Jackson Jambalaya

The battle to survive the first round towards becoming the next Mayor of Jackson enters its final days. Some Jacksonians get worked up over who wins while others ask “why would anyone want the job?” Why indeed. Election Man returns to the newspaper as Marshall Ramsey draws to his heart’s content. While its Christmas time for the sketcher of Tiny Wheels, Her Laddness over at the Jackson Free Press froths at the mouth over the mere thought of anyone opposing her man Harvey. The business community swings punches wildly in yet another attempt to dethrone the king as they empty their bank accounts. Then there are two councilmen who think they deserve promotions while they leave everyone baffled or beside themselves every time they talk. Let us not forget the lawyer who is trying to follow the Lynn Fitch route… I am woman, vote for me. Meanwhile the voters can’t wait for Wednesday to get here as they sound like Republican voters in 2008: is this the best we can do?


The mood among the voters in Jackson reminds one of the 2008 Presidential election: anyone but Harvey. Harvey is the local Hillary- a known quantity. You either love him or hate him. However, Jackson faces its share of problems and you all know what they are. Businesses leaving. Vacant buildings appear more and more as downtown implodes. A shrinking tax base. A failed convention center hotel vote that saw the Mayor’s cronies trying to become instant millionaires. Literally. Middle and upper income blacks provide their own referendum on the state of Jackson as they move in large numbers to Byram and Ridgeland. The Mayor and his media ally refuse to acknowledge these problems as they present a picture that all is well and the other candidates are complaining while offering no leadership.

However, many of the voters want a change. They don’t think everything is fine and are no longer fooled by the spin. Their desire for change is not driven by the media as some claim it was in 2005. They see the same problems those who left Jackson do. They still live here. They walk out their homes in the morning, they come back to those same homes at night. They hear messages telling them Jackson is on the right path…. and shake their heads in disbelief. Every good salesman knows when a customer has a complaint, the best course is to listen and validate the customer’s concern. Clinton and Obama are very good at paying attention to the voters as they think: "Wow, he listens to us, he knows why we are upset and he is going to do something about it." The current administration hasn’t learned this lesson as anyone who has watched the debates can verify. Such stubbornness opens the door for someone else to become Mayor but the question is who?

Harvey faces the toughest field he ever has as a candidate for Mayor. Its easy to laugh at some of the candidates but look at the field: A businessman and former head of the Jackson chamber of Commerce, two attorneys, and a sitting member of the city council. They are all black. Compare this field to those in Harvey’s past elections. Harvey faced a discredited Frank Melton and an empty suit in Marshand Crisler in 2009. Harvey lost to a rock star in 2005. Harvey faced a white opponent in the other elections…. in a majority-black city. Its time to review the candidates. The key factor in this race is the undecided vote.  The polls I have seen from various sources all agree on one item: the undecided vote is around 25% right now.  Such a large number is bad for Harvey and drives the other candidates nuts as these voters are up for grabs this late in the game.

Chokwe Lamumba. The resident bomb-thrower of the Jackson City Council who refuses to honor the American flag as he claims it flew over slavery.  Chokwe eschewed his traditional revolutionary rhetoric   for this campaign. Mr. Lamumba contacted business leaders. He sounds more professional, more moderate in the debates. He speaks more softly as the angry black activist armor was exchanged for the skin of a serious mayoral candidate. Mr. Lamumba has been working the streets for this election for over eighteen months. The advantage he should have over the rest of the field is the ground game. Mr. Lamumba is first and foremost a community activist. He will focus on three wards. It is easy to laugh at Chokwe at times but the man is no dummy. Not at all. Chokwe Lamumba is one of those people who dares.... after he thinks. However, too many people know his past rhetoric, they know what he truly stands for, and they will probably decide they want no part of his campaign. 

Jonathan Lee. The candidate of the business community. Activist rhetoric is colorful but it doesn't pay the taxes or the bills. The business community handle that chore, something too many voters often forget. Mr. Lee operated a family business (No, it was not a family business engaged in the import of olive oil) while leading organizations such as the Jackson Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Lee enjoys a huge advantage in fund-raising as he received raised over $300,000. However, Marshand outraised Harvey 5:1 and still got his butt kicked all over the precincts. However, Jonathan Lee is no Marshand Crisler. Mr. Lee is bright, well-spoken, and brings a vigor to the race we have not seen in local elections for several years. He doesn't mind throwing punches at the Mayor as he remembers the old saying that if you want to knock off the King, you have to hit the King.

Mr. Lee's biggest challenge is fighting the smears from other candidates and establishing himself as a serious candidate in the black community. He has to show black voters he is indeed his own man and that he has something serious to offer them. While he tries to win their votes, his opponents are shooting the usual arrows at him. Snowflake. Tea Party. Oreo. Uncle Tom. You know the drill. The voters will reject Mr. Lee if they see him as a manufactured candidate. One black talk show host asked him if it being a former head of the Jackson chamber of commerce would hurt him.  Yup, being black and successful is apparently a liability with some black voters.  That is the problem Mr. Lee faces in some parts of the black community. 

Regina Quinn. Former attorney for Jackson State University. Known to many of the black professionals in Jackson.  She should have run for office before this race. Ms. Quinn's candidacy can be best described at this point as too little, too late. I first heard of her candidacy last summer. She even created a Facebook page for the campaign at that time. Nothing took place until a few months ago when she finally announced her candidacy. Its a shame as she is a good candidate. She gets better the more she campaigns. One can see her improve during the debates. She relaxes, she becomes more aggressive, she gains more presence. Her speeches are sharper. The smile flows more naturally. The problem for Ms. Quinn is she is both learning how to be a candidate and how to sell her message at the same time. No small task. One does not hear the words of a Chokwe Lamumba or Adrienne Wooten in her rhetoric. She presents herself very well as a serious person, dignified, someone who can work with people of all races. I would like to see her run for office again if she loses.  She is following in Lynn Fitch's footsteps and heavily pursuing the female vote. However, this late charge will probably not be enough for Ms. Quinn.

Frank Bluntson. Member of the City Council. There is no sugar-coating the fact that it is painful to watch Mr. Bluntson during the campaign. At times he appears befuddled and confused. He ran a weak campaign. It didn't help when the most visible face associated with his campaign is Too Sweet. Yup. A pardoned drug dealer. It has been so painful to watch Frank stumble through forums and debates that at times one wants to scream "stop the fight, stop the fight". It will be surprising if Frank Bluntson gets over 5% of the vote on Tuesday.

Then there is Harvey. The incumbent. The King. The man with the target on his back. Harvey has been here and done this before. He's won. He's lost. He raised over $100,000. He raised what he needed. More than a few contractors need him to win to keep their city business. He has a record he can point to despite what the opponents say. Harvey looks his best when he lists the accomplishments of his administration. He looks like a Mayor. However, Harvey doesn't handle the barbs from his opponents that well and then starts lashing out at them in debates. He doesn't look like a Mayor when he does so as he forgets the first rule of campaigning: stick to your message and don't let the other guy get under your skin. Harvey will have a machine that gets his voters to the polls.

Harvey will probably survive Tuesday. Jonathan Lee will probably make the runoff as well. He raised over $300,000. That is too much money to ignore and Mr. Lee has been working his tail off during the campaign. Ms. Quinn is a good candidate but she probably did too little, too late to earn a spot in the runoff. Chokwe is a known quantity too and that is his problem. If he makes the runoff, he will not win the nomination. It is hard to see a Johnson, Lee, or Quinn voter touching that screen for Chokwe. They will either vote for his opponent or stay home. He will get his voter in the primary and thats it.Then the real fun will begin.  Thunderdome.