The two candidates for Leflore County tax collector in Tuesday’s general election are stressing service to the public as their priority.
Pamela “PeeKay” Keys, who won the Democratic primary in August, will face Curtis Coates, an independent. The winner will succeed Annie Conley, who opted not to run for another term. Conley was first elected in 2011.
Keys, 56, has served as a deputy clerk in the Tax Collector’s Office since 2014.
Previously, the Greenwood native had worked at Greenwood Leflore Hospital, Leflore Specialty Clinic, Serenity Hospice and Viking Range.
She said her experience in the Tax Collector’s Office has prepared her for the top job. The office has eight employees.
Keys said she wants to make taxpaying easier for citizens. After the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the office began allowing people to call ahead and arrange to come into the courthouse one at a time to make their payments if needed. Keys said the elderly and disabled may still call and arrange to come to the courthouse and take care of business outside the building if they like.
“If it gets to the point where they want to call in, we’ll definitely come out there and take care of their transaction for them,” she said.
Keys said she appreciated that Conley has endorsed her for the job: “She’s one of the best bosses anybody could ask for.”
Coates, 57, who was born and raised in Belzoni, works as internet manager for new cars and trucks at Cannon Nissan. He is pastor of Faith Temple Church of God in Christ in Greenwood and Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Vaiden.
Previously, he spent 18 years with the former Leflore County School District, including time teaching at Leflore County Elementary and Leflore County High schools and serving as choir director at Leflore County and Amanda Elzy high schools. He also has worked for WKHG radio and was a Leflore County election commissioner for eight years.
Coates said he had thought and prayed for years about running for tax collector and believed he could be “very effective in bringing a new face, new ideas, new changes,” including greater efficiency.
He said he has learned a great deal about service while working at Cannon. He said he believes in treating everyone with respect and fairness and offering “a listening ear, not just for certain people but for all of Leflore County’s citizens.”
He is accustomed to dealing with people who may come into an office upset about personal matters and knows how to “defuse that and give a pleasant atmosphere so they can open up to you.”
He also feels prepared for the “numbers” aspect of the tax job, having paid close attention to that at Cannon.
The tax collector is paid $77,200 a year.
- Contact David Monroe at 662-581-7236 or dmonroe@gwcommonwealth.com.
