Jackson Jambalaya

So he talks about experience, yet nothing about his own experience besides being shot is included?

I am not belittling his being shot at all, just wondering why he makes an issue of experience, yet does not include a composite of his own.

Marshand Crisler was shot in the leg. NOT.

Did he SERIOUSLY ask/allow the employees of the MCSO to endorse him? OMG.

I wonder how many of them felt they had to in order to keep their jobs? I wonder how many of them considered the consequences if someone else gets elected?

I am just stunned. Of course, the win-at-all-costs crowd will think it's fine and dandy, but good grief.

There's also the fact that local law enforcement CAN be brought into a voting precinct to enforce elections laws if the appointed baliff decides he/she needs assistance. If a government employee knows that he/she might end up having to decide a situation at a polling place, I am not sure that endorsing ANY candidate is appropriate -- especially if that endorsement is done AS a member of law enforcement, not just as John Q. Citizen with a sign in his yard.

If there's a dispute in one of the polling places in the county, say between observers from the Tucker campaign and the Houston campaign. The disagreement gets out of hand and the baliff has to call for help from local law enforcement -- and the cop who walks in happens to be one who signed that endorsement. That's not OK.

Bad, bad form. And even if Tucker had never asked for it, he never should have allowed it.

So now being elected sheriff is like winning the Purple Heart?

I had thought it was a job, not an award.

That bullet on the ad is Tucker shooting himself in the foot.

... It's not just him, either. A Republican friend yesterday was ranting on the GOP candidates' advertising.

"Lynn Fitch knows how to balance the budget! Well, that's great, she should run for the LEGISLATURE then.

"And Phil Bryant has a plan to move Mississippi forward -- what's he been doing for 8 years? Where ya been, Phil?

"Charles Barbour will protect the unborn -- great, I guess that means the Legislature's going to overrule Roe v. Wade."

He is pretty much resolved to vote against each of those people, based on their own advertising.

Anyone else having that experience?

Not sure any candidate has misdirected away from their absolute inexperience more than Cheeseburger Reeves.

Someone please tell us how Tater Skins, as Treasurer, specifically cut and prioritized spending to focus on education and public safety?

Kudos on the volume of paid campaign ads you've been able to attract Kingfish. There doesn't appear to be another online presence in Mississippi that comes remotely close to your success. It is obvious who is garnering the greatest number of unique eyeballs on a consistent basis ... Jackson Jambalaya. Great job!

I don't like the bullet on the front.

I also don't like that all those people signed the back. How many of those people felt like they were going to get in trouble with Randy if he wins if they refused to sign it?

Most law enforcement, firemen have huge egos.Many if not al of them have a " Hero" complex whereby they want to be recognized for the
dangers they encounter every day.

Then they want to be the "HERO" that rescues someone from the building or whatever. That is something just comes with the job...but putting a pic of yourself getting shot is a little more than I can fatham.

Anderson, I'm having the same experience. We had a candidate come calling last night. Might have voted for him but he shot himself in the foot during the very brief conversation we had the front door.

Apparently, these people are relying on the fact that most voters are completely oblivious. Fortunately, some of us are not. :-)

"We are the Madison County Sheriff's Department"

Is that an endorsement despite Toby's statement?

I know it's off-topic, but THANK YOU Anderson!

I don't understand Lynn Fitch's latest commercial AT ALL. The one that starts with the images of the Mississippi River flood. She voices over something like, "In times of crisis, we all need to hold to what matters -- faith, family, and friends." I am probably misquoting, but you get the idea. WHAT THE HELL????? Does the Treasurer's Office now run MEMA?

I also don't understand what exactly Lucien Smith did to keep "Obamacare" out of Mississippi. Didn't that fall under the Insurance Commission and the Legislature?

And every time I see one of Tim Johnson's ads, all I do is wonder if he's going to get in trouble with Elvis Presley Enterprises and their SS-like trademark enforcement lgeal team.

FINALLY -- I have never seen so many people so desperately trying to tie themselves to one person, using the MOST TUENUOUS of connections, as all these candidates are with Haley Barbour.

I passed Haley Barbour in a hallway one time and he smiled at me and nodded his head. Should I run for office now, too?

Am I the only person who wonders why candidates for non-policy type positions (sheriff being an excellent example)are required to declare a party affiliation? Some of the candidates for Sheriff in Madison County have "Republican" larger than their names on their signage. If you are running for a state-wide office, if you are running for the legislature or board of supes, I want to know a little about your "leanings" but if you are running for sheriff, I don't want you to have a party, I want you to enforce the law and protect the citizens, etc.

On Tim Johson's signs, I can't believe he considers himself a serious candidate for the Transportation Commission position with his Elvis push. I'm guessing he is just using this as a great opportunity to promote his Elvis impersonation business and possibly get a little campaign contribution money to help that out!

