Jackson Jambalaya

Leaders polarize. They divide. They challenge. It is in our nature to go along to get along but we need leaders. We like leaders, but at the same time, many are threatened by them, as they remind us of what we lack in ourselves. Strong leaders arouse passion. They are either loved or hated as few fall between the two sides. Such is the Mayor of Madison.

She was a spitfire, not even thirty years old, as she knocked on doors asking for votes. She shouldn't have been elected Mayor of Madison but she was. In an age when politicians pass the buck and often claim ownership for the success of others, Mary Hawkins-Butler took ownership of Madison. If there is blame in the transformation of Madison over the past 30 years; she owns it, but also she owns the credit. Madison was her child and she treated it as such. Such is America. America is not Washington. It is not the flags, the parades, the military. America is built by communities and leaders forming a mosaic. A mosaic of strengths, weaknesses, towering achievements and humbling failures. America allows you to dare, to fail, to succeed. Mary Hawkins-Butler dared.... and usually succeeded.

Madison was a sleepy town when Mary Hawkins became Mayor. When she became Mary Hawkins-Butler, it was a thriving suburb of Jackson. While Flowood pursued businesses and Ridgeland approved apartments, Madison built homes. Homes became the backbone of Madison. Homes brought stores. Homes brought retailers. Homes brought property taxes. Property taxes that paid for good schools. Good schools brought in more homes. Other burbs stagnated as Madison grew. Battles were fought and usually won. She stood up to Wal-Mart. Developers tried their best to bring apartments to Madison. They conquered Ridgeland and the mayor of that city regrets it, as over half the town is now inhabited by renters. He looks on his handiwork and cringes. The mayor of Jackson looks on his legacy and wants more even as black flight worsens. The residents of Madison give thanks they escaped the two fates. Parkway Properties and Eastgroup founder Leland Speed said "she gets it". Mr. Speed cited Mary Hawkins-Butler as his favorite Mayor in Mississippi, one of the few who understood she was the leading real estate agent for Madison when interviewed by this website.

This website endorses Mary Hawkins-Butler for Mayor of Madison, Mississippi. The Mayor and the citizens of Madison created a town like no other in Mississippi. The candidates at the Clinton mayoral debate repeatedly cited Madison as the example they wanted to follow. They all lamented over how Clinton had stalled. How it wasn't attracting business. They asked why couldn't the city have the type of success enjoyed by Madison. They asked sales tax revenues fell while Madison's increased during a recession. It's also been rather amusing to watch mayoral candidates in other cities, including Jackson, contact her for advice during the campaign season. Want to know how well the Mayor is doing? Ask the competitors- the other cities in the tri-county area. They will tell a different story than the one provided by her opposition.

There is some animosity towards the Mayor. She decided a long time ago she would rather be respected than liked. She is no stranger to controversy, but what strong leader shuns a battle? The voters return her to office, election after election, for a reason: because she protects them and they trust her to keep protecting them, media be damned. She's won some fights and lost others, but she is never scared of the fight itself, while other so-called leaders lead from behind. However, the results speak for themselves. Look at the state of Madison today.

Madison is free of the apartments that destroyed Northeast Jackson and are changing Ridgeland. The Madison "look" is an exception for Mississippi. One of the jewels in a state that often places last in most categories. The city keeps a tight watch on crime. The Mayor has an underrated knack for hiring talent, something that is often overlooked in politicians. It is said Harvey doesn't know how to hire people. The opposite can be said of the Mayor of Madison. The fire chief is recognized as one of the top chiefs in Mississippi. He chaired the PERS Board of Trustees last year and sits on the Mississippi Wireless Communications Commission. The police chief is well respected. The city attorney is held in high esteem by others. More than a few times someone told this correspondent he "hated" Mary Hawkins-Butler but said John Hedgelin was a very nice man whom he respected. Her opponent conceded she had done many "good things".

Facing the Mayor is the President of the Madison County Board of Supervisors. Regular readers of this website are familiar with the shenanigans of the Madison County Board of Supervisors. Try as he might, John Bell Crosby cannot separate himself from that bunch. Huge fees paid to a certain engineer. Wasted bond issues. Parks in the middle of nowhere generating fees for favored contractors. Legal bills of $25,000 a month from a board attorney. Money showered on lobbyists and spin doctors, oops, I meant Public Relations specialists. Bailouts for failed developers. Votes to keep contribution agreements with those failed developers secret from the voters. Repeatedly violating the public bidding laws as professional service contracts are awarded to friends of the supervisors, taxpayers be damned.

The list continues to grow the longer he is in office. He criticized the Mayor last week at a debate for spending too much money. What was it the Good Book said about pointing out the beam in your brother's eye while ignoring the mote in your own? Well, the eyes of the Madison County Board of Supervisors are filled with more than a few motes when it comes to other people's money. The Democrats act like Democrats and the Republicans act like Democrats. Nothing like bipartisan spending. Mr. Crosby complained about the lack of parks in Madison. Mr. Crosby is consistent about wanting more parks, as he voted to borrow money to build parks to nowhere in Madison County. Sometimes he votes the right way but his role as Supervisor is more of a Quinten Whitwell, instead of a Phil Fisher; someone who won't get in the way of the board's bidness even when they are doing wrong.

Mr. Crosby is a nice man. He earned respect as a store manager of a large Kroger store. Kroger doesn't hand the keys to such stores to managers who lack the ability to run them. Mr. Crosby had to hire and fire employees, manage a budget, and deal with customers. He learned quite a bit about politics while serving as a county supervisor. However, the debate showed the difference between the two. One candidate appeared as a Mayor who knew her city backwards and forwards, the other appeared as well, a candidate. A candidate who was trying to throw punches but could not quite connect. The key moment in the debate was during what is usually one of the more boring topics: water and sewer issues. Mr. Crosby said he didn't know much about the water and sewer system of Madison. It was a weak answer as Mr. Crosby should have more knowledge then he professed. A county supervisor is the equivalent of a Mayor to some degree. Madison is in his district. Mr. Crosby should have provided a better answer to the question. While he fumbled the answer, the Mayor provided a sharp answer filled with information. She made it clear the city would not be held hostage to the woes of Jackson as it moved more of its water and sewer services to the Big Black River. Once again she portrayed the role of protector while the challenger appeared challenged. (I had to think hard for that line.)

The race between Mary Hawkins-Butler and John Bell Crosby benefited Madison. Mayors should be elected, not crowned. They should answer to the voters every hour years. Coronations do no one any good. The Mayor ran scared, always a good thing for a politician. More than a few lost when they became comfortable and convinced the voters were in the bag for them. The Mayor did not make that mistake in this election and it showed in her campaigning. John Bell Crosby may win, he may lose, but he did something the complainers didn't do: he tried. Mr. Crosby deserves our respect for running against the Mayor. The race was fun for him at times while at other times he was probably ready to explode. If he wins, he gets to show people what he can do as Mayor. If he loses, he will still be a better man for running.

Jackson Jambalaya applauds both candidates for running for Mayor. The best choice for Madison voters is Mary Hawkins-Butler. Now get out and vote.

*Apologies for ending a sentence with a preposition.