NATCHEZ &8212; Several county officials say Circuit Clerk M.L. &8220;Binkey&8221; Vines has told them he will not run for re-election.

The talk comes amid new rumors that Vines is being investigated by the state.

But Vines said Tuesday he has not been contacted by the state and plans to run again.

&8220;That&8217;s a group of people putting out political garbage,&8221; Vines said. &8220;We had made a little mistake in 2002. This has been going on since 2003. Every year they add a little more gossip to that and build it up a little more.&8221;

Each year, the county is audited by the state or a private firm hired by the state.

State audits have found Vines&8217; office to have problems in the past few years, including overcompensation.

&8220;In 2002, we made a bookkeeping error,&8221; Vines said Tuesday. &8220;We took care of it, and that was the end of that.&8221;

Vines said he thought some of the talk was coming out of Justice Court Judge Charlie Vess&8217; office.

&8220;I&8217;ve heard Charlie Vess wants my job,&8221; Vines said.

Vess said it was not hearsay.

&8220;He called me himself and told me he wasn&8217;t running,&8221; Vess said Tuesday. &8220;And he&8217;s told other people around town he wasn&8217;t running. Based on what he said, I felt like I was qualified to run for office.&8221;

Vess said he is looking at running for circuit clerk next year after finishing his term as judge.

&8220;I might possibly be interested in moving up to a position with a little more responsibility,&8221; Vess said.

Despite rumors that Vines is being investigated by the attorney general&8217;s office, Vines said no one had contacted him about it.

Larry Gardner, elections commissioner, said Vines told him he was contemplating not running again.

&8220;He told me he was getting kind of fed up with the whole process,&8221; Gardner said. &8220;He was thinking about not running next year, getting out of the public sector.&8221;