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**************************************************** Magnolia Political Report #44 July 11, 2003 **************************************************** Pickering Turns Down the Chips Last week Third District Congressman Chip Pickering (R) announced that he would not be accepting an offer from the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (http://www.wow-com.com) to replace outgoing Chairman Thomas Wheeler at the end of this year. Wheeler's salary is reported to be over $1.4 million annually before benefits. Pickering said in a statement to the press Wednesday morning, "I am grateful for the outpouring of support and prayers I have received from all across Mississippi. I am staying in Congress and will continue to serve the people of the Third Congressional District of Mississippi. I enjoy my work on behalf of our great state. I love representing Mississippi in Congress. This past week, my family and I did feel an obligation to have a serious discussion about this opportunity, and to consider the impact on our five boys. I will continue serving the people of Mississippi which is a great honor, duty and privilege. I want to thank everyone who has supported me and my family." He was available to the press at his Pearl Office later that day and answered questions from radio, television and print media from around the district. Pickering's decision was well received by voters and crowds as he made the Fourth of July circuit through Lena, DeKalb and Bonita Lakes where he joined former Third District Congressman G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery at a salute to the political icon. Pickering serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee which has jurisdiction over cellular and technology concerns and is considered an expert on these and telecommunications policy. Meanwhile, Pickering and his family have purchased a small farm in rural Madison County outside of Flora and will be moving in this summer.
Each candidate presented a very different view of the state’s current condition. Governor Ronnie Musgrove continued his theme of focusing on positive events like the recent opening of the Nissan plant in Canton. Any problems in the economy he attributed to lagging economic growth nationally. Haley Barbour stayed on his message that ‘Mississippi can do better’ citing the $600 million hole in the state’s budget, the fact that Mississippi has the lowest ACT test scores in the nation, and that Mississippi has lost a higher percentage of manufacturing jobs (46,000) than any other state in America since January 2000. The debate centered around issues such as economic development, education, tort reform, taxes and spending, health care, and the municipal option sales tax (also called ‘MOST), which is an issue that the MML strongly supports to give municipalities the option of holding a local sales tax referendum. Despite the Clarion-Ledger’s headline after the debate saying both candidates ‘waffled’ in their answers on the MOST proposal, the transcript from the debate paints a very different picture from the Clarion-Ledger and the Associated Press’ take on the subject. During Haley Barbour’s answer, he stated: “Let me just say to you very honestly that I will not support this. I will veto any state taxes as Governor. I won’t support this, but I will keep an open mind if the legislature passes this as to whether I will sign it into law. But I’m not going to get up here and tell you what you want to hear- that’s not what I believe. I want to be straight-forward with you about it. You deserve that, just like every voter in this state.” While the Associated Press reported that “Musgrove said he opposes the local tax,” you the following excerpt from Governor Musgrove’s response to the question about MOST differs. Governor Musgrove said: “When we have looked at economic development, we have included these proposals to be considered and to be talked to with the state legislatures. We have worked with you. We have wanted to make sure it’s the right distribution per county, and with the cities. But we have included it, we have worked on it, we have a record in times past in working with you city officials to make sure we can get it right. We know right now and we know by the fact that it has not passed there have been some problems with it, but I have been straight-forward with you about that, and I have worked with you and I will continue to work with you to make sure we get it right.” Following Musgrove’s statement, Barbour said, “Well look, I’m not sure if I know whether the Governor is for this or against this?” While the audience of 1,300 MML members (who support the MOST proposal) were left with the impression that Barbour opposed MOST and Musgrove supported it, Musgrove told individual reporters after the debate that he opposed the MOST issue.
Arthur Wilson, a rather stout member of Lieutenant Governor Amy Tuck’s security detail, recently tackled a task that probably was not included in his job description. At 7,000 feet in the air, Wilson stepped to the call of duty when the door of the Piper Navaho plane he, Tuck, and campaign staffer David Buys were traveling in, flew wide open 15 minutes into the flight. After much “moving and shaking,” Wilson managed to stabilize the door with a firm grip until the plane was able to make a safe landing. Even after such an incident, the crew took flight once more after the door was properly shut, and arrived back in Jackson later that afternoon.
