Jackson Jambalaya

Bruce Bartley has no chance. What was his margin to Bomgaars again? Laughable.

Bartley-Michel-Billingsley....who's guns are bigger?

Wonder if Q-dawg might move back and make a run? He never sold his house.

Ok ok, Kingfish, quit salivating…its not gonna happen.

these discussions really show what a small pond we all live in. sheesh.

Bartley would win for a long shot. Can't wait for his announcement!

What '24 hour rule'?

So, Bryant appoints a guy to a job that he had run for and lost? And Billingsly intends to run again for a position he ran for and lost? And Michel is going to run for a position he used to have but quit to go into a business that he now is quitting? The only one missing here is Rudy. Wait! And Mary!

Good for Walter. Always enjoyed it when he was our Senator.

Jackson, January 20, 2015???

Michel has lots of money so I like his chances. I think Billingsley would be a good Senator. Bartley? Seriously? If you can't even get a third of the vote in a two-way House race, how in the world do you think you can compete for a Senate seat?

Don't tell Tim Johnson

Yes, shoot me an email. kingfish1935@gmail.com

When will this election be?

Mayor Mary might be in???? We report you decide!!

I'm annoyed at Longwitz, but not surprised. He could never make a go of his law practice, so he ran for the Senate. He was completely forgettable as a Senator, so probably begged the Guv for a plush judgeship, knowing it would be difficult for him to continue to run every 4 years for his Senate seat. Now, as usually happens, a completely undistinguished attorney becomes a judge, probably for life. Good grief! What a great system we have. Why would anyone want to vote for Michel, as he became disinterested in his job in 2011? I vote for new (conservative) blood, no matter what his age.

So, who is this 'new conservative blood' you speak of, 1:53?

Nobody is conservative any more. All of them are in it for ego and personal gain.

Whoever is going to run will have to cater to the people of NE Jackson bc they have the money & hosted the largest fundraisers for Will. He knew this and was advised of this many many times. Bartley & Billingsley don't have a clue.

Woohoo, can't wait for the youtube videos, and with the BOS turnover in Madison, will Elvis step up and try to restore order?

Ehh. I don't see anybody with the same fire Longwitz had. This looks like a race from the 1890's...completely forgettable. I supported Longwitz to no end but my involvement with the District 25 race ends with Will!

#Will4Guv2020

This could end up a 3 way race. Walter Michel already has campaign money in the bank. Bartley and Billingsly just came off campaigns. Barley had all the major endorsements last year, both public and private but lost to someone who spent a record amount in a legislative race in Mississippi,(Bomgar bought the election with about $300,000 bucks). Billingsly tried hard but got no major support and was on the wrong side of Oxford House issue, at least from a voters side, but has his supporters as well. Could be a run off. Walter has support from the capital and the lobbyist. Bartley has it as well. Billingsly does not but does have the Guv who may or may not help him. If Phil helps Billingsly he will piss off the senate side for Walter and the House side for Bartley. Look for Michel and Bartley in a run off.

@9:29. Bartley did better percentage wise than Billingsly with way less money. Just FYI. no dog in this race for me

8:58am knows his/her stuff!! I would be saddened and shocked to see Bryant support Billingsley. Bryant came out against Oxford House so it would be an about face to support a candidate that is a puppet for the Dept of Mental Health.

Conservative, lol. #rubes #grifters

Billingsley is an Empower Mississippi guy. He would better serve the current administration's new public school agenda.

Here is how I vote. Bartley. If he does not run the Walter M.

The Oxford House issue will definitely hurt Billingsley's potential support in NE JXN. 8:58 - It WILL be interesting to see how this plays out...with/without Bryant's support.

Michel backed Billingsley with his endorsement in high end direct mailers to voters in NEJax Repub precincts before the primary. Michel will have to publicly state his position on Oxford Houses one way or the other. Equivocation won't be accepted.

8:58, you've helped me make my decision. I'm going with the candidate who doesn't have the support of the lobbyists. Time for people who aren't already owned the first day they show up.

Bruce Bartley is at the Capital.

Michel and Billingsly are two in the same.

12:02: so you are basing your vote on the comment of an anonymous poster? Luv, Anonymous.

Bill, what is your new position on Oxford House?

@2:14 that's Bill posting stuff. Don't pay any attention to it. LOL

We need a forum to see what each candidate's position is on Oxford House and Dept of Mental Health.

