Alongside her son and Hattiesburg Municipal Court Judge Wes Curry, Gay Polk-Payton-White was sworn in as the city’s new municipal judge pro-tem at Tuesday’s meeting of Hattiesburg City Council.
Council members voted 5-0 – with Ward 2 Councilwoman Deborah Delgado participating by teleconference – to approve the hiring of Polk-Payton-White, who was then sworn in by Mayor Toby Barker. She will take over for Carol Jones Russell, who was elected in November as Forrest County Youth Court Judge, and will serve as judge when Curry is unavailable.
“I just want to say thank you for this opportunity,” Polk-Payton-White told council members. “This is my third time working for the city, and I look forward to giving back to my city and to the community.”
Among other positions, Polk-Payton-White has served as public defender for Hattiesburg, chief and assistant public defender for the Forrest County Public Defender’s Office, Forrest County Justice Court Judge, and Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at the University of Mississippi School of Law. She is a solo law practitioner of criminal and civil litigation at Polk-Payton Law Offices in Hattiesburg.
Polk-Payton-White is a member of the American Bar Association, the Magnolia Bar Association and the Mississippi Bar Association, as well as the 12th District Commissioner for the Mississippi Bar Association. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Southern Mississippi, a master’s degree in business administration from the University of New Orleans and a Juris Doctor degree from the University Mississippi School of Law.
“I just would like to say, wholeheartedly, how excited I am for this,” Curry said. “I’ve had the pleasure of working with Gay for the past seven years, and I can’t think of anyone imminently more qualified to serve as a pro-tem judge at municipal court.
“I’m just thankful to have her. She’s a friend and a colleague.”
Barker said he also was enthusiastic about bringing Polk-Payton-White on board at municipal court.
“When this position opened, there was one person on my list, and that was Gay,” he said. “We’re excited about what she’s going to do, especially with our youth when it comes to absenteeism for our school district, but also just serving on the court when she’s needed.”