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Original Message ----- >From
MTLA Member: Please
try to attend. Unless, of course, you like the tobacco industry, high
pharmaceutical prices, HMOs, Middle Eastern terrorists and the host of
other Haley Barbour clients who will run this state if Barbour is elected. Three
Rivers Planning and Development Quotable
Quotes "Think about this: Here's a young guy who's got five children and has turned down a million dollars for public service. Good God. I'd vote for him - and I'm a Yellow Dog Democrat." - Retired Ole Miss history professor and recognized expert on Mississippi politics, David Sansing commenting on Congressman Chip Pickering's decision to stay in Congress: The Meridian Star 7/3/2003 http://www.meridianstar.com/MERIDIANSTAR/sites/MERIDIANSTAR/0955edition/myarticles595870.asp?P=595870&S=584&PubID=9513
Ask Amy Harkins, who for the past two years has been a media relations specialist in the U.S. Senate Press Gallery. Her knight in shining armor - White House spokesman Taylor Gross - rode in unannounced on Friday evening. "I lured her over to the White House under the ruse of going to a reception in the East Wing," Mr. Gross tells Inside the Beltway. "I had pre-arranged with Secret Service agents posted by the Rose Garden to keep foot traffic at a minimum and then took Amy into the garden on our way to the East Wing." And? "I was really nervous and didn't know what to say," he says, "so I began telling her some history about the Rose Garden." And when you ran out of things to say? "I dropped down on one knee and proposed to her." We wouldn't be telling the whole story if we didn't mention that the flustered spokesman (trust us, Mr. Gross thinks more quickly on his feet) began sliding the engagement ring on her wrong hand. Which isn't to say the tearful Miss Harkins wasn't in a similar state of blissful confusion, given the incredible turn of events. "I'm the luckiest girl in the world," says the Mississippi native, one of triplet sisters. "Taylor can never put one over on me, but he did it this time." As quickly as the Tennessee native got the ring on the right (meaning left) hand, Secret Service agents hiding in the bushes and atop the White House roof broke into applause. Also hiding in the bushes, it turns out, was White House spokesman Scott Stanzel, who captured the moment on film. Oh, and Miss Harkins did say "yes." Then she told her new fiance, "I need to call my sisters.""
Democrats are left with one candidate in the race, Leland Alderwoman Mala Brooks. Brooks is facing legal trouble after allegedly assaulting a former Leland police chief at a city board meeting last year. Brooks is charged with simple assault, though it would carry a felony conviction since it involves a law enforcement officer. If convicted of a felony, Brooks would be barred from holding public office. The GOP nominee will be decided in the August 5th primary when Greenville lawyer Steve Nick and Hollandale CPA Buck Clark face off. Clark is favored to win the primary and should be in good shape to win the general after the departure of Weissinger.
Love says that he and Klotz have were running on many of the same issues and that he did not wish for two candidates with the same goals to end up fighting each other for votes. Love also wanted to be able to spend more time with his family. Love said he was running because of dissatisfaction with the incumbent, feeling that the district lacked the progressive, visionary representation of he thinks the district’s constituency should have. Love, the only African American candidate in the field, leaves three white candidates in the race. When he departed the contest, he endorsed his fellow Democratic challenger Chris Klotz, a 36-year old Jackson lawyer. Chris Klotz, Jay Disharoon, and incumbent Cecil Brown are the remaining candidates in the August 5th primary. There is no Republican candidate and thus no general election opposition.
During much of the late 90’s, trial lawyer backed candidates dominated most state judicial elections. The pendulum may have swung in 2002 when the business and medical community, spurred to action by Mississippi’s legal climate, got heavily involved in state judicial elections. The defeat of controversial Supreme Court Justice Chuck McRae was the most high-profile victory last year for the forces looking to rein-in what they perceive to be lawsuit abuse, but they had other successes as well, in Mississippi and around the nation. Forbes takes an in-depth look at businesses’ involvement in Mississippi judicial elections and looks ahead to how these battles are likely to play-out over the next several election cycles.
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