GREENWOOD, Miss.—Margaret Hurt has a decision to make on Nov. 4. The 76-year-old Greenwood native has been a crossing guard for the city’s police department since 2011. For the past 14 years, she has directed traffic, ensuring the safety of young people as they arrive at and depart from school. As the election for District 24 state senator rapidly approaches, she wants to make sure that she is taken care of, too.
Hurt has been active in both the political and community service arenas of Greenwood. She volunteers with the Greenwood Community Center and values giving back to the community. Monthly, she helps distribute food with the center to people in need of fresh produce.
“I like doing (work) for the community and helping people get their basic needs,“ Hurt told the Mississippi Free Press on Oct. 15.
She is also a member of the Greenwood Voters League. Led by the now-retired Sen. David Jordan, the organization has for decades met to present speakers and discuss issues affecting Greenwood, the Mississippi Delta and Mississippi as a whole.
‘We Have to Help Our Struggling Hospital’
At the Voters League’s Oct. 15 meeting, two candidates running to succeed Sen. Jordan in a special election spoke about their plans for the community if elected. District 24 primarily includes Leflore County, including Greenwood, but also portions of Tallahatchie and Panola counties as well. Because it’s a special election, all candidates are running on a nonpartisan basis.
Loretta Johnson McClee, a Greenwood native, discussed her current community advocacy and the goals she wants to accomplish.
“Together, we can save our hospitals, we can fix our schools, we can fix what has been broken for far too long. Together, we can build the Mississippi that we deserve,” she said at the Oct. 15 meeting.
Georgio Proctor, also a Greenwood native, shared his priorities for helping the Delta community if elected as state senator.
“We have to help our struggling hospital,” he said on Oct. 15, referring to Greenwood Leflore Hospital, which has struggled financially for years. “We have to help our mayor get this gun violence under control. We have to get resources here.”
With six candidates running for the District 24 seat, voters have several choices to decide between on Nov. 4. Four of the candidates who are running for the seat reside in Leflore County: Curressia McFarland Brown, Jason Colquett, Loretta Johnson McClee and Georgio Proctor. The other two candidates, Everette Hill and Justin Pope, —are from Panola County.
Though the election is nonpartisan and candidates are not running with party labels, Jordan urged the Voters League to endorse a candidate who will align with the Democratic Party for the Senate seat.
“You don’t give away stuff when you’ve got control,” Jordan said.
‘Save My Social Security’
In an interview with the Mississippi Free Press, Margaret Hurt said that her priorities for choosing a candidate on Nov. 4 are centered around crime prevention, community development and social welfare.
“Save my Social Security,” she told the Mississippi Free Press on Oct. 15.
Hurt is not the only citizen in District 24 who has high expectations for the next Mississippi state senator. Shirley Ivory, an 80-year-old, is counting on the candidate to be an advocate for cleaner communities and more affordable health care.
“I’m expecting them to do better in helping the town and cleaning up more and getting this trash out of our neighborhoods,” she told the Mississippi Free Press on Oct. 16.
Ivory, a customer of the UnitedHealthcare health insurance company, said her medical costs recently spiked. After having a gallbladder surgery, Ivory’s copay went from $0 to $300, she said. She receives monthly public assistance of $1,200, and was left with only $900 to survive on for the entire month. She also receives $23 a month in food stamps.
“I just don’t have it,” Ivory said.
The Candidates
Curressia McFarland Brown is a native of Meridian in east central Mississippi, but she has lived in Leflore County for almost three decades. An educator and department chair at Mississippi Valley State University for 24 years, Brown says on her Facebook page that she wants to “continue the fight—addressing the challenges facing District 24 and creating opportunities to overcome them.” Her campaign slogan is “Speaking Truth to Power and to the People.” Brown previously ran against Jordan in 2023 and is also a former candidate for Greenwood mayor and Leflore County circuit clerk.
Jason Colquett, the mayor of Schlater in north Leflore County since 2001, is also a Delta native. The mayor was one of the founding members of the Schlater Volunteer Fire Department and served as a volunteer firefighter for 34 years. Colquett says on his campaign website that he is running in an effort to “improve education, restore healthcare services, and bring job training to needy Mississippians, without wasting … hard-earned dollars”.
Everette Hill is running for the state senate with 20 years of service as the mayor of Como. His website says that he aims to “be a true voice for our communities, to listen, to advocate, and to fight for the resources and opportunities (communities) deserve.” His campaign slogan is “A Fresh Face, a Fresh Start, With a New Vision and Direction.”
Loretta Johnson McClee, a Greenwood native, discussed her current community advocacy and the goals she wants to accomplish.
Loretta Johnson McClee, born and raised in Leflore County, is a medical board-certified clinical trichologist and licensed health insurance agent. Her campaign priorities are “education access, healthcare for all, job creation and small business support, safe strong communities, and transparent leadership,” her website says. Her slogan is, “From the Community. For the Community”.
Justin Pope is the current corporate deputy of Progressive Health Group, a rural emergency hospital located in Batesville in North Mississippi. The Panola County native of Pope, Mississippi, is campaigning for the Mississippi Senate seat with a goal to “continue that legacy—fighting for better healthcare, stronger schools, and economic growth for our communities,” his Facebook page says.
Georgio Proctor, a Greenwood native, has had professional experience as an educator at Jackson State University and served as a pharmaceutical contract analyst with Intermountain Healthcare. Proctor’s campaign for election is based on “Investing in (the) hospital, expanding job opportunities, making neighborhoods safer, and giving every child the strong education they deserve,” his Facebook page says.
The special election for Mississippi Senate District 24 will be held on Nov. 4, along with special elections in other Senate and House districts across the state. A runoff election is scheduled for Dec. 2 if no candidate earns a majority of the vote. Only the two candidates with the most votes will move on to the runoff.
Any eligible registered voter who registered in person or had their voter registration application postmarked at least 30 days before the election can cast a ballot on Nov. 4.
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Contact your local circuit clerk or election commissioners for polling place information. Voters must bring an accepted form of voter ID to the polls. For more information, visit sos.ms.gov/yall-vote.
