Published: July 01, 2009 12:28 am      

Jones eases to victory

District 82 had low turnout

Voters in Mississippi House District 82 spoke loud and clear Tuesday.

They elected Wilbert Jones to represent them in the Legislature with a comfortable 64 percent of the vote.

Jones beat out opponent Bill Marcy in Tuesday's run-off election with 1,664 votes. Marcy received 920 votes, or 36 percent of the total vote, including adsentee ballots.

"It's a calmness," Jones said shortly after his victory became clear. "I feel great. I have very strong supporters that believe in me. It was just a matter of getting out the vote."

Though Jones was happy with his percentage of the vote, he admitted he was disappointed with the low overall voter turnout. Only 2,385 people turned up to vote in the election, though the circuit clerk's office reported there were more than 10,000 active registered voters in the district.

Jones, who plans to declare as a Democrat, will replace the late Rep. Charles L. Young, Sr., who passed away in April while in his 30th year in office. The Young family endorsed Jones immediately after he qualified for the special election to fill Rep. Young's seat.

Five candidates ran in the special election earlier this month. Jones and Marcy both received far more votes than any of the other candidates in that election, winning the right to compete in Tuesday's run-off.

When asked if he plans to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, Jones said, "I will definitely vote for the best interest of East Mississippi, and that's what Mr. Young always did. He understood the needs of this community... I learned a lot from Mr. Young, and yes I will be following in his path of growth and prosperity for East Mississippi."

Jones, who works as director of Greater Meridian Health Clinic, said he does not know exactly when he will be seated, but that when he is, he's ready to go. "Right now it's just a matter of rolling up my sleeves and getting back to work," he said.

His main concerns as a legislator, Jones said, will be economic development, forming consensus in the East Mississippi delegation, and procuring nationally competitive funding for education in Mississippi.

Marcy was not bitter about his loss.

"I just called Wilbert Jones and I wished him the best," he said Tuesday night. "He ran a good race."

Marcy said he will continue to be active in political causes and remain in the public eye, but was unsure whether he will run for public office again. He has previously run for mayor of Meridian and U.S. Congress.

Marcy said he looks back happily on his race for the Legislature, particularly to his support from the Republican Party.

"I think it says a lot in the state of Mississippi where the white governor and the white power structure reach out and support a black candidate," he said.