If you look at the numbers, Bartley was outspent by over $200k and still picked up 32%. Billingsley was outspent by only $100k and picked up 31%. Bartley received 2026/6298 and Billingsley received 3217/10,442 so out of a difference of 4000 votes Billingsley could only grab 1000. Billingsley also does not stand a chance with Jackson voters, so between the two, Bartley would fare much better. Michel has quite a warchest, but refuses to campaign hard other than asking everyone for money. This could really be a tough election and if slated at the same time as the presidential primary on March 8th then there would be a very large turnout that most are not accounting for. I hope everyone is ready for another battle and will be interesting to see if anyone else jumps in.

Oxford House is old news. All you OH detractors went haywire thinking Will was going to bust up the organization in MS last spring/summer because "Will was a smart lawyer the likes of whom those people from Maryland hadn't encountered before." Then when that dream slowly died, he sold you on the hopes that he was going to lead a triumphant parade through the Senate to kill OH and strip the Mental Health Department of power/funding if only you'd elect him your senator. That pitch? Well, it's dead now, too.

In the end, he left you high and dry. He took your money and left you at the alter. He was a snake oil salesman all along.

Billingsley was taking on an incumbent, Bartley was not. Big, huge difference. None of Bartley's district was in Jackson. He was a homeboy for the entire district.

Senator Longwitz filed a bill this year to put DMH under the direct control of governor Bryant's office. He did not know he would be appointed a judge. He worked long and hard on the DMH issue and I am proud to call him a friend. Of these other people running, who is going to pledge to take up the bill to put DMH under the control of the governor? I will not vote for anyone if they don't.

"He did not know he would be appointed a judge." You are correct. It was up to the Gov's discretion to appoint him. But Longwitz lobbied hard for the job.

A bill that would put DMH under the direct control of the governor is meaningless. The body is in the executive branch already. You don't think the Gov always had ultimate control?

Who cares about that mediocre Senate seat??? Let's get back to talking about the man who can put you in jail for a year! Who knows nothing about procedure! How to seat a jury...Who never really ever practiced law!Who will need cliff notes to run a trial. Will's supporters say he can do it? Really?

No, I want to talk about the Senate seat. As much as Billingsly would like us to forget what he said about Oxford House, I haven't. What does he say about it now? What does Michel say? This issue is the #1 most important thing for me.

Nobody has filed any bills yet, 5:08. Will might have requested such a bill to be drafted, but bills have not been assigned numbers yet (due to the contested elections). Now that Will has resigned, any bill he requested has died before it was born.

The Oxford House issue is not going to play in this year's election. It is old news and doesn't have anyone to demogogue it. The House is there and it isn't leaving. There are a few folks that will come here and post about it every day but beyond their echo chamber it will not be what makes the difference.

Comparing last year's numbers and trying to make a relationship to this election is the most worthless campaign analysis possible. As KF noted Will was an incumbent in a much larger and diverse district. Bartlett and Billingsly both gained some name ID last year and garnered some friends. Michel has gained ID and friends over the past couple of decades. And who knows who else might get into the fray.

The one thing that wont make nearly as much difference as many folks say is the warchest that WM has developed over his years of legislative service - awfully big but in the short election cycle it can't buy the seat like Bomgar was able to do last year. Any legitimate candidate can raise adequate $$$s to run an effective five week campaign.

Vote Bill Billingly! He is not bought and paid for and has successfully run a business! You can't say that for Michel or Bartley! Michel needs the government paycheck as his Jackson real estate stays empty and he needs a job! Bill was not your enemy with Oxford House ! And Will did not do a damn thing about Oxford House except take your donations and now he leaves you! Billingsly is honest and smart and would work hard for his district!

MHB drew more total NEJax votes in her run vs Pickering than Billingsley did vs Longwitz. FACT.

Billingsley GOT SWAMPED in NEJax. FACT.

Precinct 32 Longwitz @ 82%
Precinct 34 Longwitz @ 79%
Precinct 35 Longwitz @ 82%
Precinct 36 Longwitz @ 79%
Precinct 34 Longwitz @ 73%
Precinct 45 Longwitz @ 75%
Precinct 46 Longwitz @ 79%
Precinct 78 Longwitz @ 76%

The spin above that the Oxford Houses won't be an issue is just that. SPIN.

Oxford Houses WILL BE A CAMPAIGN ISSUE. Billingsley learned that the hard way.

I suspect Candidate Mary Hawkins-Butler will be 100% opposed to Oxford Houses. Candidate Walter Michel will have to take a stand one way or the other.

