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Dennis, Wright, McMillin, Mumford Among JFP Picks
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hen members of the Jackson Free Press editorial board talked about who to endorse in the Democratic and Republican primaries, we found that most of us are less than enthusiastic about many of the candidates, sometimes due to cheap political tricks. In other cases, we still do not feel like one candidate has proved he (usually) is a much stronger candidate than his primary opponent. Thus, we are choosing to endorse only in a handful of state and local races based on the strength of our conviction that (a) our choice is a much stronger candidate or (b) that the opponent(s) is a much worse choice, which is sadly too often the case in Mississippi, due to most every candidate trying to push to the far right’s buttons. In the Democratic primary for governor, we are not endorsing a candidate. Our editorial board split about evenly on whether to endorse Johnny L. DuPree or Bill Luckett, with positives and negatives about each. And it’s not like both of them endorsing the Personhood amendment gave us a way to break the tie. Both have shown solid support for public education, which we appreciate, but we do not feel that either has provided a clear choice for educated moderate-progressive voters; thus, we will not embrace or reject either candidate at this juncture. In the Republican primary for governor, we endorse Dave Dennis. Based largely on his JFP interview (see jfppolitics. com), we believe Dennis is a smart businessman who isn’t infected with the kind of crazy we see emanating from the Phil Bryant campaign (see cover story). Dennis is still a conservative, but he doesn’t resort to easy embrace of empty rhetoric, such as Bryant’s disturbing call for even more tort reform about “frivolous” lawsuits. We hope he would be more impressive than Haley Barbour on public education and less prone to special-session arm-twisting politics. We’re also impressed with Ron Williams’ more populist call to out government-corporate corruption, but we are very concerned a vote for Williams would be one for Phil Bryant as governor. We sense that Dennis may be the best way to stop that from happening, at least from the GOP aisle. We will decide by November whether we believe Dennis is the best choice of any party. We also decline to endorse in the lieutenant governor’s race, where the lethargic Democrats didn’t even bother to put up a candidate. While Tate Reeves seems slightly less extreme than opponent Billy Hewes, we cannot support Reeves because of his ridiculous interference in Jackson’s water bond needs. Hewes has the advantage of knowing what a bond bill is for, and for recognizing the necessity of bonding as a normal process of state government—even if he works to deny that knowledge in this anti-debt election. Hewes regularly votes to underfund public education, particularly MAEP, while Reeves told the Parents’ Campaign that he will work to keep the program fully funded. In the state treasurer’s race, we endorse Lucien Smith in the Republican primary (Democrat Connie Moran is unopposed). We like that he is a young candidate and at least sense that he can be a new kind of reasonable Republican who isn’t as prone to cheap tricks and dancing with extremists for votes. We hope he doesn’t disappoint if he ultimately wins the seat. In the Hinds County District 3 supervisor’s race, we endorse Democrat Peggy Hobson-Calhoun. As her interview this issue indicates, Calhoun has been an independent voice on the board, which is sorely needed going forward as it faces scrutiny for many questionable decisions including the Mississippi Valley Title building, which she voted against buying. We strongly endorse Democrat William Wright as Hinds County District 4 supervisor. Clearly, it is time for Anderson to move; see his interview this issue for his barely lucid
AMILE WILSON
Managing Editor Ronni Mott News Editor Lacey McLaughlin Assistant Editor Valerie Wells Events Editor Latasha Willis Editorial Assistant LaShanda Phillips Cub Reporter Elizabeth Waibel Music Listings Editor Natalie Long Fashion Stylist Meredith Sullivan Writers Quita Bride, Marika Cackett, Scott Dennis, Bryan Flynn, Brandi Herrera, Garrad Lee, Natalie Long, Larry Morrisey, Robin O’Bryant,Tom Ramsey, Doctor S, Julie Skipper, Ken Stiggers Editorial Interns Mary Blessey, Dustin Cardon, Callie Daniels, Alexis L. Goodman, Jason Huang, Brooke Kelly, Sadaaf Mamoon, Briana Robinson, Amelia Senter, Brianna White Consulting Editor JoAnne Prichard Morris
JFP PRIMARY ENDORSEMENTS:
The JFP endorses Dave Dennis for governor in the GOP primary.
answers to important questions. Wright has held the seat in the past and has had the benefit of working under some of the state’s better political and policy-making minds, such as Dick Molpus. Wright is capable of making up his own mind and would provide an educated, deliberate approach to county decisions. Democrat Micah Dutro is our choice for District 1 Justice Court judge. Dutro is young, energetic and educated, and drew the highest personal endorsement from Sandy Middleton, executive director of the Center of Violence Prevention, for his support of smarter domestic-violence policies and help with saving families as a private attorney. He has written grants for the Center and “knows the issue of domestic violence backward and forward,” she says, and he is very supportive of the batterers’ intervention program. She believes he would deal harshly with offenders and make every effort to protect victims. We endorse Vikki Mumford as the new Hinds County Circuit Clerk. We appreciate Barbara Dunn’s long service, but our visits to the clerk’s office feel more like visiting someone’s home than a government office: It is not uncommon to try to get information as the staff celebrates birthdays, more interested in cake than locating a document. We’ve watched Dunn cut a county law-enforcement official’s hair in her office during business hours, and she keeps files she worries about the most on the floor under her desk. The staff can be helpful, but they are inconsistent, not seeming strongly interested in helping you find the most efficient way to locate documents. And files could easily walk out of the office during the various distractions, and probably have. Most importantly, we like Mumford’s ideas about bringing the office and the files into the 21st century by instituting every possible technical innovation to professionalize the process. Her time has come. We endorse Sheriff Malcolm McMillin, a Democrat, for re-election to his seat. Despite political criticism and the occasional public imperfection, the sheriff does a lot with a little and has shown both his dedication to law enforcement, as well as smart ideas about alternative sentencing and more humane approaches to criminal justice. We are also not yet convinced that opponent Tyrone Lewis is ready to be the county’s chief law enforcement officer. He was a favorite of Mayor Frank Melton— which admittedly makes us wary—and his tenure at the Jackson Police Department was short-lived once Melton’s police chief had moved on. This is too important an office to take a risk on. Vote for McMillin on Aug. 2. For more political reporting, visit www.jfppolitics.com. Comment on this story at www.jfp.ms.
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