Jackson Jambalaya

Three Hinds County Election Commissioners might have to pay $250 fines for violating the Open Meetings Act.  The Mississippi Ethics Commission recommended fining Commissioners Yvonne Horton, Toni Johnson, and James Reed after it determined that they held a meeting without notifying the other Commissioners nor the public.


The Ethics Commission stated in its proposed finding of fact:

Little alleges three members (a quorum) of the Election Commission convened a special  meeting, without providing  any  notice  to  the  other  two  commission  members  or  the public, to discuss the compensation of the Election Commission for management of the recent local  municipal  elections.  The  complaint  alleges  the  three  commission  members  who  met  in private changed the amount of compensation the Election Commission had previously decided upon (in a March meeting) to pay themselves more for their municipal election duties....

The Commissioners claimed it all happened by accident:

In its response, the Election Commission maintains the meeting Little referred to in her complaint was a  chance meeting by the  three  commissioners, excluded under the  Open Meetings Act. The response states, “In accordance with Code 25-41-17, Chance Meetings, Social Gatherings  are  excluded  from  the  Open  Meetings  Act,  Commissioners  Johnson,  Reed  and Horton  declare  that  at  this  chance  meeting,  invoices,  ballots  and  the  upcoming  E  Camp  (sic) were  discussed.”1  The  response  does  not  directly  address  a  private  meeting  by  the  three commissioners concerning their compensation, which is the only specific subject identified in the open meetings complaint.

They didn't help their case when the aggrieved Commissioner taped a conversation and provided a copy to the Ethics Commission:

Little submitted supplemental information in the form of an audi   recording of a private  conversation  between  Commissioners  Summers,  Horton  and  Johnson.... Based on the recording, Summers, who did not attend the private meeting which is  the subject of this complaint,  recorded  her  conversation  with  Horton  and  Johnson,  who  did attend the private meeting. On the audio recording Horton, who serves as the chairman of the Election Commission, admits she met with Reed and Johnson outside of an open meeting. She also admits the meeting was not properly noticed and that no minutes were taken of the meeting. On the audio recording, Chairman Horton states, “I think the money was fair but the way it was done . . . no, I think we should have done a meeting.” Commissioner Summers responds, “so, I don’t think any of it was fair, I think it was done under the table in a way that was not transparent . . . . [I]  think that it’s unfortunate and shameful that  you all would make a decision like that without at least being open to communicating what was happening . . . . I think the fact that you went  against  what  was  already  in  the  [March]  minutes  speaks  to  your  integrity  as  an  elected official.”  Chairman  Horton  replies,  “it  probably  does…  and  I  agree  with  you.”  The  audio recording establishes that three commission members determined their compensation outside the presence  of  the  other  two  commissioners  and  the  public.  On  the  audio  recording  Chairman Horton  attempts  to  justify  the  private  meeting  by  explaining  to  Summers  that  the  three commissioners could have made the same decision in a properly noticed public meeting.

The recording came back to bite the three Commissioners in the you know where when the Ethics Commission got around to determining guilt.  The proposed order states:

2.4  The record in this case demonstrates three members of the election commission gathered  and  discussed  a  matter  under  their  jurisdiction  without  providing  proper  notice, allowing public access, or keeping minutes as required by the Act.

 The proposed order recommends fining each of the three Commissioners $500 but suspending half of the fine if no future violations are committed.  They can submit objections up to five days after receiving a copy of the proposed order.  The Ethics Commission will hold a hearing on Tuesday, December 19, 2017 at 10:00 AM.