NATCHEZ — Natchez residents are less than a year away from city elections when they will choose a mayor and aldermen.

Nonetheless, coffee shop talk already includes much speculation about who will run for mayor next year.

Natchez City Clerk Donnie Holloway said the filing deadline for next year’s city election is April 1. The date for the primary election is May 3. Should a runoff be necessary, that date would be May 24.

The general election is June 7, 2016.

Butch Brown

Count Natchez Mayor Butch Brown in.

“I’ll probably run another five or six times,” Brown said. “I’ve got a new heart, a new lease on life and Billy Joel told me only the good die young, so I’m sure I’ll seek several more terms.”

Brown served two terms at mayor, from 1992 through 2000. After that, he served as executive director of the Mississippi Department of Transportation.

During Brown’s tenure at MDOT, Natchez earned its fair share of road projects. Natchez appears to continue to reap the benefits of Brown’s contacts at MDOT because a plethora of projects ongoing in Natchez today are funded by MDOT, including the Bridge of Sighs project, pending renovations to the depot on Broadway Street and renovations at the former toll booth colonnades, he said.

Elected mayor again in 2012, Brown said he is proud of a number of accomplishments in the city, including new equipment purchases and a plan for rotating equipment purchases in the police, fire and public works departments, which has saved the city significant money in maintenance costs.

“We are busy, busy, busy. We are involved in lots of projects, some you see and some you can’t see,” he said.

Brown said improvements in infrastructure are something in which he hopes city residents can take pride in.

“The improvements we’ve made are remarkable all over the city,” he said, highlighting the construction of single-family homes on Martin Luther King Boulevard and St. Catherine streets.

“We have an opportunity to claim our MLK as the most beautiful in America, with a mixed use of retail and service businesses and housing,” Brown said.

The return of the beanfield and Feltus property to city ownership is an accomplishment of Brown’s administration, which will pay many dividends to Natchez citizens, he said.

“That property coming back to the city’s inventory of property is groundbreaking,” Brown said.

“We have very significant, high-dollar things happening — legacy projects throughout the city happening, like Memorial Park. Never has Memorial Park been as groomed and beautiful and landscaped as it will be when the project is complete by the end of this summer. And that was paid for 100 percent by other people’s money,” he said.

The city is spending at least $500,000 in paving roads, Brown said. “And we hope to spend $1 million this year calendar year on paving.”

Brown said he is also proud of his work to refurbish the city council building, rebuild the community center to historic specifications and make repairs at the convention center.

“We have generated an enormous amount of grant funds for the fire department, the police department and public works. James Johnston, the city’s community development director, has generated grant funds for practically every segment of city government, thanks to his birddogging and excellent preparation of grant documents,” he said.

Brown said he would seek another term, in part, to complete a number of projects, such as returning independent operation of engineering services to the city, as well as completing other “legacy projects” related to the city’s tricentennial, or 300th birthday, in 2016.

Brown also said a major accomplishment during his current term as mayor has been the development of a comprehensive IT division, operating to serve all city departments.

“We have a strong IT department with new facilities and equipment. Each department works through IT now, rather than through separate, less than desirable IT service providers,” he said. “We have expanded employment by about 20 people since I’ve been back (as mayor), but it’s things like that, where I have added divisions.”

Brown wants to see through a project to construct new docking facilities at Natchez Under-the-Hill to allow more steamboats and cruise liners to dock here, bringing in more tourist dollars.

“Another thing I’d love to do in my next administration is to restructure our debts. We only owe about $9 million, which is very low debt, but I would like to restructure it into a lower rate of interest and extend it out about another 10 years or so, so we could afford to add on to our convention center,” he said. “Our convention center is doing wonderfully. It’s about as fully utilized as you can get. It’s going to be a strain in 2016 because we are sold out of convention space and hotel space already. We have a few days here and there in the convention center, but we have no large blocks of rooms available right now in our hotel room inventory. For all practical purposes, we are sold out, except for spotty rooms here and there.”

