Magnolia Political Report

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The Magnolia Political Report for June 24, 2002

Magnolia Report 24

Be Sure to Visit the Magnolia Report Headlines for the Latest Mississippi Political News!

Magnolia Political Report
June 24, 2002
(Number 24) - Web Version
www.MagnoliaReport.com

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Rumor Mill
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Speaker of the House - Rumors have circulated the Capitol that Speaker of the House Tim Ford may not seek reelection in 2003 opening up the Speaker of the House post he has controlled since 1988. This opens up a potential battle for the top House post. Names like Representatives Bobby Moody (D-Louisville) and Billy McCoy (D-Rienzi) have already surfaced. South Mississippi is expected to push for leadership as well. Conservatives in the House, led by the small Republican delegation, will have to choose between taking a stand with a candidate that won't win but puts the Democratic majority on notice - or - use their numbers to influence the choice of the new leader. The Democratic majority must attempt an alliance much like Ford built which would give the Black Legislative Caucus seats at the table. Ford himself should have a lot of influence on any possible successor, especially considering his most recent campaign finance report in January showing over $125,000 cash on hand.

Lieutenant Governor - State Senator Barbara Blackmon (D-Canton) has made noise about running against incumbent Lieutenant Governor Amy Tuck (D-Maben) as an independent, making the potential of a Republican upset a real possibility unless Tuck makes a party change. Republican names floating about include Senators Mike Chaney (Vicksburg), Charlie Ross (Brandon) and Tim Johnson (Madison); Southaven Mayor Greg Davis, and interestingly enough a former occupant - Eddie Briggs (DeKalb). Physician and political activist Randy Russell (Madison) has also been encouraged to seek the post as a Republican making tort reform a very real issue in the campaign. Other Democrats with the potential of running for the party nomination include Representative Randy G. "Bubba" Pierce (Leakesville) and Congressman Ronnie Shows if he fails in the Third District race this year against fellow incumbent Congressman Chip Pickering (R).

Governor - An old rumor with a new spin has shown up recently. With most Republicans hesitant to challenge supposed frontrunner Haley Barbour (Yazoo City) for the Republican nomination for governor, the name of radio personality Paul Ott (Summit) has resurfaced. While Ott would have face an uphill battle against Barbour, he could bring GOP-needed voters into the Republican Primary, drawing conservatives from the Democratic Primary and indirectly influencing races which could include the lieutenant governor, as well as potential open seats. Just for fun, Ott and Ole Blue's campaign bumper sticker picture has been reposted on the Magnolia Report Images Page.

2nd District - While the Republican Party (including Congressman Chip Pickering, former Governor Kirk Fordice and Haley Barbour) has jumped in strong behind Clinton LeSueur, their nominee against Bennie Thompson in the Second Congressional District, there is already talk of 2004. Republican names include Tchula Mayor Yvonne Brown and (were he to decide to move back to Mississippi and step down from the high-profile position he now inhabits) Secretary of Education Rod Paige. Democrat George Irvin Sr has already announced he will be running during the next election. One rumor in the Delta is that Representative Chuck Espy (D-Clarksdale) will run with the blessing of then retiring Thompson, in exchange for Espy choosing not to run in 2002. [CORRECTION: Last issue, the Magnolia Report said Chuck Espy was son of Mike Espy when in fact he is the son of Henry Espy, Mayor of Clarksdale.]

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For the Record
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Family Matter - The Sun Herald reported that State Representative Jamie Creel (D-Biloxi) surrendered to police on June 19 in response to two warrants charging him with simple assault and malicious mischief for incidents occurring at 3am Sunday June 16 at Cheryl's Bistro and Martini Bar. He was released on his own recognizance pending a hearing in city court. In a follow up article, the Sun Herald reported several of Creel's recent violations.
2000: Fined $631.50 for leaving the scene of an accident near a Jackson bar.
1999: Convicted in 2000 of a 1999 drunken driving charge and fined $150 for driving without a proper license, Biloxi. He was fined $1,170 for the DUI, given 12 months' probation and ordered to undergo assessment for alcohol or substance abuse.
1995: Charged with DUI refusal for declining to take a breath test to determine his blood-alcohol content; pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of reckless driving, Biloxi.
1994: Charged with DUI refusal and driving on a suspended license; pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of reckless driving, Biloxi.
Creel released a statement on June 20 saying, "The incident that transpired last weekend was a family matter. Unfortunately, information given to the press was inaccurately portrayed with malice intentions. I believe that family matters should be resolved within the family and not in the court system or through the press."

