Anti-incumbent mood felt locally

The buzz in the national media this political season has been all about the "anti-incumbent" or "anti-establishment" mood among American voters.

Looking at the results of last month's Preferential Primary Election, it looks like that mood is alive and well in Mississippi County.

Among the three most high-profile races — county judge, State Senate and sheriff — there wasn't an incumbent in the field. All three were open races.

All the same, the two candidates most closely associated with the current regime of local leadership were both soundly defeated.

One of those was Barrett Harrison, the current Blytheville mayor who was seeking the District 15 State Senate seat being vacated by Steve Bryles. Harrison lost to retired judge David Burnett. Harrison managed only about 36.4 percent of the vote over the entire district, which includes Mississippi and Poinsett counties. He fared somewhat better in north Mississippi County, but still only managed to secure about 44.7 percent of the votes.

The other candidate shouldering the burden of incumbency last week was John Alan Nelson in the race for county judge. Nelson is a longtime member of the Quorum Court, where he chairs the Finance Committee. During the campaign, he was labeled as the hand-picked successor to retiring County Judge Steve McGuire. In losing to Randy Carney, Nelson's vote totals were similar to Harrison's: He got 38.5 percent of the county vote, and 43.8 percent of the north county vote, Nelson's "home" territory.

With both Harrison and Nelson losing in pretty much every voting precinct in the area, it's pretty easy to conclude that local voters are in the mood for a change in direction.

While the primaries are over, this sentiment could continue to play a major role in this fall's elections, with major mayoral races and a tax referendum headed for the ballot.

With Gosnell Mayor Dick Reams retiring and Blytheville Mayor Barrett Harrison not expected to seek re-election, there will be no true incumbents in the field.

In Blytheville, Councilwoman Carol White and local businessman Tommy Abbott have formally announced their candidacy for mayor. Outgoing Sheriff James Sanders is also on the campaign trail, and school board member Tracey Ritchey has signaled interest in the race.

In Gosnell, meanwhile, city council members Tammy Fulks and Don Marshall, along with police chief Fred Roberts, have thrown their hats into the ring.

It will be interesting to see which, if any, of these candidates come to be seen as the "establishment" candidate, effectively shouldering the burden of incumbency. Neither Harrison nor Reams have publicly indicated any plans to endorse a potential successor, but given the current political climate, such a move might not be the kind of support candidates hope for.

Efforts to extend the county's economic development sales tax could also be affected by the anti-incumbant mood. Quorum Court justices agreed Tuesday to put the issue before voters on Aug. 10. Though the tax has been hugely successful at creating jobs across the county, the prevailing anti-establishment, anti-tax sentiment might give local leaders an added challenge when it comes getting the tax renewed, especially considering the tax passed by only 63 votes when it was originated in 2003.

Of course, predicting local elections is mostly a crapshoot, and there's no telling what will happen in the coming months to influence voters. But there's no doubting that local politics has been a source of high intrigue this year, and that intrigue looks to continue until November.