2 I Today in Mississippi I October 2011
Talking with Today Phil Bryant Mississippi’s Energy Economy Over the years, world-class businesses have chosen Mississippi as their destination location. From Nissan to Chevron, GE Aviation to Huntington Ingalls Industries and today the soon-tobe-opened Toyota Motor Co., businesses around the world are choosing to build facilities right here in Mississippi for what we offer: a pro-business environment, an exemplary workforce, and an abundance of energy resources. Gov. Haley Barbour has done tremendous work to attract these businesses to our state, and as governor, my No. 1 priority will be to bring even more new businesses to Mississippi, creating new jobs and making Mississippi the most job-friendly state in America. In order to build our economy and bring new jobs to our state, we must continue enticing major businesses to come here. The Mississippi Development Authority—our economic, cultural and export development agency—has done outstanding work to bring some of the world’s most successful companies to Mississippi, and I will continue to work side-by-side with MDA to support their ongoing efforts. Working with MDA and the state legislature, I will strive to fund appropriate projects that bring new jobs and tax revenues to Mississippi. Before a business decides to move here, it will want to know about our workforce. What are their strengths? What are they trained to do? Are there enough trained workers to fill the needs of their business operation? In order to keep Mississippi competitive, I will continue to make workforce development a priority for our state’s economic growth. I will seek out more partnerships between companies and local community and junior colleges to provide specialized training that leads to better employment options for Mississippians. One way we can do this is through dual enrollment for high school students and community colleges so students can begin learning a trade before they graduate from high school. We are often able to attract new businesses to Mississippi with our unique new energy economy, which sets us apart from any other state in America. Using our variety of natural resources, we offer a major network of interstate energy pipelines, oil refineries and diverse electricity generation from sources including natural gas, nuclear and coal. In addition, because of our abundance of biomass, we can help lead the U.S. in new developments in biofuel technology. Companies in Mississippi are already pushing our new energy economy forward, with projects like the Chevron Refinery, the Kemper County coal gasification plant and more. By putting smart, growth-centered policies in place, we can meet our growing energy needs by supporting our local energy sector and continue to improve our economy through traditional and new energy methods. Mississippi has always had the potential to be an economic competitor, and with the tremendous progress made in recent years, we’re on our way. I pledge to build on that momentum by bringing even more new businesses to Mississippi, creating more jobs for the people of our state and advancing our energy sector to meet our economy’s needs. Together we can make Mississippi the most job-friendly state in America. Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant is the Republican nominee for governor. For more information, go to www.philbryant.com.
Johnny DuPree Making Mississippi First I was raised by a single mother. We lived in a little shotgun house in Hattiesburg, and she worked two and three jobs as a domestic to take care of my brother, my sister and me. She instilled a lot of things in me: the importance of a good education, the importance of doing more with less, the importance of working hard. Those values remain with me today. People ask me all the time, “Why are you running for governor?” I tell them that all my life, Mississippi has been last on the lists of things you want to be first on, and first on the lists of things you want to be last on. I’ve seen good men hold this office, but we are still pretty much where we’ve always been. I’m running for governor because I can see the problems that face Mississippi, and I believe that my background, my experience and the success we’ve had in the past allow us the best opportunity to Make Mississippi First for a change. Mississippi Jobs It’s no secret what most people are concerned about—the economy. During the past 10 years as mayor of Hattiesburg: • we’ve never raised taxes, cut services or laid off employees, • we spend less today than we did 10 years ago, and we do more because we’ve become more efficient, and • we also created 6,000 jobs. If we want to create more jobs, we need to start with a focus on small business development by offering the same type of incentives to small businesses that we offer to large corporations. If we want to recruit new jobs, we need to start by requiring companies that move to Mississippi to hire Mississippi contractors and workers. That’s what we did in Hattiesburg with Stion, a California-based company that is now manufacturing solar panels right here in Mississippi and will create 1,000 jobs in the process. They agreed to use Mississippi contractors for their building needs, and they are hiring mostly Mississippi residents. We also need to review corporations who receive tax incentives in exchange for creating jobs to make sure they are actually creating the jobs they promised. Mississippi Education Of course, our public education system also needs help. I propose the Mississippi Education Restructuring Program (MERP). From training our teachers more extensively to early childhood development, MERP restructures how we educate our children. Additionally, MERP proposes $85 million in tax breaks for teachers and parents. And that’s just the beginning. Mississippi’s Rural Areas Mississippi’s rural areas are hurting the most when it comes to jobs, schools, health care and other opportunities. For governor, we need someone who has worked alongside the municipal and county leaders who deal with the issues facing rural Mississippi every day. I am here to offer you a choice, and that choice is someone who has been a public servant for 20 years and has a record of creating jobs, not raising taxes, and working with people to find innovative solutions to our problems. I offer you an opportunity to Make Mississippi First. Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree is the Democratic nominee for governor. For more information, go to www.johnnydupree.com.