Salter: Bipartisan MDOC review board has strong members
STARKVILLE — If anyone was expecting Gov. Phil Bryant to appoint a state Department of Corrections contract review task force panel that was a Republican rubber stamp crew, they are likely disappointed. Instead, Bryant appointed a strong bipartisan group of reviewers who have strong principles and who won't worry about offending anyone.
In the wake of the federal indictment of former Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps on bribery and kickback charges, Bryant ordered that all contracts associated with companies listed in the indictment be re-bid. Additionally, Bryant said he would appoint a task force to review all other MDOC contracts to ensure they were both "legally procured and in the best interest of the taxpayers."
The federal indictment alleges that Epps engaged in a criminal conspiracy with alleged co-conspirator Cecil McCrory, a former lawmaker and president of the Rankin County school board, by taking nearly $2 million in bribes and kickbacks.
Epps pleaded not guilty to multiple charges including bribery, money laundering and wire fraud. McCrory, who owned companies doing business with MDOC, is accused of bribing Epps and profiteering from sweetheart contracts and consulting fees, also pleaded not guilty.
Bryant initially named prominent Republican attorney and former chief of staff to the late former Gov. Kirk Fordice, and former Hinds County Circuit Judge Robert Gibbs to lead the contract review task force. Gibbs held a non-partisan judgeship and has worked well with figures in both of the major parties.
But in filling out the other three seat on the prison contract task force, Bryant appointed three individuals with strong partisan ties and personal records that reflect strong character and little deference to stepping on political toes.
Former Democratic state attorney general Mike Moore brings a reputation as a political warrior to the process. Moore has watched the evolution of the Mississippi Department of Corrections from the monolithic Delta convict labor camp in Sunflower County at Parchman to a diversified system in which private prisons and outside contractors play a large role.
Moore in unlikely to politicize the contract review process – as some Democrats in the Legislature are agitating for in recent days – but neither is he likely to worry about angering legislative committee chairmen, lobbyists or vendors who won't like the contract review.
Joining Moore will be another respected lifetime Democrat, Forest attorney Constance Slaughter-Harvey. Slaughter-Harvey is a former assistant secretary of state during the tenure of Dick Molpus. Although an expert in elections, Slaughter-Harvey is an attorney who has worked the state's trial courts and is familiar with the ebb and flow of state prisoners in and out of the system. She is tough as nails and won't be intimidated in the contract review process.
Bryant's final choice for the task force is Meridian's Bill Crawford, currently president of the Montgomery Institute and a former state legislator. After a number of years as a banker and legislator, Crawford worked in state government at the Mississippi Development Authority and in higher education.
Crawford knows the legislative process as it relates oversight of corrections and the fierce competition for state contracts by lobbyists and others who circle state legislators. A veteran of the base closure fights in Meridian, Crawford likewise hasn't backed up from controversy.
In short, Bryant picked an independent, strong-willed and competent group of people to restore order in the contracts that are now suspect after the Chris Epps decade in that agency. Restoring public confidence in the agency will be a tall order.
It will take a group like this – people with thick skin, strong personal integrity and a real desire to serve – to restore respect for the state's prison system. While some in the GOP may wonder why Bryant tapped high profile Democrats along with Republicans for this task, it was a smart move – both politically and from a good government standpoint, too.
Sid Salter is a syndicated columnist and director of public affairs at Mississippi State University. Contact him at (601) 507-8004 or sidsalter@sidsalter.com.