Jackson City Council President Melvin Priester, Jr. provided an update on his Facebook page about the nomination of James Stanley to the JMAA Board of Commissioners. Mr. Priester apparently replied to this website's asking when a confirmation hearing would be held for Mr. Stanley. JJ thanks Mr. Priester for being forthright in his post and providing new information. Mr. Priester wrote :
A question has been raised about what happened to scheduling a confirmation hearing for Mr. James Stanley to the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority (JMAA).
On the council's end, we learn that the Mayor wants to appoint someone to a board like the JMAA or the school board when the Mayor adds the nomination to the agenda of a council meeting. Our meetings are every other Tuesday. We get the agenda the preceding Friday (often we don't get the agenda packet until the day before the meeting). With Mr. Stanley, I had never previously met or heard of this gentleman and didn't know the mayor planned to nominate him until I saw the agenda for the February 23, 2016 meeting on Sunday, February 21, 2016. I know several of my other colleagues were similarly situated.
Because we on the City Council don't get the agenda and related materials until just a day or two before the council meeting, our policy has always been to have separate confirmation hearings so we can get up to speed on the nominee before voting on him or her.
With respect to Mr. Stanley, the mayor nominated him during the February 23, 2016 meeting. I then set about scheduling a confirmation hearing per our usual procedure. In fact, I attempted to schedule a confirmation hearing multiple times for Mr. Stanley.
So if you want to know the real answer to the question "where is the confirmation hearing," I've attached herewith the email record from my most recent attempt at scheduling a confirmation hearing for Mr. Stanley.
On March 23, 2016, I asked the City Clerk to again contact the Mayor about potential dates and times for Mr. Stanley's confirmation hearing.
When asked by phone and email "if the Mayor would still like to schedule a confirmation hearing for Mr. James Stanley," the executive assistant to the Mayor replied, "We're going to hold off right now. Mayor is checking on some things." Since then, the Mayor has not followed up regarding what he is checking on or if he is done checking or why he wanted to hold off in the first place.
Those are the facts, now here is my opinion:
The nomination of James Stanley to the airport board is a red herring. The mayor and city council could have appointed Chesley Sullenberger, Joe Nosef, and the ghosts of Orville and Wilbur Wright to the JMAA and it wouldn't have changed the opinion of the legislators who are hell bent on taking over the Jackson Municipal Airport. The facts about Southwest and the airport's financials didn't matter to that bunch. Do you really believe that appointing this one person to the board would have made those folks go "oh, wait, on second thought, carry on Jackson."?
The airport and associated real estate are a plum and the republican super-majority wanted to muscle in to a bigger piece of that action. I'm sure all over the statehouse they are making plans about who will be getting what airport contract now. Appointing James Stanley was not going to slow that train down one bit.
Copy of email exchange.
Kingfish note: Notice one thing left out of this entire discussion: Mr. Stanley's record. He was a decorated combat fighter pilot in Vietnam. He is an engineer. He worked for a long time at Ergon and then at other companies such as Klingler Electrick. I challenge anyone to find a resume of a JMAA Commissioner over the last ten years who can match Mr. Stanley's. The Mayor didn't mention his qualifications when he discusses his nomination at the city council nor did Mr. Priester in his post.
The only thing that was mentioned was the color of his skin. Left out was the fact that his sponsor, Councilman Ashby Foote, publicly opposed the airport takeover and that Mr. Stanley opposes it as well.
Here is what should happen. The Mayor formally nominated Mr. Stanely in a city council meeting. Mr. Priester sets the agenda as the City Council President. There is nothing at all stopping him from holding a confirmation hearing and putting the nomination up for a vote. Such a move will force the Mayor to stand up for his nominee, do nothing, or withdraw his name. The Mayor should either formally withdraw it or ask the President to put his confirmation hearing and vote on the agenda. Both men should show leadership. The main issue should be Mr. Stanley's resume and whether he is fit to serve on the board, not race or party fights at the legislature.
Now if I am wrong and his nomination is formally withdrawn, then I am wrong and don't mind taking the criticism for being wrong.
