Hammons withdraws from mayor's race by Tom Bonnette - posted Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 @ 3:29 pm  E-mail Story |  Print Story  Winnsboro Mayor Jack Hammons has decided not to seek re-election for a fourth term, citing illness as the reason he is bowing out of the March 27 primary election. In a letter to the people of Winnsboro, Hammons writes he was informed last week by his doctor that he has cancer and will begin radiation treatments this week. "As I bow out of public life, I would like to offer my heartfelt gratitude to my many friends who have made the last 12 years such a wonderful experience for me and my family," Hammons writes. "The kindness you have shown has been overwhelming, and has made this chapter in my life such a great experience." Hammons, who previously said he would run in the upcoming mayoral race, would have qualified for the election this week. Candidates must qualify from Wednesday, Feb. 3 to Friday, Feb. 5. At least one other man, Franklin Parish Police Juror Leroy Scott, said he is considering entering the mayoral election. Scott said Monday he was undecided before he heard the news that Hammons is not running for mayor, but now he is almost certain to throw his hat in the ring. "I felt some conflict, because he had done such an outstanding job and he would have been unbeatable," Scott said. "Now I'm 99 percent certain that I will qualify, so I would say it's affirmative." Scott said he doesn't like the idea of benefiting from others' sorrow if he were to become mayor and he is saddened by the news that Hammons is ill. "I would like to express my concern to Mayor Hammons and I wish him the best of luck. We all should be praying for him," Scott said. If no one else were to qualify except Scott, he would become mayor. If there are other candidates and no one receives more than half the ballots cast, a runoff election would be held on March 1. Both Hammons and Scott are Democrats, according to the Franklin Parish Registrar of Voters office. 2,104 of the 2,933 registered voters in Winnsboro also belong to the Democratic Party, 1,598 of them black and 506 white. There are 360 white Republican voters and 58 black Republican voters in Winnsboro. The racial makeup of the city was about 40 percent white and 59 percent black, with other races making up about one percent of the population, according to the last U.S. Census. Whoever ends up as mayor of Winnsboro, will have big shoes to fill, said colleagues and friends of Hammons. R. Owen White, founder of White Ford in Winnsboro and long-time friend of Hammons, said the mayor is as good natured today as he was more than 40 years ago when he was selling him trucks so he could deliver milk in Franklin Parish. He feels Winnsboro is losing a great mayor. "Jack has always been very kind and easy to talk with and has always been honest and trustworthy," White said. "I know he has worked hard to be a good mayor he has always been a public servant to all the people." Hammons job as mayor wasn't always easy, said Winnsboro Alderman Richard Mahoney, but he always did a good job. "I think Jack has done a wonderful job of holding our city together and crossing racial lines. We are all shocked at the news that he's not going to be able to run for mayor," Mahoney said. If there were just one word to sum up the kind of public servant Hammons has been, it would be "fair, said Mitch Reynolds, who served 16 years as Winnsboro police chief and now is the Louisiana Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Director for Franklin Parish. "We have dealt with a lot of things together over the years," Reynolds said. "Regardless what we were working on, he was always fair to everybody." Franklin Parish Clerk of Court Ann Johnson, a life-long friend of the mayor, said Winnsboro has always had a great friend in Hammons. "He and his family have always been very nice and respectable people and he has always willing to help his fellow man," she said. Hammons letter to the people of Winnsboro can be found on page 5-A.