[Editorial]  Can We Learn from the Hotel Morass?

December 14, 2011

As the city administration and the Jackson Development Authority scramble to close a convention-center hotel deal filled with "complexities" (as JRA member John Reeves put it), the situation should make the rest of us wonder: How can we avoid being in this place again?

At the Jackson Free Press, we've warned for five years now about the possible pitfalls of relying on companies related to controversial Texas businessman Gene Phillips to get a convention-center hotel in place. Before the convention center was built, we even did our homework and reported on the problems with making a convention center successful—warning explicitly that we would need an expensive convention-center hotel that could really set the taxpayers back.

But this isn't we-told-you-so time. Well, not exactly. We don't want to rub city residents' noses (too) much in the fact that voters elected a mayor (Frank Melton) because he told all sorts of people exactly what they wanted to hear. We won't make (too) much of the fact that many folks voted for him due to empty promises to cure crime in 90 days (actually, it went up on his watch). And we won't harp (too) much on the fact that many business folks and developers supported a ridiculous choice for mayor because he told them they could do anything they want and that he would get out of the way for them to do business.

What we will hammer home as our warnings prove true is the fact that now is the time to start making smarter decisions for the future—and based on much more than who is willing to scream the loudest about crime. We hate to tell you, but scary mailers about crime rankings usually have someone paying for them who are focused on control and profit, not how safe your neighborhood really is. Candidates who care about safety aren't going to promise you the moon, or even scream warnings out to specific criminals (remember Melton's inaugural?); they are going to lead efforts to bring evidence-based crime prevention to the city.

That is, they are going to take a longer view than we are used to seeing.

Likewise, the hotel mess tells us to be more questioning about potential development. Flood control was delayed for years because supporters of a doomed project told us it was the only way and had little challenge (until the JFP came along, anyway). Likewise, we hear constantly about various large-scale developments wanting public money and bonds and guarantees, regardless of their pitfalls. We really wish someone in charge was tracking a total of what the taxpayers really have on the line if we go along with every big development idea.

Smart development is good, and we support it. But the last thing we need is more mindless cheerleading of a project, or an out-of-state developer, because the PR materials look good. Jackson citizens must demand more accountability, evidence, and long-range vision from city officials, JRA and private developers.

We can't afford to blindly hurl every project against the wall, shored up by public dollars, to see what sticks. We've done that for too long.

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