Billingsley is a candidate non grata in NEJax. Walter Michel knows this.

12:41 "...Bruce Bartley is at the Capital. "

Doing what? What is his main/day job?

@9:36 Looks like his job is living rent-free in your head! That was just to easy!

So, 6:57, you're saying that all the voters in NE Jackson are worried about Oxford House and nothing else? I haven't really kept up, but has Oxford House caused any problem in the neighborhood? Lots of other issues. Billingsly may be wrong on Oxford House, but there's more to this election than that. Where else is he weak?

What did Longwitz do about Oxford House? What was result? NOTHING! Just took your money and left you! Promises are just promises, not results!
Vote Billingsly!

What seems to be lost on the political neophytes that haunt Jackson Jambalaya is that Oxford House is not merely a campaign issue, it is a winning campaign issue.

A winning issue in Jackson AND also in Madison County where Billingsley received a meager 31% of the vote. From the Jackson Jambalaya archives:

"...People in Madison County don't know about Oxford House and yet he won there with almost exactly the same percentages. Face it, he won and he won big. Stop telling voters they are stupid. They made their overwhelming choice."
August 5, 2015 at 7:21 AM

I'm glad, too, that Longwitz won big. But we in Madison county have probably made MOST of the posts regarding the Neal & Anna Flophouse/Chicken Ranch Scandal. We're the ones who've been staring and pointing and whispering. We're the ones who'll be "greeting" 'Her Specialness' at MRA, and we're among the many who are examining the family's every move (and contingency-planning against their next misdeed).

We do SO know about Oxford House. Many of our widowed mothers live in the vicinity of the Flophouse, and we fear for their safety. The elderly are far more vulnerable than are children, to the identity theft/burglary/rape/murder one expects, when criminals are introduced into a neighborhood. Lots of us grew up in that neighborhood, and still love the place. We care: BIGTIME.

I zapped your comment Skipper Rope but am putting it back up minus one sentence as it was slanderous.

"...many of our widowed mothers"? Really? Get outa here! What an empty, false claim.

Not one in forty voters who will show up at the polls has ever heard of Oxford House, much less these men's positions on it. Most would scratch their heads and wonder what the hell Lafayette County has to do with this election.

So, Billingsly has run a successful business and Michel has not? Get outa here you goober! Michel has been involved and is still involved in a hugely successful business for decades.... And he'd better distance himself from Queen Mother Mary if he wants votes in the Madison area.

there's no nut job like an oxford house nut job. they lose all reason and focus by its mere mention.

So, Walter Michel is calling people. Bruce Bartley is calling people. No one I know has had one call from Bill Billingsly. If Bill is working it, it's not regeristing on anyone radar. Just FYI

Walter is only calling people at the Capitol, lobbyist and association folk. Hey just can't help his insider ways. He doesn't want anyone to run against him so he trying to scare people away. It's going to be a minimum 3 way race whether he likes it or not. Campaigning is no fun, when you don't like people. Walter has never knocked on one door a day in his life and he isn't going to start now. It's beneath him.

You may be onto something. Bill Billingsley knocked on a lot of doors and Bill Billingsley isn't afraid of taking a position.

Look for Reeves to support Michael.

@12:59 Reeves support for J. Walter is great news, for his opponents! That's good to know. That wasn't very smart to tell that. If Taggert comes out for Michel that will be the death nail. Michel ship is sinking before it was launched.

This could be a great election - conducted while the honorable legislature is in its early bill filing days. With the recent 'rally' on the south lawn over our flag and the promise of a number of different bills being filed over it this stupid issue will become front and center for many folks.

Walter has never had a contentious race for the legislature (his statewide challenge a little different). Will be great to see if he takes a side when asked about this burning issue or if he tries to punt with the "let the people decide". My bet -BB will state a straight up position probably to have the legislature change flag and take the flack from those wanting to preserve it. WM hides behind the 'let the voter..' out and never says what he thinks. If JR gets into the race we know he will fight to keep the existing flag come hell or high water.

You know - we need to decide our legislative leadership on such high and mighty matters, not on managing our $6 billion state budget.

Bartley has never had a real job. But his Rambo movie was funny as sheet.

Bomgar raised 300k but he only spent a fraction of that. Bartley will lose worse this time than last time. The entire education establishment was helping pretty boy bb last year and he didn't come close. He will face experienced campaigners this time.