The names you see on that list are officers, dispatchers, and reserve deputies. What the ad should say is WE ARE 35 out of 150 employees, barely more than 20 percent, and we want to tell you a story about Randy Tucker when he worked for Canton PD.

Is it just me, or do the large majority of posters here bitch about anything and everything? Goodness, when I read JJ and the comments daily; the smarter than thou crowd is always over represented.

Its just you.

Is it just me, or do the large majority of posters here bitch about anything and everything?

New to the internet, are you?

About Tim Johnson's ad- I think he is an insult to Elvis and I don't like that he used Elvis in his ad and on his signs. I hope Dick Hall kicks his butt big time!!! I love the bulldog commercial- high five!!!!

Anderson, that was a good one! Thanks for the laugh!

Personally I like (sarcasm) the ad where the candidate all but promises to stand at County Line Road and keep Hinds County tags from moving further northbound. All the ad needs is Randy's 'Bullet' to seal the message.

As to candidates, I wish I knew any of them well enough to decide, but I do not. And at the risk of sounding age-driven, I cannot vote for a man in his middle 60s who obviously wants to add four higher paid years to his Public Employees Retirement System formula, especially since having to quit his day job for violating the Hatch Act.

Elections are popularity contests wherein the best campaigner always wins. Always. Let's face it, folks, not very many people are as interested in all this as we are. They're going on who is the best looking, who has the most signs, who has the best commercials. The issues are rarely discussed beyond a superficial level, and a lot of the voters don't understand them anyway. Even though the Treasurer doesn't have the slightest thing to do with abortion, all three candidates have made sure we know they're pro-life. Why? Because they'll lose votes if they don't. We shouldn't care if our Sheriff is a Republican or a Democrat, but many people will vote for the R or D without looking at the candidate. That's our reality, and it's going to continue until the parties start doing a better job of educating the people and the voters start holding up their end of the bargain. Bill Billingsley

Anon 1:19, I have no idea if I am smarter than thou art. I DO apparently expect more from candidates and their advertising than thou doth.

9:59, I can't speak for Randy, but it's kinda hard to put a resume on a mailer that small (unless you're Jimmy Houston).

But here's a short rundown of Randy Tucker's qualifications:

+MLEOTA (1994)

+17 years law enforcement experience

+MCSD Narcotics Agent since 2000

+Commander of MCSD Narcotics Division since 2002

+Advanced training in criminal investigations, narcotics investigations, street gang investigations, first line law enforcement supervisor, advanced law enforcement supervisor, etc.

I don't have Randy's resume, so I'm omitting a great deal of information.

I agree with Bill. Try running a Treasurer's race based on day to day work of the Treasurer's office. You'll get hammered. Kingfish talked about it on a previous post. Basically, voters don't know what the Treasurer does; they just want someone in office that believes what they believe.

Randy could easily fit his qualifications on a mailer and has. I've seen it. Just not impressed...listing one after the other of his "advanced training" accomplishments is a joke. Each of those "trainings" is a 1-2 day course complete with a certificate suitable for framing.
Hardly compares to Houston's 38 years in law enforcement, leadership and TRUE advanced training:
- Master's Degree in Criminal Justice
- FBI Natl. Academy Graduate
- DEA Natl. Academy Graduate
- Sr. Mgmt. Institute for Police, Kennedy School of Govt., Harvard Univ. Graduate
- Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Adjunct Professor

4:01, you left off Chief Houston's most important "qualification:"

For 14 months, Houston has had probable cause to arrest Daniel Soto for perjury, yet has sat on his ass and done nothing. In fact he didn't do a damn thing except to unleash Soto onto another community.

Which one of those prestigious academies taught him that was appropriate?

Randy Tucker does not need to become Sheriff. The county will take several steps backward if this happens.

"Professor" Houston with his doctorate in "Looking the Other Way" had more cause than perjury to arrest Soto...lets go to the chalk board class and see what else our so-called "Qualified" candidate could have arrested Soto for. Ex. A. Tampering with Evidence: Soto tried repeatedly to hide the recording from his car that was logged onto the station computer when he pulled up. Not knowing that when you log onto the computer it records who you are. All he did was move it around...it never was erased as he intended. Ex. B. False Arrest. There was NO CAUSE to detain nor arrest Mr. Whitfield as the tape proved. Ex. C. Of course perjury. So what have we learned today from "Professor" Houston? He had at least 3 reasons to arrest Soto....he said in the paper he wanted to bring a Ridgeland Style PD to the MCSO....think we see where that will lead!!!! HEY! Aint that Belvedresi signature on the Tucker card?

Yeah! That is Belvedresi's unfortunate signature on the card! Bet "Hot Tub" Randy wishes he had delayed that order at the print shop by just a few days.
Btw, real easy to point fingers at others' records when you have never held a chief's position so there's no history to explore. And no - commander doesn't count!!

