A former Vicksburg Police officer and Warren County Sheriff’s deputy has joined the race to be Warren County coroner.

Mark Morgan, 39, announced his candidacy for the countywide office Wednesday morning.

“I want to bring a fresh start to the coroner’s position,” he said.

Morgan, the owner of a home-based computer business, is a lifelong resident of Vicksburg with 15 years of law enforcement experience. He worked as the K-9 officer for both Vicksburg Police and the Sheriff’s Department.

His name will appear on the Nov. 7 ballot along with two other candidates have qualified in the race to fill the post left vacant by the appointment of L.W. Callaway III to the director of the Warren County Emergency Management Agency.

“I think my experience with crime scene investigation will help a lot,” he said.

Former deputy coroner Ronald C. Regan, 47, appointed by supervisors as interim coroner until the election, and John Thomason, 42, will face Morgan for the four-year post. Regan and Thomason are both employed as funeral directors.

The deadline to qualify for the race is Sept. 8.

“All I can promise is that I will be dedicated to serving the people of this county,” Morgan said.

Coroners make rulings on deaths that result from trauma or when a person is not under a physician’s care.

In other local races, three more incumbents have thrown their names into the November election.

Zelmarine Murphy announced Monday she will seek her third six-year term on Vicksburg Warren School District Board of Trustees. Murphy represents District 2, the only board spot being voted on this year.

On the Warren County Election Commission, three incumbents, District 5’s Gordon Carr, District 2’s Retha Summers and District 4’s James E. McMullin, have qualified for the general election.

Other positions being decided in the Nov. 7 vote are the District 1 Place 3 seat on the Mississippi Supreme Court, U.S. House of Representatives 2nd District and one U.S. Senate.

To be eligible to vote in the presidential election, citizens must register with the clerk’s office at least 30 days before voting. Mississippi voters are not required to register with any political party and are required to vote along party lines only during primary elections.