When employees of the Brookhaven city clerk locked the office doors at 5 p.m. Friday, they also locked into place the slate of candidates for this year’s municipal elections in Brookhaven.

Just under the deadline, though, a final Friday flurry of qualifiers swelled the field of candidates contesting the office of alderman at large.

A longtime Brookhaven school board member, Carl Aycock, qualified Friday afternoon as a Republican. His candidacy sets up a primary fight with incumbent Karen Sullivan.

Former city fire inspector Andre’ Spiller also filed papers Friday afternoon as a Democrat candidate seeking the alderman at large post.

Also in the race is independent candidate Ed Thompson.

Friday also brought a challenger to incumbent City Clerk Mike Jinks. Maxine McCoy Jones qualified Friday morning as a Democrat to challenge the Republican Jinks.

Earlier in the week, a new candidate emerged in Ward One, making that race host to the most candidates. Christopher Harris became the fifth candidate seeking to unseat incumbent Dorsey Cameron in the Democratic primary.

The end of qualifying Friday also guaranteed one incumbent a new term on the board. Ward Two Alderman Terry Bates did not draw an opponent and will breeze to a seventh term.

City Clerk

Incumbent clerk Jinks won his post in a 2004 city election and has subsequently served two full terms since then, winning both terms unopposed.

Jones has twice sought the office of Lincoln County chancery clerk and now sets her sights on the Brookhaven city clerk’s post.

“I’m very involved and concerned in the political process,” she said. “I just feel my background and professional experience in the jobs I’ve held lines up with the city clerk’s.”

Among her work experience, Jones has been a regional manager for the Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring program and for approximately the last five years has been a youth court counselor in Pike county.

“It has broadened my horizons and working knowledge of government,” said the Brookhaven native of her youth court experience.

Jinks trumpeted his experience and professional credentials.

“I’m a certified municipal clerk; not only state certified, but international certified,” Jinks said.

The certification is not required, but Jinks chose to pursue the process. He’s also working on the additional certification of master clerk.

“That’s fairly rare,” he said of the master clerk designation. “There’s probably not a half dozen in the state that are.”

The state certification process takes three years, and Jinks completed the process within the first three years of taking office.

Since neither has a primary opponent, Jinks and Jones won’t compete against each other on the ballot until the June 4 general election.

Alderman at Large

The incumbent Sullivan and independent Thompson have been set to square off nearly since qualifying began, but Friday saw an influx of new candidates.

Aycock launches a bid for city government having recently completed a long tenure on the board of the Brookhaven School District.

He served 15 years in an elected seat on the board until he chose not to seek re-election in the March 2012 school board election.

In a written statement Aycock provided, he highlighted his school board service and business background in describing his qualifications to serve as a city alderman.

“I believe with my educational background and experience in business and finance, I can effectively contribute to the efforts of the board of aldermen and the mayor’s office,” Aycock wrote. “I am prepared to deal with the many challenges of the city.”

Speaking by phone about his newly- begun campaign, Aycock expanded this point.

“I think our budget on the school board was just as large, if not larger than the city’s,” he said.

Aycock currently works as a financial adviser with Pathway Planning in Brookhaven. His past business involvement included a role as an initial investor in what eventually became WorldCom and service on that company’s board of directors.

Spiller filed his papers shortly before 5 p.m. Friday. In discussing his candidacy afterward, he emphasized his local connections.

“I’ve lived here all my life,” he said. “My roots are here; my family members are here.”

He said he now wants to give back to the community he came from.

“I’d like to see more growth and more camaraderie with the city as a whole,” he said. “Work together and move this city forward.”

Spiller worked more than 16 years with the Brookhaven Fire Department. He began as a firefighter, eventually rising to the post of fire inspector.

In July of 2011, after a closed executive session, members of the board of alderman demanded Spiller resign or be terminated.

The motion articulating this demand cited job performance issues, including work absences.

Spiller fought the move and aldermen heard an appeal, also in closed session. A majority of aldermen eventually voted to reinstate Spiller, but Mayor Les Bumgarner vetoed that action.

A further appeal is pending in circuit court, awaiting a ruling by Judge Michael Taylor.

Harold Banks also qualified last to seek the alderman at large office but soon withdrew his candidacy.

He offered his wife’s employment with the Brookhaven Police Department as the reason for dropping his bid.

Mississippi state ethics laws bar the spouse of an elected official from working for the city.

Ward One

The fifth and final candidate to qualify in Ward One, Harris was motivated to enter the political arena by what he described as a dissatisfaction with the city’s current leadership.

“I see that every election year is always the same,” he said. “We get the promises about change before the election, but then we don’t see anything.”

A Brookhaven High School graduate and an Army veteran, Harris said he believes elected representatives should interact with their constituents beyond election season.

He called for efforts to involve the city’s youth in the political process, an increased retail presence in the predominately black areas of town and a focus on “the little things.”

Said Harris, “There are too many speeders and street light problems.”

Harris is currently a chef with the Thompson Learning Center in Brookhaven.

Harris’ opponents include Randy Belcher, Robert Berry and Kermit Sartin.

All hope to replace incumbent Cameron, a 16-year veteran in the office.

With no Republican or independent candidates in the running, the winner of the Democratic primary will take the office.