Jackson Free Press

As if presenting to a jury, Melvin Priester Jr. paced in front of a bank of TV cameras as he made his opening argument — for his candidacy for mayor of Jackson.

Priester broke with several other candidates whose announcements came at Jackson City Hall and held his first official campaign event at his law office in north Jackson.

"Who I am isn't at city hall. Where I'm from isn't at city hall. What I believe, who I'm with, what we want to do to change this city isn't based at city hall," Priester told media and supporters this afternoon.

Priester said he wanted to continue to build Jackson, which includes renovating his law office on Executive Place as well as promoting the development of Jackson's Midtown neighborhood.

Priester was the third candidate to reveal intentions to seek the mayor's seat today; a fourth, Chokwe Antar Lumumba, will hold a news conference at 5:30 p.m. inside city hall due to rainy weather.

Attorney Regina Quinn, former general counsel for Jackson State University, confirms she's throwing her name in the growing hat of Jackson mayoral candidates.

Quinn finished in fourth place in last year's Democratic mayoral primary. When the race came down to a runoff between then-Ward 2 Councilman Chokwe Lumumba and businessman Jonathan Lee, Quinn threw her support to Lumumba. Many of her supporters also got behind Lumumba; currently, several members of her campaign staff hold positions in city government.

That sets up an interesting race given that Lumumba's son, Chokwe Antar also plans to seek the seat and is expected to draw much of his late father's political base.

"I've worked so closely with Chokwe and, honestly when Antar said he wanted to run, I kind of felt like I'd be running against my nephew. But then I really started thinking about what Jackson needs and what I could bring to the table to get that done," Quinn, the only woman so far to definitively declare her candidacy, told the JFP this morning.

Quinn also stressed that her candidacy does not mean she has doubts about the leadership potential of Chokwe Antar or anyone else who has declared their intentions.

"I don't have doubts about anyone's leadership abilities, but what I have confidence in is what I bring to the table," she said.

In a move that contradicts the plethora of hats flying into the mayoral ring this week, Jonathan Lee posted on his Facebook page last night that he is not running in the mayoral special election (news broken on Twitter by Ross Adams of WJTV). It was rumored that Lee, a favorite of the business community in his run for the office last year, was interested in running again but was on the fence. We also understand that the business community has been conducting a poll to determine where it will put its collective support, but are not aware of findings at this point.

Ross Adams reported yesterday that 10 candidate packets had been picked up at City Hall. So far, Harvey Johnson Jr., Antar Lumumba, Melvin Priester Jr. and Tony Yarber have officially announced or will today. The Associated Press reported last night that Sen. John Horhn will officially enter the race Wednesday. Councilwoman Margaret Barrett-Simon says she is considering a run and will decide by week's end. We will post other candidate information as we receive it (send to [email protected] or [email protected]).

Here is a screenshot of Lee's statement announcing that he is not running.

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2014/mar/11/16342/

As the JFP reported last week, Chokwe Antar Lumumba, 30, is running for mayor. He will announce today (Tuesday) at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall that he is running for his father's seat. Note that this is a new time.

We just saw Ward 7 Councilwoman Margaret Barrett-Simon's Facebook posting indicating that she might announce for mayor by the end of the week. Here is a screenshot. We'll keep you posted.

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2014/mar/10/16336/

We just received the following press release announcing a news conference for Ward 2 Councilman and City County President Melvin Priester Jr.:

Jackson City Council President Melvin V. Priester, Jr., is scheduled to hold a press conference, Tuesday, March 11, 2014 at 2:00 p.m., at Priester Law Firm, PLLC, 5375 Executive Place, Jackson, MS, regarding his plans for the upcoming Special Mayoral election.

Priester, the current City Council President, represents Ward 2 in the City of Jackson. He was instrumental in working to help pass the 1% sales tax with the late Mayor and he led the charge to re-establish bus service for the City of Jackson’s after-school program. He sits as an ex-officio member of all council committees. A practicing attorney for 10 years, Melvin Priester, Jr., is a member of his family based Jackson law firm, Priester Law Firm, PLLC.

Priester grew up in Jackson and has deep ties to the community. He is the grandson of the late Jackson matriarch and business owner, Mrs. Bernice Allen Stimley, who was a community activist and operated a grocery store in the Georgetown community in Jackson for over 30 years. He is the son of Hinds County Judge Melvin Priester, Sr., and Attorney Charlene Stimley Priester. Priester graduated from Jackson Public Schools as Valedictorian of the Class of 1997, Murrah High School. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard College in 2001, and received his law degree from Stanford University in 2004. On the council, Priester has fought for an improved relationship between JPD and neighborhood groups. Priester has also fought to transform the city’s budgeting process. Priester prides himself on addressing constituent concerns about potholes, drainage, and blighted properties.

