NATCHEZ — Election season is in full swing, but those vying for county seats aren’t the only ones throwing their hats in the ring.

In eight months, qualifications for the City of Natchez elections will begin, but a crowded race for mayor is already heating up.

Mayor Jake Middleton said he intends to run again and will be ready to qualify for the May 2 primary by the March 30 deadline.

But Middleton will have challengers.

Former mayor Larry L. “Butch” Brown said last week that he will be in the race again.

Brown, Natchez mayor for eight years in the late 1990s, ending in 2000, announced his planned retirement as director of the Mississippi Department of Transportation earlier this year, but was terminated from the job a month later.

Brown said he was planning to leave the job for health reasons, namely a bout with prostate cancer. He underwent surgery in January and is now cancer free.

“I will be running,” he said. “I’ve given it a lot of thought, and my health is good. Having just rebounded from a long bout with cancer, I feel good.

“I love my town, I always have given back.”

Brown was defeated in 2000 by F.L. “Hank” Smith.

But the field will have new blood too. Bill Furlow, owner of Furlow Communications, LLC, said he, too, would vie for votes in the race to become the city’s next mayor.

“I just see that we need a different kind of leadership,” he said. “We need a clearer vision and a stronger hand at the rudder.”

Furlow, a Brookhaven native, who lived much of his life in California, moved to Natchez after retiring from a journalism career. He and his wife Davilynn opened Natchez Coffee Company in 2006. They have since sold controlling interest in the business.

With three candidates planning to qualify for the race, at least one other local politician admits he’s at least thought about joining the fray.

Ward 3 Alderman Dan Dillard said there are a lot of factors that could sway his decision one way or the other.

“As it is now, I would run again for alderman,” he said. “I’m not ready to make any comment about running for mayor.

“Have I thought about it? Yes. Am I currently thinking about it? No. Have I committed to anything? Obviously not.”

Aldermen

The race for six aldermen seats will include many of the incumbents, they confirmed, but other contenders may still be unknown.

Ward 1 Alderwoman Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis said she’ll “absolutely” be in the running to stay in her current position, while her opponent in the last two elections Jim Sanders said he’ll be sitting out.

“I ran twice in my ward and lost both times to Joyce Arceneaux-(Mathis),” he said. “Even though I finished second, it was like pushing rope up a hill, and I just decided at my age, I need to do some other things.”

Ward 2 Alderman James “Rickey” Gray is currently in a race for Mississippi House of Representatives District 94. That race will be decided this fall.

Gray could not be reached for comment about next spring’s city elections.

Ward 3 Alderman Bob Pollard said there are some ongoing projects — like the street overlay program — he’d like to see completed, and he intends to do so continuing on as an alderman.

“We’ve purchased a street sweeper, a paving machine and we’ve done some overlays, and there are some more things I’d like to see us get done,” he said.

Ward 4 Alderman Ernest “Tony” Fields said he, too, will hopefully secure his place on the board again, and Mark Fortenbery, alderman for Ward 5, shared Pollard’s sentiments.

“I’ll be running for the same seat (I’m currently in),” he said. “Hopefully we can get some streets overlaid — that’s my main project.”

City Clerk Donnie Holloway said he, too, will run again.

Maybe/Probably not

Former Natchez mayor Phillip West said he wouldn’t rule out the idea of running for office, but it’s not his intention at this time.

“I have not definitively made up my mind,” he said. “I have been asked that question more than any other question.”

Natchez Association for the Preservation of Afro-American Culture Museum Director Darrell White nearly said exactly the same thing.

“This question seemingly always comes up,” he said. “At this very moment it’s still a little early for me to say anything. But I appreciate and am somewhat flattered by this call from people for me to serve.”

Andrew Ketchings, legislative affairs director for the office of Gov. Haley Barbour, said he isn’t planning on running for office at this point.

“I’ve had people talking to me about it,” he said. “I haven’t made any decision yet. I’m not speculating about what I’d run for at this time.”

Chairman of the Natchez-Adams County Recreation Commission Tate Hobdy also said he’s been approached about running for office, but he can’t yet say whether he’ll run.

Former city attorney Walter Brown said he’ll “never say never,” but campaigning for office isn’t something he’s planning to do.

“I’m just practicing the law now,” he said.

Board of Supervisors President Darryl Grennell said he hasn’t yet given any thought to running for a city office. Grennell is unopposed in his bid for re-election to his supervisor spot this August.

Former Ward 3 alderwoman Sue Stedman said she has no plans to run, and she “really doubts” she will.

Definitely not

City Engineer and Superintendent of Natchez Water Works David Gardner said he’s had numerous people approach him about potentially campaigning to be in office, but it’s definitely not something he’s interested in doing.

Butch Brown’s son, Larry Jr., said he’s waiting a while to get into the political game, and Key Smith, a member of the planning commission, said he’s still working to get established in his job at Natchez Wealth Management.

The second primary elections will be May 16, 2012, and the general election will take place June 5, 2012.