College in 1973. After graduating from college, Dickerson went on to work for a sporting goods store for around 11 years.
In 1985, Dickerson opened an embroidering and printing company, Pro Designs, which he still owns to this day. He's also the owner of Elite Sports
The Lee County native decided to run for office to try and be "a positive influence" in the community and bring some transparency to the office.
Once a month, Dickerson said he would like to host a "speakout" where his constituents are invited to his office to voice their opinion on ongoing issues or ask him questions about local government.
"I feel like I can be an asset to the county," Dickerson said.
Dickerson said he believes the top issue facing the county is the future of the Lee County Adult Jail. Dickerson said he supports the general idea of constructing a new jail facility, but would like to see more details about any proposal that is put forward.
"The can has been kicked down the road to where it's about to reach the end of the line," Dickerson said of the jail.
Maharrey, 54, is also a native of Tupelo and has lived in the All-America City most of his life. After graduating from Tupelo High School in 1985, he attended Itawamba Community College, followed by acting school in New York, where he lived for around five years.
After his brief stint in New York, Maharrey moved back to Tupelo to work in broadcast media. He's now worked in that field more than 28 years.
Maharrey said he's long held an interest in local government. If elected, he plans to use his position to help educate his constituents on how county government works.
Maharrey said it's a given that economic growth should be a goal for the county supervisors, but wants to see the board treat its economic policies with a regional approach, instead of just a local approach.
"We impact 500,000 people really every day," Maharrey said. "We need to be looking at Lee County as a county of 500,000, not just 85,000."
On the issue of the jail, Maharrey said he wants to discuss more detailed plans before deciding if he supports the construction of a new facility. Maharrey also said he intends to schedule a meeting with Sheriff Jim Johnson to gain a better understanding of the issues at the jail.
"You have to be a servant leader," Maharrey said.
Lee County's District 3 seat opened earlier this month when former supervisor Todd Jordan was elected mayor of Tupelo and stepped down from the position.
Davis and Maharrey's entrance into the race means a total of three candidates are now running in the special election. Earlier this month, Wesley Webb also qualified to run for District 3 seat.
All candidates must run as independents in a special election, meaning there are no party primaries. All qualified candidates will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot. If no single candidate receives a majority of the vote, a runoff election will be conducted on Nov. 23.
The winner of the race will serve the remainder of Jordan's term on the board and will be up for re-election in 2023 for a full four-year term.
The last day candidates can qualify for the special election is Sept. 3.