 

Darryl Grennell

 

“I hear it every day, all day. ‘Are you going to run for mayor,’ ” Grennell said, who is the District 4 representative and president of the Adams County Board of Supervisors.

Earlier this year, Grennell announced he would not seek another term as a county supervisor.

“Everywhere I go I’m asked that question since I announced I wasn’t running again,” he said. “People think I must be running for mayor. It’s encouraging to hear that. I’m not going to say that I won’t run for mayor. There’s a possibility. I’m going to make a decision toward the end of this year.”

However, he said running for Natchez mayor is not why he’s giving up his county position.

“I was truly hoping there would be a dozen people who would run for my seat — people who are full of energy. I wanted to raise the bar for the county. But only three people are running for it.”

Should Grennell decide to seek the Natchez mayor’s position, Grennell said he would do so with an eye toward building better relationships between the city and Adams County.

“What would motivate me to run would be my ability to work toward a greater relationship within city and county government and to be able to look at what we could consolidate to save money for the taxpayers,” Grennell said. “We have had so much division. The city and county have not been able to come to any agreement on how to move forward. I think the people have spoken. They want some kind of consolidation.”

Grennell said it’s time for the city and county to get together on a consolidated recreation plan, as well as look for ways to consolidate services for city and county residents.

He also said he thinks he could be a leader in enhancing downtown Natchez.

“Let’s get all those buildings filled. Let’s get people in here,” he said. “We have a plethora of history. Let’s use that history. We have ton of resources we aren’t using. Even if I’m not elected mayor, we need to tap into those resources. I love Natchez, and I want to see it go to the next level.”

What would keep Grennell from running for mayor next year?

“The stress that’s related to it. I think that would be the biggest factor for me in not running, the stress obstacle,” he said.

He also has lots more praying to do before making a decision to run, he said.

“That is a very big factor. It was a big factor before I ran for supervisor. The same is applicable here,” he said. “I’ve got to keep praying about it.”

 

Sue Stedman

 

Natchez Realtor Sue Stedman said, “I have no plans to run for mayor, and that’s the real story.”

After serving eight years as a Natchez city alderman, Stedman sought the mayor’s job in 2004, along with five other candidates. Phillip West won the election, earning 100 more votes than Stedman.

“It didn’t work out and you wake up the next day and life goes on. You don’t have to be in politics to do good stuff and I have other good works I’m focused on now,” Stedman said.

 

Dan Dillard

 

Dan Dillard, who represents Ward 6 as a Natchez alderman, said it’s too early for him to make a decision to seek the Natchez mayor’s job, but he’s thinking about it.

“I have a handful of people who I would like to talk with, consult with. The little bit I’ve learned in elected office is, if you aren’t careful, you’ll start listening to your own conversations and think you’ve got it all worked out. I would like to hear from some different groups and different people,” Dillard said. “And you can’t just ask those who will give you that answer you want. Particularly in the South, people are polite, genteel, and tell you what you want to hear, but behind you have other thoughts.”

Dillard said he would bring accountability and responsibility to the city’s administration.

“I believe that local government has to be accountable to taxpayers and citizens. Accountability is first. Second, you have to be responsible. You have to be able to tell them where the city is spending money and that you are spending it in a responsible manner.

“Third, we need greater transparency. The public deserves to have a transparent government where they see the inner workings. Government is kind of like a sausage factory. It’s not the prettiest, but people have the right to see the good, the bad and the ugly,” Dillard said. “When I came on board as alderman, I moved to get the board out of that little room in the back. Their definition of an open meeting was to leave the door open.”

Dillard said he’s had to study municipal finances out of necessity since being elected an alderman.

“I’ve devoted a lot of time to trying to understand the city’s finances. They are complex, but they shouldn’t be. The city continues to struggle with financial accountability. It also struggles with the budgeting process,” he said. “The city’s financial reporting is just not up to standard. That’s been a concern. I’m sure any day now the administration will come to the aldermen and tell them we need to borrow money. I’ll ask, ‘Wait a minute. We had a budget. Did you exceed the budget?’ They won’t be able to answer that question. We really can’t figure it all out with the information that we have.

