Sherry Gaston would be the first person to admit that she is not a politician. She has never been elected to a public office, and even though she has held Sunflower County’s District 3 supervisor seat for the past year, she never had any intention of running for office. Gaston’s late husband, Ben, passed away last November, three months after he had been elected to his second term on the board of supervisors. At her request, the board appointed her to fill her husband’s seat until this past Tuesday’s special election, which was won by Roger Anthony. “This has been bittersweet for me, because I wanted to do what I needed to do for Ben,” Sherry Gaston told The Enterprise-Tocsin in an interview. Among other jobs that he had held over the years, Ben Gaston was a retired general, and he gained a reputation during his first term on the board as being quiet and measured, but also firm in his convictions. Sherry Gaston, while equally firm in her convictions, gained a reputation this past year for being much more vocal during meetings, especially about issues related to how taxpayer dollars are spent. “I tried to do what was right and what was best for everybody and not have a personal agenda to do for any one person or group,” Sherry Gaston said. “We’ve got to take personal out of it and do what is right.” Her delivery may have differed somewhat from her late husband’s, but the mission has remained the same, and that is to look out for the taxpayers. When she took the oath of office last January, Sherry Gaston hardly had time to get her feet wet before she was weighing in on a land dispute. “That was the very first big hot button issue. Of course, there have been lots of hot button issues,” she said. Sherry Gaston and Board President Gloria Dickerson were on opposite sides of that issue, but over the next few months, the two bonded and eventually became friends and political allies. “I’ve really gotten to know those board members,” she said. “Gloria has done an outstanding job. She really is trying to keep the county watching what’s going on with taxpayer dollars.” And that has been Sherry Gaston’s focus for the better part of a year, making sure that the board is accountable for every dollar that is spent. That has put her at odds many times with different members of the board, and even after some very emotional arguments, she said that she still considers each of the board members friends. “Even though Glenn (Donald) and I tie up, I have enjoyed working with him,” she said. As her final days in office draw to a close, her fight for accountability is still as strong as her first month in office. She has been pressing the county maintenance and road departments over excessive spending, and she is hoping that all new vehicles bought by the county for employees or elected officials are equipped with GPS tracking devices in order to curb abuse. “I had hoped to get that resolved before I left, but I doubt we will,” she said. She said that she believes she is leaving District 3 in good hands with Tuesday night’s decisive winner in Roger Anthony. She hopes that the board will continue to push accountability and perhaps be a bit more measured in its decision-making. “The county needs to do more planning and study things before they just up and make a decision,” she said, adding, “These are major decisions that we make for the county, and sometimes I think that we should take things under advisement instead of just voting.” Once her tenure on the board ends, she plans to reside in Oxford. Her time as supervisor has been short, but it has been memorable. Perhaps most important, this past year would have made her husband proud. “I’ve enjoyed it,” she said. “Believe it or not, I’ve enjoyed the fight.”