7:13, that's cute. Speaking of people who've held a chief's position, why hasn't god's gift to law enforcement arrested Daniel Soto? 14 months and counting....

Geez Curt, why you got such a hard on for Soto? Find a new rant. Jimmy has 38 years in LE as referenced in an earlier post and all you can find is this? Oh wait, the Hatch Act. Pretty damn good record.
All those guys are supporting Randy because they are scared of change (Human Behavior 101)and actually having to work.
As for Soto's victims, there are plenty of minorities in Canton that can attest to "being treated like a King" (a la Rodney) by some of MCSO's finest but they don't have the voice/money to create outrage on a blog. MCSO has their own "Soto's" with a complete lack of professionalism/ethics.

Houston's been in law enforcement for 38 years and he did nothing to rein in Soto?

Nuff sed.

Curt et al...
For all y'all that want to point fingers about the Soto case, point them at our fine District Attorney, Michael Guest. When the case was brought to him to prosecute, Guest flat out refused to pursue it. Can't arrest somebody for charges that the DA has no intention of pursuing.

Dang! I think I'll write in on my ballot in the sheriff's election. There's nobody left and from the looks of things the only person that qualifies is...........Leebo!

Since the only MCSO candidate I haven't heard anything bad about is Brad Harbour, I'll throw his name out there so y'all can tell me what's wrong with *him* too.

I dont know who Leebo is but I am seriously considering him now...Gov. Leebo...Sen. Leebo....PRESIDENT LEEBO...HAS A NICE RING TO IT!!!!

Randy Tucker is a fine young man who would make a great Sheriff. I am grateful that he is in law enforcement. I thank God for men like him. I think I have a better candidate in Jimmy Houston, but I am still grateful for the good men we have in the Sheriff's Office. I can do without the nitpicking.
Samuel Milton Richardson III, MD
831 W. Deerfield Dr.
Canton, MS 39046
[Any of you want to put your name up or would you prefer to hide? Any real men out there? -SR ]

10:06pm, that's the lie Jimmy Houston has been spreading to explain his dereliction of duty in the Soto case. Houston is a sworn law enforcement officer. He didn't need the DA's permission or blessing to arrest Soto. Nice try, though.

When Houston was presented with indisputable evidence of this crime, he did what 38-year bureaucrats do: hid under his desk and prayed he didn't get hit.

The reason Jimmy Houston didn't arrest Soto is obvious. If he had arrested Soto, then every news outlet would have covered the fact that Houston had a dirty cop on his watch. This would not have been good for his candidancy for Sheriff/retirement enhancement plan.

Soto was allowed to do his dirty deeds because Jimmy Houston was asleep at the switch. Retired-on-active-duty. Then he compounds the problem by not arresting Soto, allowing him to slip away to another unsuspecting community.

Trying to blame Mr. Guest for Houston's intentional mismanagement is shameful.

I'd post my real name but as my screen name should indicate, I'm not a real man.

Sorry Doc, I'm a marsupial. I guess a mammal too, but oh well. Hey Frugal Gal!

In the race for Madison County Sheriff, there is SOOOO MUCH MORE to the job than simply the Law Enforcement side of things! If were all about LE then you could almost just throw a dart at the names on a wall, but there is the administrative side of the job such as successfully managing a large budget, a large staff, managing the building and equipment upkeep, applying for grants monies, dealing with the BoS, dealing with the general public, running a jail, just to name a few. None of them will be perfect, I only hope that they surround themselves with very good, and qualified, managerial/supervisory staff. I would hate to see the newly elected Sheriff take retaliation against anyone of the current deputies for simply exercising their right to support the candidate of their choice during election time! May the best man win on Tuesday, August 2nd, or should I say, Tuesday, August 23rd?!

curt, don't you think you ought to get your act together before setting yourself up and judge, jury and executioner? You are lucky you weren't disbarred over that debacle over in east Mississippi Circuit Court a few months back.

Jimmy Houston is retired from JPD, are you certain he gets a big benefit from having a four high years if elected sheriff?

Madison will be fine if either Houston or Harbour are elected. Not so much with the others....

Like your anonymous smear carries any weight.

Meanwhile, Gene McGee sends out a letter (on mayor's office letterhead) endorsing Steen for supervisor.

If I hadn't already had sufficient reason to vote for D.I., that would clinch it for me.

Bo Tanner has endorsed Gerald Steen.

257pm, it's not surprising you are a Houston supporter, as you are both gutless and a liar.

You got anything that disputes the fact that Houston has had probable cause to arrest Soto for 14 months and has failed to do so? Anything? Other than blaming the DA and making a half-assed attempt to smear me, do you have any evidence to dispute the fact that Jimmy Houston sat on his ass while Soto terrorized the community?

Bo Tanner? As in the former MRA Football standout who's life later took a turn for the worse? Has he been released?

Who the hell is Soto?