Since the main issue on this nomination is apparently going to be about race, both men should realize that their strongest base in the last election was the white vote. Mr. Priester polled best in white precincts as did the Mayor in the runoff.
However, a war hero such as James Stanley deserves better treatment.
Here is Mr. Stanley's resume.
17 comments:
is stokes lining his pockets with hundies??
You sure love to slobber all over this guy. What has he done since 1990? I can't find anything listed on his typewritten resume.
From your comments: :The Mayor should either formally withdraw it or ask the President to put his confirmation hearing and vote on the agenda. Both men should show leadership."
Are you kidding? Neither of these two have shown any leadership since they took office. I am personally disappointed, in that I had high hopes for both of them. And due to their actions, not just on this issue but all, have been totally disappointed.
Preister's post here on his FB page is totally misleading. Once the nomination was made, the council could have proceeded - IF they had wanted to. But Preister knows that Stanley's nomination would pass if it was put to a vote - anybody that has been watching any one of the three rings of this circus and counting votes knows that.
I do not believe that the Mayor really wanted Stanley approved. But that is only my opinion and is based on nothing but how the Mayor has operated on many other things. But once he nominated him, Preister as President of the Council should have called his bluff and doubled down - put it on the agenda for a hearing and a vote.
But I am sure mama told Jr to not do that. The current members of the board all came from Uncle Sugardaddy Congressman Thompson from which mama and family get all their clout and they don't want anybody else playing in their sandbox - especially if they are white, and more so if they were suggested by (gasp) a Republican.
Since 1990 he was head of HR at Ergon although I don't know for how long. I also didn't mention he is a West Point grad.
Compare his resume and record to Reverend Stallworth or Mr. Hartley. Nuff said.
The man may well have been retired for some of the last twenty years. So what the hell difference does that make? This board appointment does not require heavy lifting or twelve hour days? He spent his lifetime in one hell of a career - starting with his education and everything he has done since.
Have you got a better suggestion 2:18? You ask this same question everytime there is anything posted here. (must be kin to the idiot that asks about O B Curtis water treatment system - same ilk.)
KF is being nice. Compare his resume and record to ANY of the current board members that got a confirmation hearing AND a confirmation. Or compare it to any of the board members for the past couple of decades. Once you've done that and found better qualified, then come back and repeat your stupid question of 'what has he done lately'?
Resume means nothing. Color is the deciding factor.
Feel and and his men have become drunk on power since now they have absolute power after the legislature changed the results of an election. First, they took over Madison County by getting his cronies into key positions, now they take theJackson airport.
There was no 'changing the results of an election'. The legislature followed the law as it has been written for decades. The local election officials did not. The issue should be stated that the local folks tried to steal an election from the person who got the most "legally cast" votes.
The interesting thing about that election was that the law that was not followed by the local officials, but was corrected by the legislature, was an issue in an earlier election - 2003 with (now) Speaker Gunn. He introduced a bill the next year to change the statute to what the Dems claims should have been followed. His bill did not get out of (Billy McCoy's democratic controlled) committee. Was introduced three more times - never got a vote on the floor.
If the Dems want to continue bitching about that election contest (which is clearly within the statute just as there are election contests EVERY election) then they should have changed that section of the election laws prior to now.
More interesting - it is not being changed this year, even with all the attention being paid to Dilbert's revisions. Was not even proposed.
Guess the Dems (and specifically 6:42) just like to bitch and cry when things don't go their way. I was proud of them for following the laws rather than public opinion - from a public that has no idea what the law says is correct.
They need to wait until the power of the airport board is transferred to residents of the suburbs.
Qualifications notwithstanding; this is an excellent treatise on the subject at hand. And the subject is that no white person has or will be appointed to this board by those of recent years in charge of the 'City On The Pearl'.
Priester's remarks, as well as the bearded wonder, are quite telling, aren't they?
"We large and in charge and we ain't got to do shit and you'alls can't make us." Does that ring a bell?
