Starkville Mayor Won’t Seek Re-Election

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI)- After serving two terms as the mayor of Starkville, Parker Wiseman said he’s taking a break from politics.

Wiseman announced on Monday that he won’t run for a third term.

“I was a little bit surprised,” said District 43 Representative and Starkville resident Rob Roberson.

“I was shocked,” said Starkville resident Tiffany Harris.

Mayor Wiseman said this was a tough and emotional decision for him to make, because he’s enjoyed seeing the city’s growth under his leadership.

Wiseman also added that he’s proud to have accomplished all of the goals he set out for when he first took office.

“It’s been lots of good days, lots of challenging days, but when I look back on this period of my life, I will look back on it as pure delight,” said Mayor Wiseman.

Wiseman said serving as mayor for the past two terms has been a wonderful experience, but now he’s ready to embark upon a new journey.

However, at this time, Wiseman said he doesn’t know what that new journey is going to be.

“Really, the deciding factor is our family,” Wiseman explained. “Lindsey and I are going to have a third child in April and we’re very very excited about that.”

Mayor Wiseman said he’s in a happy place with his decision because he was able to see and help the city of Starkville grow into what it is today.

“We have built a city hall, we’re in the process of building a police head quarters, we’ve built a conference center, we modernized our city infrastructure, and we’ve overseen $386,000,000 of construction,” he said.

“I look for somebody that’s going to help us grow our economy, be involved in the community and make it a place we can all be proud of,” said Roberson.

“Somebody that’s going to be innovative to our town, somebody that’s going to bring jobs and a better education to our town, and support for our people, strong leaders,” said Harris.

Shortly after Mayor Wiseman made his decision to not seek re-election, Ward 2 Alderwoman Lisa Wynn, who some have rumored to be a candidate in the city’s next mayoral election, posted a status on social media saying she’ll announce on December 1, 2016, whether or not she’ll decide to run for mayor or seek re-election as Ward 2 alderwoman.

“I’m very engage in our municipal government,” said alderwoman Wynn. “My interest has primarily been economic development. I am the only alderman that ever attends the DRC meetings and I’ve gotten to know the municipal government in many facets.but it’s just, I wanted to wait and make that announcement on December 1, 2016. I’ve said that probably two years ago that that’s when I would make it.”

The last day to qualify as a candidate for the upcoming mayoral elections is March 3, 2016, and the general election will be held in November 7, 2016.