Ellington

JACKSON, Miss. - Vernon Price voted for Harvey Johnson Jr. for Jackson mayor in the last two elections. Price gives Johnson a strong overall job rating, despite thinking the mayor has done too little for poor neighborhoods.

The 51-year-old hospital maintenance worker says he's worried about crime - and because of that, he'll vote for Johnson's Democratic challenger Frank Melton, a tough-talking former TV executive and one-time director of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics.

"When (Johnson) was inaugurated, he said it's going to be a new day and you're going to be able to sit on your porch. I haven't seen that. People mostly stay inside," Price said one sunny afternoon this past week as he flew a kite in front of his home on West Capitol Street.

Several cities across Mississippi are holding Democratic and Republican primaries Tuesday in races for mayor and city council or alderman positions.

In some cities - Gulfport, Tupelo, Starkville and Hernando - incumbent mayors chose not to seek re-election, leaving wide-open races. Only Republicans are running for mayor in Tupelo and Hernando, ensuring the races will be decided either Tuesday or during May 17 runoffs.

One attention-grabbing contest is in Hattiesburg, where city council candidate Rick James' yard signs have become popular collectors' items for college students. The candidate shares a name with the late singer of "Superfreak." Comedian Dave Chappelle does skits dressed as the funk master and utters a catch phrase beginning, "I'm Rick James ... "

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