Someone just forwarded me a letter they say was distributed today at Cade Chapel M.B. Church that appears to be from former Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. asking for support in his run in the special mayor election. We have been hearing that he is running again, and are trying to confirm it from him directly. Here is a JPG of the letter forwarded to us. I apologize that it's a bit blurry.

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2014/mar/09/16321/

UPDATED

I just ran into a Facebook post that hints that (a) Councilman Tony Yarber might be running for mayor and (b) that the hashtag #runtonyrun is trending.

After posting about it earlier, Yarber got back in touch with me via Facebook message, saying: "I'm heavily considering a run. I'm being encouraged by a lot of people. Most importantly, people I trust."

When asked when he would decide, he said: "There won't be an announcement right now. I'm going to watch my children do liturgical mime and dance tonight."

Meantime, here are the social-media posts, and a screenshot of the #runtonyrun tags on Twitter that seem associated with him (and I saw three on Facebook). My sense is that there may be more of an effort to take it trend.

And we're off.

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2014/mar/09/16320/

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2014/mar/09/16318/

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2014/mar/09/16319/

Just in, verbatim:

Oxford, MS Unanimously Passes Pro-LGBT Resolution

Third Mississippi city to pass resolution recognizing the role LGBT people play in thriving communities

WASHINGTON - Tonight Oxford, Mississippi unanimously passed a resolution recognizing the dignity and worth of all city residents - including those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT). Oxford joins two other Mississippi cities - Starkville and Hattiesburg - which both passed similar resolutions earlier this year.

Human Rights Campaign (HRC) President Chad Griffin issued the following statement:

“Like so many cities across America, Oxford, Mississippi has made clear that all its residents deserve to be treated with dignity, respect and equality, regardless of who they are or who they love. Today the Oxford Board of Alderman proudly affirmed the city’s support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, and moved Mississippi forward on the road to equality.”

“Diversity is what made and continues to make this country amazing. It strengthens and enhances the experiences of everyone, to understand that it is our differences from which we learn and make us stronger,” said Alderman Jay Hughes. “At a time when signals from some parts of the State seem to be focused on exclusion, I am absolutely honored and proud to be in a community that embraces inclusion of everyone, to make Oxford the great place that it is. Tolerance and acceptance creates the strongest bonds between neighbors, and I am proud to be on the right side of history in reaffirming Oxford’s long-standing commitment to that most fundamental principle.”

Public opinion on equality in Mississippi is far ahead of law in the state. A poll conducted last summer found that nearly 60 percent of Mississippians under the age of 30 support marriage equality, while 64 percent of residents back workplace non-discrimination protections for LGBT employees.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

JFP News Editor R.L. Nave is at City Hall for the special council meeting to set the date of the special election for the late Mayor Chokwe Lumumba's seat (made interesting because several members may run for the seat.)

Nave tweeted that Councilman De'Keither Stamps and Quentin Whitwell wanted the election April 15, but Tony Yarber and Margaret Barrett-Simon wanted April 8, so it didn't conflict with tax day. Melvin Priester Jr. served as the tie-breaker.

Council also set a special election runoff for two weeks after the special election.

The qualifying deadline for mayoral prospects will be March 19.

Earlier today, Nave broke the news that a campaign is coming together to draft Lumumba's son, Chokwe Antar, to run for mayor.

The Council also announced that Lumumba's body will lie in state in City Hall Friday, March 7, from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. for the public; and 7 to 9 p.m. for family only.

Over the weekend, various media outlets—irresponsibly in our opinion—published unsubstantiated rumors that Mayor Chokwe Lumumba was murdered, but with no evidence attached.

Mayor Chokwe Lumumba's son, Chokwe Antar Lumumba, gave the following statement to R.L. Nave of the Jackson Free Press this morning responding to comments of Hinds County Supervisor Kenneth Stokes and others that his father was murdered:

"We know that our father was loved and appreciated by many and a number of people both in Jackson and around the world have inquired into the manner of his death. At this time, there has been no information provided to the family other than that provided at the time of his death by the doctors. The family will explore all possible causes of his death."

We urge other media outlets to act responsibly and not publish rumors before evidence is provided. This can have a very harmful effect and spread fear among a citizenry already traumatized by our mayor's death.

Meantime, we expect these reports to be Exhibit A in many media-ethics discussions in the years to come.

Travis Childers is officially entering an already-heated Senate race for Thad Cochran's seat. Tea Party-backed state Sen. Chris McDaniel is in an ugly battle with Cochran for the Republican primary seat. Here is Childers' statement, just released, reprinted verbatim:

“Today I am filing to run for the U.S. Senate to make sure that all Mississippians have a Senator in Washington looking out for them.

