The Winston County Federation of Democratic Women held a dinner reception at Lake Tiak-O’Khata on Tuesday, August 15 for newly elected Tax Assessor and Collector, Natasha Walker.
Walker recently defeated Kelli Rives and Howard Ryals in the primary election.
Walker said when she was asked to run, she initially turned it down. But, after much prayer she decided to run. She said she told the Lord, if it was for her to run to send people to her. And he did. She said people began to encourage her to run.
So, she stepped out on faith and went for it.
Walker is the first African American woman to win the seat and to hold a high office in Winston County. She’s the second African American to be elected countywide. The first was Walter Coburn, who was elected Winston County Sheriff.
“We campaigned until almost 9:45 at night,” Walker said. She said her husband, and her daughter went door to door meeting people, and she was surprised by the reception.
“One of the candidates is from Nanih Waiya and my husband is from there. He has family and friends down there, and I almost beat her there,” she said.
Those in attendance gave well wishes and warm words to Walker for her victory and prayed over another candidate who was running for tax assessor in Oktibbeha County.
Walker received several well wishes and encouraging words for the upcoming four year term.
The Journal’s Clarification
Walker also mentioned the headline in last week’s Winston County Journal. The headline stated “Ready, set battle! Election night rumble at the courthouse: Walker takes tax assessor.” She said people thought she had outgoing Tax Assessor and Collector Darlene Bane in a fight. The headline caused such a stir it garnered a Facebook post and assumptions that Walker and Bane were in a physical altercation. It isn’t so.
There was an elected official in the altercation, but the participants of the altercation were of Caucasian decent and were men. Bane was seated inside when the melee happened.
It was also mentioned in the story in a tongue-in-cheek fashion so that it would not deduce the election results down to the altercation that took place.
Walker was not present when the election tallies came in. She said it was the wording used. “It said ‘take’ and it should’ve said win.”
The word take has many definitions depending on the contextual basis of its use.
According to Merriam-Webster, a few of definitions of takes are to: “achieve or attain (a victory or result), to lay hold of (something) with one's hands; reach for and hold; remove (someone or something) from a particular place; a scene or sequence of sound or vision photographed or recorded continuously at one time; an amount of something gained or acquired from one source or in one session.”
The headline was represented as two headlines in one to depict the events of Tuesday, August 8. This serves the purpose of the colon used. Because the first headline was lengthy, it appeared it did not depict two headlines. However, there were.
The first “Ready! Set! Battle! Election night rumble at the courthouse,” depicts there was a physical battle at the courthouse as well as a figurative one. In elections such as Sheriff, Circuit Clerk, Chancery Clerk, Coroner, District 4 Supervisor it came down to the absentee and affidavit ballots – which figuratively meant they “battled” for voters. Which is the reason candidates refer to those running in the same race as “competition.”
In the second headline “Walker takes tax assessor.” Referring back to the definition, Walker achieved or attained the seat of tax assessor as a result of a victory.
At the beginning of the count, Walker had an almost 700-point spread between her, Rives, and Ryals, but with more boxes to come in, the tables could’ve turned. Hence the word “takes.” Because neither Rives nor Ryals could “overtake” Walker for the win.
Biblically, take is used in Phillippians 3:12-14 “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.”
In this sense, Paul is utilizing take in the manner of a victory, as used in the Journal’s headline.
It doesn’t mean that those who believe in Christ are in a physical or even a spiritual battle with Christ, but that believers achieve and attain the end result – eternal life.
In the same sense, Walker took or achieved the end result – winning the election.
