Phillip &uot;Bucket&uot; West said Saturday he will drop out of the Natchez mayor’s race.

West, who was to be on the June 6 general election ballot as an independent, said he did not think he could garner enough votes from white residents to win the election.

West, a Democratic representative in the state Legislature, said he came to his decision &uot;after a lot of thought, prayers and investigating the reality of the political situation.&uot;

Although he would not have been on the primary ballot, West said he wanted to announce his decision before Tuesday’s primary so voters who would have supported him could choose another candidate.

The Democratic primary pits incumbent Mayor Larry L. &uot;Butch&uot;&160;Brown, John &uot;Pulley Bone&uot; Pullen and F.L. &uot;Hank&uot; Smith. The winner of that race faces independent Robert F. Costa in the June 6 general election.

West did not say if he would be supporting any of the other candidates in the race.

He said he estimates about 100 to 200 black voters will support a white candidate.

&uot;In order to overcome that I can’t win without white support,&uot; he said.

&uot;I know what the voter rolls are. It would take somewhere between 200 and 500 white votes to support me.&uot;

When West ran for mayor in 1996, he said he thinks he received about 40 white votes.

West said his decision not to run was based on inquiries to both black and white voters.

West said he does not think he will run for mayor in the future. &uot;It was not my intention to run this time,&uot; he said, adding he doesn’t think he will &uot;live long enough&uot; for the political situation in Natchez to change.

Brown said he is glad there is one less opponent in the race, but he does not understand West’s reasons for withdrawing.

&uot;I wish him well,&uot; he said. &uot;I hope he’ll continue to work with us on legislative packages.&uot;

Costa said he was not surprised that West announced his decision not to run. &uot;I think he’s quite right,&uot; he said. &uot;I’m not sure about his reasoning. … But looking at the numbers, he simply didn’t have the votes.&uot;

Costa said West is &uot;a good speaker and could have been a good mayor.&uot;

Pullen said he wishes West well in the future. &uot;I have no problems with Phillip,&uot; he said. &uot;I wish him luck in whatever he does.&uot;

Smith had no comment about West’s withdrawal.

West is the third candidate to pull out of city races this year. Bettye Bell withdrew from the Ward 4 alderman race and Peter Rinaldi withdrew from the city clerk’s race.