Samantha Milton and Henry Fant, candidates for the District 3 seat on the Greenwood Leflore Consolidated School Board, will face off in a runoff election Nov. 29.
Neither candidate received the required 50% of the vote plus one vote during Tuesday’s regular election. Out of the 901 votes cast, Fant received 407 (45%) and Milton received 381 (42%). A third candidate, Anglean Wardell, received 109 votes (12%).
Leflore County Circuit Clerk Elmus Stockstill said those who did not vote in the regular election but are registered voters may still cast ballots in the runoff.
Milton, 53, has held the District 3 seat since she defeated Harvey “Coach” Wardell in the 2018 election. She has served as board president since 2019, and prior to the merger of the Greenwood and Leflore County districts, she served on the Greenwood School Board.
Fant, 61, is a retired teacher and coach.
Both candidates said they are running on the same platform of doing what is best for the children of Leflore County and said they’ll be out in the community talking to people.
“I will always put the children first, and I am an honest and fair person,” Milton said.
To combat what is usually a lower voter turnout in runoff elections, Milton said she is going to continue to be “in the trenches talking to people” and hopes her experience speaks for her.
Fant drew a connection between the upcoming vote and students’ well-being.
“We don’t want to be in a position in Leflore County where we cheat the kids,” he said. “We want to help the kids, and we want the people in District 3 to understand there is a runoff, and you need to vote.”
- Contact Katherine Parker at 662-581-7239 or kparker@gwcommonwealth.com.