“I bring to the table a certain amount of innate interest in financials. I have a knack for reading these numbers, being a numbers person. I can’t name anything that finances don’t affect in government. I don’t know of anything more paramount in elected officials’ responsibilities to taxpayers than the expenditures of their money,” Dillard said.

 

David Gardner

 

Gardner, long-time Natchez city engineer, recently retired as superintendent of Natchez Water Works.

“I’m thinking about it,” Gardner said when asked if he’s running for Natchez mayor.

“I just retired, so I want to take some time off and really don’t want to commit to anything right now. I want to unwind. I want to see what retirement is all about before I commit. I may want to stay retired,” he said. “I’ll spend a few months off and then make a decision.”

Gardner said he would bring “tons of experience” to the mayor’s job.

“In my past 22 years as city engineer, I have worked side-by-side with six mayoral administrations, department heads and commissions. Given my knowledge of city government, how it operates and functions gives me unique qualifications to lead. In working with local, state and federal agencies as well as other local committees during my tenure as city engineer has given me the skillset to bring consensus and achieve successes. With my vast array of contacts, past experience and leadership qualities, I could begin moving this city in the direction it needs to go starting the first day…I wouldn’t miss a beat. I would hit the ground running,” he said.

 

Sarah Carter Smith

 

Sarah Carter Smith represents Ward 3 on the city’s board of aldermen.

“Lots of people have been asking me that question,” she said, when asked if she’s contemplating a run for Natchez mayor. “I’m not going to comment on that right now.”

 

Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis

 

Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis represents Ward 1 on the city’s board of aldermen.

“No ma’am, I am not running for mayor. I’m going to run for the ward seat I have. I’ve still got lots of work to be done in Ward 1,” she said.

Arceneaux-Mathis wants to see the multi-phase, north Natchez drainage project, which began in approximately 2000, completed to include drainage systems for Marble Stone, Brookview and the Old Smith Lane areas of Natchez. She also wants to establish a redevelopment committee to help “revitalize and reinterpret” some of the older houses and buildings in her ward.

“Joyce is going to work on those things and let the mayor folks be mayor. If they want to get out and run for mayor, that’s fine,” she said. “I was born in Ward 1 and live in Ward 1. I’m going to stay trying to improve Ward 1 and all of the City of Natchez. This ward is a good part of this city, and I love it. It has downtown and the riverfront and retail. The mall is in Ward 1. I don’t want to see it go away. It’s a wonderful ward. I’m sticking with Ward 1.”

 

Phillip West

 

Phillip West served on the Adams County Board of Supervisors from 1980 to 1997. He was elected as a state representative and served from 1997 to 2004.

West was mayor of Natchez from 2004 to 2008. However, he said his days in elected office are over.

“I’ve thought about it, and I am not interested in running again, not for city, county or state elected office. I’m just not interested in being an elected person again,” West said. “I’ve always been involved in the community and I’m still involved in the community, I just have no interest in running for office.”

 

Mary Hawkins

 

Mary Hawkins is the long-time mayor of Madison, considered Mississippi’s most prosperous and progressive city by many, and is a candidate for Mississippi state auditor.

Hawkins owns a house in Natchez and considers the city her second home.

“To think that anyone would suggest I run for mayor of Natchez is the kindest honor. I can’t tell you how much that means to me. Of course, I’m running for state auditor now.

“I love your city, our city. However, I feel strongly the best way for me to help all Mississippi cities is to be elected the next state auditor,” Hawkins said. “That’s where I feel led to go.”

Hawkins said one day she may retire to Natchez, “and I am certainly a great volunteer and will never quit that until I am simply unable to do it. Natchez is our getaway. I think it’s wonderful, beautiful. Natchez is a national treasure, really.”