A bad gamble - First term Ocean Springs Ward 4 Alderman Joe Carvin was arrested June 20 after Palace Casino security personnel reported spotting him pocketing casino chips. A card dealer at the casino for three years, he has been charged with petit larceny and released on a $520 recognizance bond. If convicted, he faces a maximum six month jail term and a $1000 fine.

Driving Miss Crazy - Reckless driving charges against Ocean Springs Alderman Danny Jalanivich have been dropped. The charges stem from a June 4 incident in which Jalanivich followed and flagged down a 16-year-old girl for reckless driving and called the police. The girl's family counter filed reckless driving charges against Jalanivich for following her.

Jury judges judge - Harrison County Chancery Judge Walter "Wes" Teel (Gulfport) was found innocent of embezzlement charges by a jury. Teel was one of three judges indicted on similar charges. Harrison County senior Chancery Judge J.N. Randall Jr and Chancery Judge Tom Teel, the brother of Wes Teel, resigned in December and agreed to repay expenses to avoid prosecution. Wes Teel is currently under suspension but is seeking reelection in November against H.E. "Ed" Ellis Sr (Biloxi), Malcolm Jones Pass (Christian) and James B. "Jim" Persons (Gulfport). The Supreme Court will study a complaint filed against Teel with the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance before making a decision on whether or not to reinstate the suspended judge.

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Be sure to visit the Judiciary 2002 page at MagnoliaReport.com for several links to the state's judicial campaigns. Candidates linked from the page include: Jess Dickinson (Gulfport), Talmadge D. Littlejohn (New Albany), Vicki Wilbanks Cobb (Batesville), Adam Pittman (Batesville), D. Neil Harris Sr. (Pascagoula), Glenn Alderson (Oxford), Richard J. Babb (Ripley), Fred M. Belk Jr. (Holly Springs) and Louis Coleman (Jackson). Also on the page is a feature summarizing the contested judicial races' campaign finance reports updated on June 10.
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Round Up
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Redistricting - The US Department of Justice gave approval for the Mississippi House and Senate district lines redrawn due to the 2000 census. The Greenwood Commonwealth said about this in an Editorial on June 18: "The new lines may be legal, but they are a confusing mess. We predict, come Election Day next year, there will be reports all around the state of bewildered voters and polling place disputes, all because of the crazy patchwork quilt that state lawmakers have created for themselves. In an effort to meet the federal government's mandate of not diluting black voting strength while also protecting incumbents, the Legislature took gerrymandering to a new height, with districts slithering through multiple counties like they've never slithered before. In the now approved map, for instance, there are for the first time House districts that include parts of six counties...The new lines split precincts with wild abandon. The number of partial House precincts has nearly doubled to 789, while the number of partial Senate precincts has more than quadrupled to 127...There will be sub precincts all over Mississippi with only a handful of voters in them. And then we wonder why people don't turn out to vote. The line drawers confuse the stew out of them."

Canton Election - The long delayed municipal elections for Canton have been scheduled by Hernando Judge Percy Lynchard. The qualification deadline for mayor and aldermen is August 15, absentee ballots must be ready by September 2, party primaries and run-off elections will be held September 24 and October 8 respectively and the general election will be held October 22. Winners of the election will be certified October 23 and will take office as soon as possible thereafter.

Yazoo Supervisor - The dispute over the 1999 Yazoo County District 5 Supervisor's election was directed to a jury trial by the Mississippi Supreme Court. Cobie Collins won the post by 36 votes. Opponent McArthur Straughter filed a complaint that Collins' supporters intimidated voters and physically entered voting booths with voters without their permission and instructed them to vote for Collins against the voter's wishes. 19 witnesses have testified in support of Collins' allegations. Writing for the Supreme Court, Justice Kay B. Cobb said the Supreme Court has held that even where the percentage of illegal votes is small, fraud can still justify a new election. Cobb said that 30 votes should have been invalidated because they were filled out by county workers who supported Collins, and one absentee ballot was destroyed by Collins.

DeSoto County - The DeSoto County Board of Supervisors post expected to be vacated in 2003 by John Caldwell (R) already has a race brewing. Caldwell plans to challenge Zack Stewart (D) for the Northern District Transportation Commissioner. Dick Hackett, the former Mayor of Memphis (TN) has lived in DeSoto County for about ten years and says he wants the job, and he'll do it without pay. He is expected to face Horn Lake educator Alan Latimer and others as well. The qualifying deadline is March 1. Hackett currently serves on the Desoto County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

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Remember to visit MagnoliaReport.com Headlines
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Movers and Shakers
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Representatives Greg Snowden (R-Meridian) and Senator Tom King (R-Petal) were awarded the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers Association Legislator of the Year Awards on June 20.

