In the District 4 supervisor race, voters will choose between an incumbent on a board that has established business opportunities in Leflore County and a challenger who wants to bring his business experience to the board.
Supervisor Wayne Self is running as an independent, campaigning on the work he has done. He counts the creation of a business incubator and a community investment bank as two of the board's biggest accomplishments since he was elected in 1999.
"I'm not in this race for a kick. I'm not in this race to try to make myself look good," Self said. "I'm in this race because I enjoy doing things that benefit other people."
Sylvester Hoover, a Democrat, has owned Hoover's Grocery in Baptist Town for 18 years. Before that, he managed Jitney Jungle on Park Avenue during what he calls the "food wars" with another grocery store, County Market.
With that background, Hoover is calling for a stronger focus on a business in which he says the Board of Supervisors needs to invest. Tourism is the main focus of his campaign, blues-related tourism in particular. South Main and Johnson streets, both in District 4, were once a hopping center of music and commercial life, and people want to experience it again, he says.
"I want to revive our historical blues sites in our district because we've got people all over the world who want to see our history, and we want to present it to them," Hoover says.
His community involvement is in line with that vision. He serves as a consultant to the Delta Blues Commission, a group of Delta residents and cultural leaders collaborating to enhance blues tourism in the region. A deacon at Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church, where Robert Johnson is thought to be buried, Hoover has organized events including bake sales in the blues legend's name.
Hoover sees tourism as the best way to retain young talent. "We need to make sure they stay here and work with us to make our community a better place to raise our kids," he said.
Self touts the board's business accomplishments since he has been there - mainly, the Leflore County Business & Manufacturing Development center and the Mid-Delta Community Individual Investment Corp. But much of his work centers around the everyday needs of his constituents, he says, especially those who don't usually get attention.
During the 1999 campaign, Self promised clean water residents on Ridgeland Road. "We're in the process of running water down there right now," he said. "I made the promise to pave the roads in Seal City. We have paved roads there now."
Neither candidate has run through his campaign unscathed.
In March, weeks after qualifying for the election, Hoover was charged with possession of illegal gaming devices when police seized five gambling machines from his store. Later in the spring, a Commonwealth investigation found that Self had spent nearly $1,500 in gas for his county vehicle since January, nearly twice as much as any other supervisor.
The candidates, though, say the controversies have not derailed their campaigns much, and both defend their practices.
Hoover says he had no idea the machines in his store were illegal. "I didn't understand the law as well as I do now," he said. "Now, I know those machines are illegal, so we're not affiliated with them anymore."
Self says his gas bill is high because of all the ground he covers as a supervisor. As a member of three additional boards, Self has a schedule that regularly includes meetings all over Mississippi and some in Louisiana, he says. "I'm about the only supervisor who basically goes to every meeting that's listed," he said.
The campaign, for all its ups and downs, hasn't been a new thing for Hoover, he says.
"It's something it seems like I've always done because I always campaigned for my business anyway," he said.
Self says his work ethic and commitment have made a difference despite his early critics who said he was too young for the job. The experience has taught him a lot, he said.
"I think my work should be able to speak for itself to a lot of citizens," he said. "A lot of people thought this was a job I couldn't do. My biggest thing over the last four years was to try to prove them wrong, and I hope I have."