Since Mr. Drane as usual has reading comprehension problems, I will clarify. Everything in this post until the "Kingfish note" was written by Mr. Priester on Facebook.
I can't help but wonder if the two big signs recently erected advertising 400+ acres of LMAA land is now available for development and this sudden interest in getting people on the board are related. The only place in MS more corrupt than Jackson is Rankin County.
With the new law, there is no motivation for the Mayor to make an appointment at this point. The new law gives the Mayor one appointment and the Council one appointment if and when the the regional JMAA Board. The lawsuit by the City or JMAA is coming down the pipe so why appoint anyone.
Bully Pulpit. Be patient, Grasshopper. What goes around comes around.
KF, I don't think it's an accident that, of late, what happens in North Carolina is soon tried in Mississippi.
Look at the attempted takeover of the Charlotte airport in 2013. They didn't lose airlines or have board members who could be so easily criticized.
The language of N.C.'s H2 bill which is losing jobs left and right nearly identical in several sections to our 1523.
And, while the tactics to attack educational institutions are somewhat different in the two states and the scapegoats are different as the race card is hard to conveniently play, Ole Miss Rebels in particular and all parents should be very worried. The targeting of UMMC is just the beginning. One has only to look at what is happening to the educational system in N.C. to see what the future holds. And, unlike Mississippi, North Carolina's educational system was functioning well.
Gunn is looking like a puppet in trying to increase state control and I wonder who are the puppet masters. Those who can't play with the big kids in D.C. have discovered that can play a state game.
None of this is about government efficiency, morals or religious freedom, it's about power, control and money. Always follow the money when it comes to politics.
The language of N.C.'s H2 bill which is losing jobs left and right ...
LINK?
... it's about power, control and money.
Are you really that naive? When is it ever not about power, control and money?
No ,I'm not naïve but apparently many of those who support these bills and who think the airport takeover is warranted are. And, they haven't bothered to read the entire bills or find out how an airport functions.
Link? There have been daily links since the bills passed! I don't have time to list them all! Try the Charlotte Observer first or the Raleigh News and Observer. You could also use your search engine and start with N.C. Governor Issues Executive Order on H2. McCrory had to try to fix some of the worst sections when it was pointed out to him how business unfriendly they were!
And, by the way, with acts not coming to our casinos, what do you think that means? It's the hotel accommodations not made, the restaurant food not eaten, the gambling not done, the purchases not made at shops not just the ticket sales lost. And, with those things, the tax revenue lost!
Just as with Pay Pal's first announcement in NC , it wasn't just 400 jobs not coming, it is homes not bought and apartments not rented or groceries not bought and personal income taxes not paid,etc.
Did you know there are rather accurate formulas to forecast how much revenue a tourist coming to an event or a job will generate for the economy? No? Well, the rubes you elect seem not to know how an economy works either! But, you elect them so you don't know how and when to appropriately explain sexual realities to your children and because you are helpless?
You probably don't know that babies are born with testicles or ovaries that don't descend or with both X and Y chromosomes either or with both a penis and a vagina ,do you? Do you know that there are animals ( including other mammals like we are) that engage in homosexual behavior? And, you certainly don't know that it hasn't been all that long that medicine could better diagnose these problems and so doctors were actually guessing gender in some instances for thousands of years!
Use your search engine if you can't be bothered to read books about biological sexuality.
This is what happens when people buy into a ridiculous fear and react emotionally without thinking! How many of you have actually seen a trans gender in a bathroom other than on television? How many of you have been assaulted in a public bathroom? I mean some of you may be hanging out at strip clubs or gay bars! How many of you believe that actual perverts care about the law? How many of you really believe you can tell if someone is trans gender by looking ? And, when it comes to telling your children...I doubt they'd notice but if they should, you tell them not to make fun of people who seem unattractive or different. And, do you all really think your kids don't already know who the transgender kids are at school? You can't teach them to deal with any inappropriate behavior in a school bathroom? Lord help us and save us from those who are rely upon their emotions rather than learn to use their brains!
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