Robert Coggins, in his fourth term as Mayor of Baldwyn, succeeds Clinton Mayor Rosemary Aultman, as head of the Mississippi Municipal League which represents nearly 300 of Mississippi's towns and cities.

Rankin County Supervisor Larry Swales (R-Brandon) accepted the position of President of the Mississippi Association of Supervisors on June 20. He will represent the 410 county supervisors of Mississippi.

Ron Bonjean, spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, popped the question to Lisa Vogt who serves as legislative director for House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX). They plan a spring 2003 wedding.

Rankin County supervisors hired Clovis B. Reed Jr. as their new county administrator effective July 8. Reed will replace Jeff Goodwin who has accepted a job as director of the Performance Audit Division of the state Audit Department. Reed has resigned as Claiborne County administrator. In the past, he has also served as county administrator for DeSoto and Simpson counties.

Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr was chosen to serve as a member of the Advisory Board of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

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Now on the Magnolia Report Images Page are two new pictures, both provided by the Pickering for Congress Campaign. The first is a picture of Congressman Pickering and his family with Congressman Steve Largent (OK) at the 41st Annual Congressional Softball Game (which the GOP won 9-2 over the Dems). The second is a picture at the Lena raceway of Pickering in a Ford Mustang and Congressman Ronnie Shows in a BMW about to do the quarter mile (Shows won).
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E-Bytes
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"I am concerned about the fate of this state because people have lost faith and confidence in the legal system and that means they've lost confidence in judges." - Southern District Supreme Court candidate Jess Dickinson, Hattiesburg American: June 12, 2002

Second, we must preserve the "finest judicial system in the world, and maintain the public faith in that judicial and legal system." [Republican Party Chairman Jim Herring fears we are facing a "total loss of confidence by the general public in the judicial system and legal rulings" and that the "constant tearing away at the confidence of the judicial system threatens the stability of our county." - Madison County Journal: June 13, 2002

If you held a gun to his head and demanded that he say whether he will run for governor, "I'd tell you I'm going to run," Haley Barbour told Adams County Republicans Monday night..."The question is not, 'Do people want change?' There's no question they have an appetite for change," Barbour said. "The question is, 'Do they have an appetite for Haley?'" - Natchez Democrat: June 19, 2002

"I'm a Democrat," he said, adding, "We're going to talk to the Democratic headquarters" before making further plans concerning his campaign. "I want to try to be the best Democrat I can be." - Democratic Senate Nominee Steve Turney, Columbian-Progress: June 19, 2002

"All of a sudden everybody on death row is going to become retarded." - Mississippi Assistant Attorney General Marvin White, reacting to the Supreme Court ruling that executing mentally retarded inmates is unconstitutional, Associated Press: June 21, 2002

"We're going to pass some tort reform. We're going to have some civil justice reform. It may not be what the business community wants. It may not go as far as some want us to take it...We can always use some improvement, but we don't need to tear down our civil justice system...I do believe we need to stop jury-shopping. To get punitive damages, you have to prove intent to harm. Doctors don't intend to harm, they just make mistakes sometimes." - Representative Zack Rushing (D-Tylertown), Enterprise Journal: June 22, 2002

"A classic case is Senate Republican Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi, one of Amtrak's strongest partisans. Lott once talked of killing Amtrak, but he did not count on the power of persuasion of Mayor John Robert Smith (R) of Meridian, Miss., who controls many votes in east central Mississippi. Smith is such a rail partisan that he is chairman of Amtrak's board." - Washington Post staff writer Don Phillips: June 24, 2002

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Final Word: Tort and Retort
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High-profile trial lawyer Richard Scruggs told the Mississippi Press Association on Saturday that doctors are under siege from a variety of economic stresses, but that tort reform isn't the answer. "It's a phony issue, a phony crisis," he said. "Doctors have been crying for years about medical malpractice (insurance) rates." He said doctors' problems are with insurance companies, not with lawyers. Doctors aren't leaving the state because they're being sued, he said. - Sun Herald: June 23, 2002

Scruggs, who was part of the team that took on big tobacco and won billions of dollars in damages, compared tort reform to pornography. "It's hard to define," he said. Scruggs also said that if it ever comes to pass, tort reform will do no good. Nothing will change, he said. Well, something has to change. Take the impact our civil justice system and huge settlements have had on our medical community. More than half a dozen doctors have already left Adams County. Regardless of what Scruggs says, we find that exodus just plain obscene. - Natchez Democrat: June 23, 2002

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Magnolia Political Report, 2002
Brian Perry, Editor
www.magnoliareport.com
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© Magnolia Political Report 2002 • PO Box 24233 Jackson, Mississippi 39225
FAX 601.355.7885 • scoop@magnoliareport.com
Brian Perry, Editor