NATCHEZ — Candidates in the upcoming elections need the qualities of honesty, open-mindedness and a willingness to work, according to those who have held office in the past.

Former circuit clerk Fred Ferguson said the office requires a lot of work and integrity.

“The most important thing is being honest,” Ferguson said.

Because the circuit clerk is in court several days a week and sometimes several days in a row, the person elected needs to be able to handle a fast-paced workload, Ferguson said.

“It’s not a very laid-back type of job,” he said. “You’re very busy all the time.”

Justice Court Judge Mary Toles, who currently holds the bench but is not running for re-election, said the person elected judge needs to be very neutral-minded.

“They need to be cognizant of the law and interpret it impartially,” she said.

The judge also needs to be able to handle some criticism and not necessarily take everything personally, Toles said.

“They have to be thick-skinned,” she said. “People are sometimes abrasive, and sometimes people bring baggage with them.”

The person elected also needs to be someone who is sensitive to the court system and possible changes to the court system, Toles said.

One need right now is a judge who will push to make sure defendants in the system have access to legal counsel, she said.

“Somewhere they will have to look at the budget and make sure everyone has access to an attorney if there is a chance they are going to be put in prison,” she said.

Toles said she is doing what she knows to do, but hopefully the person elected can do something creative to see that problem rectified.

A former member of the Adams County Board of Supervisors, Virginia Salmon said those elected to the board need to be ones who can visualize and see all sides of an issue.

They should also be able to take constructive criticism, but no one should have to suffer verbal abuse, Salmon said.

“They serve the public and they have to serve with the public in mind,” she said.

Salmon said she does not know why the race is so crowded this election, but she believes a lot of people think the seat of supervisor is an easy one to garner.

“A lot of the statements by the candidates have nothing to do with what they will actually be doing,” she said.

Toles said she thinks the election has gotten so much attention because people want to see a change.

“People realize we are going to have to elect people with creative ideas on how to make government better and possibly downsize government and still give good government,” she said.

Though Toles said it is not necessarily her position, a lot of people do not think the county is going in the right direction.

“It is perceived the county is stagnant and going backward,” she said.