By Cain Madden

The Natchez Democrat

VIDALIA — All of the candidates for Vidalia’s upcoming election have agreed to attend the Concordia Chamber of Commerce’s political forum Thursday at the convention center.

Chamber Executive Director Jamie Wiley said the presenters are stressing that this is not a debate.

“This will be a controlled forum where each candidate is answering a question,” she said.

Sam Hannah Jr. with the Concordia Sentinel newspaper will moderate the event, but questions will come from the community. Wiley encourages Vidalia residents to submit questions to Hanna at hannapub@bellsouth.net.

“They will screen the questions to make sure that there is nothing that will cause a debate,” she said. “And to make sure that it’s ethical.”

The chamber is expecting the crowd to be big.

“We are hoping people will have the questions they have about the candidates be answered,” Wiley said. “They can learn if a candidate supports what they would like to see happen in Vidalia.”

The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Vidalia Convention Center.

Running for Mayor are incumbent Hyram Copeland (D) and challenger Buz Craft (D).

Incumbent Arthur Lewis (D) and challenger Joey Merrill (I) are running for Police Chief.

District 1 Alderman Tron McCoy is unopposed. District 2 Alderman Vernon Stevens Jr. (D) will face challengers Robert Lee Gardner Jr. (D) and Raymond Murray (R). In district 3, which selects three representatives, incumbents Jon D. Betts (R) and Ricky Knapp (I)  will have to vie for votes against challengers Sabrina Dore (R) and Tommy Probst (R).

Two candidates who qualified — Joseph “Bobo” McCoy in District 1 and Mo Saunders in District 3 — were later disqualified by the courts.

“It’s a chance for the community to get to know the candidates,” Wiley said. “They may not know these people who are on the ballot.”

—Editor’s Note. This story as originally published contained incorrect information. It has been edited to show the current slate of candidates. We regret the error and are happy to set the record straight.