“Regular people and small businesses across Mississippi are still hurting in this economy, but Washington is more partisan and dysfunctional than ever. That has got to change. What I know is that the old ways of Washington aren’t working, and a new breed of partisanship isn’t the answer. Right now the powerful corporations and special interests have all the power, and the middle class and seniors are paying the price. We need to end tax breaks for big corporations that ship jobs overseas, protect Medicare and Social Security, give small business owners a tax break, and pass a balanced budget amendment to force the politicians to cut the wasteful spending.

“I look forward to formally launching my campaign and traveling to every corner of our great state in the weeks to come. Mississippians know that I have a solid record of being an independent guy who will work across party lines and stand up to the powers that be when needed. In the U.S. Senate, I will continue to put Mississippi’s middle class first.”

From Northeast Mississippi, Travis Childers is a small business owner and a local economic development leader, who has brought over one thousand jobs to his local community. During his time in the House of Representatives, Travis had one of the most independent voting records in Congress. Travis is pro-gun, pro-life, and was endorsed by the NRA. In the Senate, Travis will lead the fight for a Balanced Budget Amendment, protect the Medicare and Social Security benefits that seniors have earned, and protect Mississippi jobs by ending tax breaks for big corporations that ship jobs overseas.

Last weekend, I happened by local television news and saw a report about Madison police officers going on a high-speed chase through the streets of Jackson—because of a problem that happened in the Target in Jackson, ending in a crash that seriously injured a bystander. Huh?

Also, looking at the website of the Starkville Daily News on Feb. 21, I had seen a short news report about Starkville police pursuing two teenagers through the streets of Starkville ending in a two-car collision. What were they charged with? "[S]uspicion of felony fleeing law enforcement officers." Huh? Starkville police pursued people in a dangerous chase that could injure or kill bystanders -- to charge them with fleeing? Why were they pursuing them in the first place, Daily News? (We're going to ask.)

The JFP has long reported about dangerous police chases, often in pursuit of non-violent criminals. Some of those chases end in serious injury or death. See this extensive report on the problem: "Code Blue: Police Pursuits Cost a Life a Day". It always amazes me that residents don't get more outraged (until one of their family members is killed) at these dangerous chases. And, even more startling, is how few questions local media often ask about the necessity of the chases.

I was pleased to see this release from the Jackson Police Department (which seems to have matured on this issue over the years). JPD is asking serious questions about why Madison police were engaged in dangerous pursuits outside their jurisdiction. Here is the statement, verbatim:

On February 23, 2014, the Madison Police Department engaged in a hot pursuit chase in that began in the Jackson city limits. Based on the information compiled by the Jackson Police Department, an alleged incident occurred at the Target Store in Jackson and outside the jurisdiction of the Madison Police Department. According to the incident reports Madison Police Officers engaged in a high chase pursuit without the authority or assistance of the Jackson Police Department. The Madison officers had no arrest powers for an alleged crime that occurred in the city of Jackson. There was no request for assistance to investigate a crime in Jackson. The officers only contacted JPD after they were already on scene at the Target Store and pursued a high speed chase.

The Jackson Police Department policy regarding high chase pursuits takes into consideration the inherent dangers of high speed chases on the public thoroughfares. The facts that have been presented to date did not show that a criminal act occurred that would justify a high speed chase. As a result of the action taken, at least one innocent by-stander was seriously injured. As a result of the actions taken by the Madison police officers, the Jackson Police Department has solicited the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations (MBI) to conduct an independent investigation. Public safety in the City of Jackson is this Department’s ultimate concern and responsibility. We encourage the assistance of other agencies but only within the …

The Sun-Herald just broke the news that Rep. Gene Taylor will run as a Republican to try to reclaim a seat in the U.S. Congress:

Taylor said he was on his way to Jackson to file to run as a Republican. The primary is June 3.

Read more here: http://www.sunherald.com/2014/02/28/5377861/moore-will-run-again-for-congress.html#emlnl=Breaking_News#storylink=cpy

Sharon Grisham-Stewart, the Hinds County coroner, told the Jackson Free Press this afternoon that she is not planning an autopsy for the late Mayor Chokwe Lumumba.

Lumumba died Tuesday, Feb. 25, of what Grisham-Stewart has said were "natural causes," seven months into his first term as mayor of Jackson.

Lumumba, who was 66 at the time of his death, had several bouts with illness over the years, including pneumonia that put him in the hospital in 2012 and prostate cancer several years ago.

