Today’s article on the mayor’s race marks the final installment in The Daily Leader’s question-and-answer series on the various races in the upcoming Brookhaven municipal election.

Over the past week and a half, we also have run question-and-answer articles covering the races for the Board of Aldermen, city clerk and police chief.

We hope our readers have found the information in the Q&A series and in the Political Profiles section we published last Sunday helpful as they go to the polls Tuesday to cast their ballots.

This Tuesday’s election will be a party primary, so citizens should remember they will only be able to vote for candidates running in either the Democratic primary or the Republican primary. Mississippi is not an open primary state, so you cannot pick and choose between a Democratic candidate in one race and a Republican in another.

If no candidate wins a majority in a race, there will be a runoff between the two top vote getters Tuesday, May 21.

Winners of the Democratic and Republican primaries will square off with the independents in the June 4 general election.

Also on the June 4 ballot will be a referendum on whether to allow alcoholic liquor sales inside the city limits of Brookhaven.

This issue has drawn considerable debate among the citizens, and should draw a larger number of voters than usual to the polls June 4.

The winners of the June 4 election will take office July 1. If the liquor referendum passes, one of the new Board of Aldermen’s first actions will be to draft a liquor ordinance to govern the sale of alcoholic beverages in the city.

Such an ordinance could be written to allow package stores or to limit liquor to by-the-glass sales in restaurants. In our Q&A series, we have asked the candidates which option they would favor. If you missed an installment in the series, all of the articles are still available on our website, dailyleader.com.

The decisions the voters make in the upcoming elections are important to the future of our city. We encourage you to use the resources provided, learn about the candidates and their stance on the issues, and then cast an informed ballot.

We’ll see you at the polls.