Voters choosing between the two mayoral candidates on Tuesday’s Natchez municipal ballot have a tough choice to make.

On paper, Natchez Alderman Ernest “Tony” Fields and former Adams County Supervisor Darryl Grennell match up pretty well.

Both men show excellent communication skills and leadership qualities, and both clearly love Natchez and its people.

Both are charismatic and enthusiastic about improving things in our city. All of those similarities make the choice difficult. For us the decision comes down to two things — experience and passion.

Darryl Grennell clearly has more experience both in life, in Natchez and in making government work for the improvement of the community. That experience and his infectious passion about the people of Adams County make him the best choice of the two to face independent challenger Eric Junkin in next month’s general election.

Grennell’s election would have another, unintended but good consequence — it would allow Fields to continue to serve the youth of our community. Fields is currently the principal of Natchez High School, and while he would make a good mayor, too, we feel his talents are best spent leading and inspiring our community’s youth.

City voters will also choose the person who will fill the bench at Natchez Municipal Court. Again, two solid, qualified candidates are on the ballot, and while either seems capable of doing the job, one edges out the other by bringing to the table a new view of how the court should operate.

Attorney Carmen Brooks gained a bit of notoriety during two high-profile criminal trials when as a public defender she uncovered gross mistakes in what should have been basic police work. Her work to simply give her clients a fair and thorough defense ultimately forced the Natchez Police to examine their sloppy practices and change them.

That attention to detail and demand for excellence should make for positive and more professional changes in municipal court.

Regardless of which candidates you opt to choose, we urge all registered voters to make every effort to vote Tuesday.