Charleston Mayor Sedrick Smith Sr., who has served a little over nine years as the city’s chief executive, last week filed qualifying papers to seek a seat in the Mississippi House of Representatives in the Aug. 8 party primaries.
Smith, 50, is one of three Democratic hopefuls for the House District 30 post, which under a new redistricting plan taking effect Jan. 1 will encompass the entirety of Tallahatchie County, plus some areas of Grenada and Sunflower counties.
To ascend to the statehouse, Smith will have to unseat the incumbent, state Rep. Tracey Rosebud, 46, of Tutwiler, and political newcomer Watson Turnipseed, a 31-year-old Sumner farmer and attorney.
All three candidates are running under the Democratic Party banner. While Rosebud filed qualifying papers on Jan. 5, Smith waited until Jan. 31 and Turnipseed was a last-minute filer on the qualifying deadline of Feb. 1.
The race involves some interesting municipal storylines.
Smith made local history in December 2013 when he became the first African American mayor of Charleston. Formerly a city commissioner representing Ward 3, he ascended to the top post in a special election runoff following the resignation of longtime mayor Robert Rowe. He has been reelected twice since. His current four-year term began on July 1, 2021.
Rosebud, who is the husband of Tutwiler Mayor Nichole Harris-Rosebud, has served in the state Legislature since 2018 after winning a special election runoff three months after the resignation of longtime District 30 representative Robert Huddleston. He was elected to a full, four-year term in 2019.
Turnipseed, who is licensed to practice law both in Mississippi and Louisiana, is the grandson of longtime Sumner alderman Frank Mitchener.
At present, Smith's Charleston residence is located in House District 33, held by longtime state Rep. Tommy Reynolds. But at the end of 2023, Reynolds is stepping away from a 44-year career in the legislature.
At the same time, as of the first of the year, state House District 33 will move further down the state to encompass a geographical area in south Mississippi.
In addition to Rosebud’s district enlarging to cover the eastern half of Tallahatchie currently in District 33, other areas of 33, including all of Yalobusha County, will become part of District 34, the charge of Republican Rep. Kevin Horan of Grenada.