It's not clear whether Lumumba's family will seek a private autopsy. Lumumba's services are scheduled for Saturday, March 8 at 11 a.m. at the Jackson Convention Center. There will be a wake on Friday, March 7 at City Hall, according to administration officials.

Lumumba died at St. Dominic's Hospital at the age of 66 with his long-time partner, Gloria Elmore, at his side.

Services for late Mayor Chokwe Lumumba are scheduled for Saturday, March 8 at 11 a.m. at the Jackson Convention Center. There will be a wake on Friday, March 7 at City Hall, according to administration officials.

Lumumba died Tuesday at St. Dominic's Hospital at the age of 66 with his long-time partner, Gloria Elmore, at his side. So far, no official cause of death is known.

Read more about Lumumba here.

The Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC) recently released the names of the semi-finalists for its 2014 Poetry Out Loud competition.

The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation created the Poetry Out Loud competition to encourage students in grades 9-12 to learn about poetry through memorizing and performing poems. MAC says that the program helps students develop public-speaking skills, self-confidence and reading comprehension. Students also learn about their literary heritage through poetry.

The contest starts at the classroom level and goes from there, with students from each region—north, south and central—of Mississippi advancing to the state level.

This year, MAC chose nine semi-finalists, three from each region:

Danielle Cameron, Sumrall High School Joy Carino, Starkville High School Corey Davis, Clinton Christian Academy Lawson Marchetti, Jackson Preparatory School Asia Montgomery, Columbia High School Casey Park, The Washington School, Greenville, Miss. Whitney Porter, Independence High School, Coldwater, Miss. Andre Vincent, Ridgeland High School Victoria Wilson, Mississippi School of the Arts, Brookhaven, Miss.

Each contestant will recite two poems from a 600-poem anthology. Three finalists will then read a third poem, and MAC will award them first, second or third place. The winner of the Mississippi Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest will receive $200 and the school will receive $500 to purchase poetry books. The state champion will go to the Poetry Out Loud nationals, where he or she will compete for $50,000 in prizes and school stipends. The National Champion will receive $20,000.

The semi-finalists will recite poetry at the state finals March 6 at 1 p.m. in the Mississippi Public Broadcasting studios (3825 Ridgewood Road). The event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit arts.ms.gov.

Where to get some vinyl records this weekend and new releases...

All, we are putting together a special tribute issue to Chokwe Lumumba for next week. Please add your messages below, and we will include what we can and link back to the rest. I'll start with a letter the Greater Jackson Chamber leadership sent to members today:

February 26, 2014

Dear GJCP Members:

The Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership is deeply saddened by Mayor Chokwe Lumumba’s departure from this earthly life. He was a great leader, with unique personality and talent. His keen intellectual grasp of the tough issues facing the City of Jackson was important, but it was his ability to rally everyone to action on those issues that truly made him special. His time in office may have been cut short, but his impact on moving this city forward will have long standing implications.

Today we grieve with the rest of the community, but we also cerebrate the achievements of Chokwe Lumumba. We had a strong and productive working relationship with the Mayor. Furthermore, in an unexpected twist, we developed a sincere personal relationship. So today we grieve the loss of this dear friend, and realize how blessed we are to have had him as a leader and public servant. Our thoughts and prayers are with Mayor Lumumba’s family, his friends and this community.

Sincerely,

Andy Taggart Chairman of the Board Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership

Duane O'Neill President Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership

I felt like I was kicked in the stomach when Todd stuck his head in my office after the paper went to the printer today to tell me we were hearing reports that Mayor Chokwe Lumumba had died. Our photographer and news editor ran off to City Hall, which I can see from my office, and I took over mission control to try to confirm and get the news out.

But my hands were shaking. What happens to the city now?

What's remarkable is how much such a divisive figure was bringing our city together. Even though his ideas were rather, let's admit it, socialist, I've been hearing from conservatives every day about how much they like him. And over and over again, people would talk about how he was a "good" person and how he got along with so many different people.

We already knew that about him, even though our jury was out on whether his vision for Jackson was possible or workable. I've long liked him—ever since his attorney kicked me out of a rally for him in 2002 because I was white, and then Lumumba invited me back after I wrote a fair story about the attempt to disbar him. He was always respectful to me after that.

There is much to be said in the days ahead, but my overwhelming thought right now is whether we can maintain the detente that Lumumba—the tall brother with the little hat, you might call him—managed to bring to a city that was so terribly divided during his campaign, when it was believed by many that Jackson's future relied on making sure he didn't get elected.

The truth is, Jackson's future relies on all of us working together despite differences—something our city and state haven't been good at. I pray that we don't return to our old ways after his death. We need to learn lessons that he taught us.

Time will tell. For now, the Jackson Free Press sends prayers out to his family at this very difficult time. May peace be with them.