After the results of the August 8 primary election in Forrest County, the City of Petal will host an upcoming special election to replace Ward 2 Alderman Steve Stringer, who defeated current Forrest County District 3 Supervisor Burkett Ross to take over that position on the county board.
Petal Mayor Tony Ducker said the special election will be held in late February or early March. Only residents of Ward 2 in Petal will be allowed to vote in the election.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. on election day; any registered voter of the ward who is in line by 7 p.m. is entitled to cast a ballot.
“I’m excited for Steve, but it does leave a hole on our side,” Ducker said. “Steve has been an important ally to me during my time in office, and I think we can have a strong working relationship in his new position.
“We do have some time before we will have a special election, so it’s my hope that a business-minded conservative will step up to challenge of representing Ward 2. We have a lot happening right now, so it will be important for the next person to be ready to hit the ground running.”
According to final but unofficial results from the primary, Stringer garnered 1,652 votes (52.6 percent) in the primary, while longtime incumbent Ross received 1,438 votes (45.8 percent). There were two write-in votes in the contest.
Stringer, a Republican, will be unopposed in the November 7 general election, as there are no Democratic or Independent candidates for the position. He, along with the rest of the elected county officials, will be sworn into office in early January.
Stringer, who is the owner of Locke Extermination, was elected to the Petal Board of Aldermen in 2001. He ran against Ross in the 2019 county election, but was defeated by a slim margin.
Ross, who is the owner of Southern Bowling Lanes in Petal, has represented District 3 on the board of Supervisors since 2012. He also served 33 years on the Forrest General Hospital Board of Trustees, as well as 22 years as a member of the AAA Ambulance board of directors.
Depending on the results of the general election, the City of Petal may see another vacancy on the board. In that election, current Ward 1 Alderman Gerald Steele is running against incumbent Forrest County District 2 Supervisor Sharon Thompson, who is seeking her second term.
If Steele, a Republican, were to be successful in his race against Democrat Thompson, a special election would be necessitated for the Ward 1 position. In the primary election, Steele garnered 761 votes on the Republican side, while Thompson defeated Democratic challenger Sheila Angelety 943 votes to 180 to head to the general election.
