Friday, October 2, 2020

Priester Resigns

Melvin Priester, Jr. announced on Facebook he is leaving the Jackson City Council:


For more than seven years I have had the honor of serving on the Jackson City Council. A life changing experience, it has been among the highest honors of my life to represent Ward 2 and serve as your City Councilperson. It is after much reflection and prayer that I am announcing my official resignation from the Jackson City Council effective Monday, October 5th. 
 
My service on the City Council has required tremendous sacrifices from my family, from my friends, and from my colleagues and staff at Priester Law Firm. As we all look to navigate the ever changing realities presented by COVID19, it is time for me to refocus my energy and attention on my law practice. It is also time for me to repay the kindness of my family and legal staff who have given so much of themselves behind the scenes to allow me to serve in this position. 
 
As I take my leave from city council, I am proud that the city of Jackson is stronger today than it was when I was first elected. All around us is proof of the progress we have made as a city since I joined the Council in 2013. Together, we adopted the 1% sales tax in 2014 to help us address so many of our infrastructure challenges. When our school system was on the verge of a state takeover and many of our schools were in desperate need of repair, we worked together to reinvent Jackson Public School’s leadership and mission. In 2018, we passed the bond referendum that has allowed schools like Callaway to finally get major repairs that students deserved. These actions and others over the last seven years will pay even greater dividends as time moves forward and I am proud to have played a part in making these changes happen.
 
From crime to infrastructure, Jackson’s obstacles are immense. But we are better able to face these challenges today than we were just a few short years ago. 
 
One of the defining lessons during my time in public office is that Jackson is a City of heroes. Some of Jackson’s heroes are easy to see, like our brave police officers and the members of Jackson’s fire department. There are other heroes that the public may never see, but I have had a chance to see as a council person. I want to recognize and thank a few of these heroes:
 
Thank you to the Public Works Department and the women and men who work at the water treatment plant. These individuals toil in often adverse conditions to keep this city running. 
 
Thank you to the staff in the Department of Finance and Administration who saved us when the City was on the edge of a fiscal cliff because of the water meter crisis. While you were overcoming that crisis, you also implemented a new digital management system that finally allows us to track our finances properly.
 
Thank you to the staff in the Human and Cultural Services Department for helping citizens repair homes beset with lead paint and for feeding homebound seniors and for improving how we provide early childhood development programs.
 
Thank you to the Code Enforcement staff and the Planning Department staff who work tirelessly to fight blight and help people start businesses. Just last week I watched you partner with a private developer to help repair dozens of low-income apartment units in Jackson. What you do is rarely flashy or fast, but your work is critical in making Jackson safer and better. You, too, are heroes. 
 
Thank you to the legal department staff who have helped to save the city from untold trouble. 
 
There are people in other departments who also are heroes. Even if I have failed to identify them individually or by department, I thank them. 
 
Beyond city employees, I equally thank the neighborhood heroes such as the people who run after school programs and who help care for the homeless here in Ward 2. I am equally appreciative of the faith leaders and the entrepreneurs and the businesspeople of Ward 2. Pastor Jerry Young for example has not only been my pastor and spiritual guide along this journey, he has been a fierce advocate for any and everything that is needed to support the citizens of Ward 2 and Jackson. NAACP President Derrick Johnson has also been a steadfast voice for Justice both in Jackson and across the nation and I am equally honored to call him a friend. 
 
Last but certainly not least, I have been lucky to work with strong neighborhood associations from Presidential Hills, the Queens, Woodhaven, Woodlea, Norwood, Lakeover, Valley North, Berwood, Richwood Estates, Elmwood Gardens, Lake of Pines, and others. To you all, please keep working hard for your individual neighborhood and continue to form multi-neighborhood coalitions. One of my greatest joys as your council person has been watching several presidents of different Ward 2 neighborhoods form an organized coalition to advocate collectively on zoning and other community issues. You are doing exactly what Ward 2 needs for continued growth and prosperity.
It has been a tremendous honor to serve as City Councilperson for Ward 2 for the last seven years. I have truly enjoyed when you have invited me to participate in moments of happiness such as graduations and business openings and neighborhood parades and block parties. 
 
Please know that although I am stepping down from my role on the city council, I remain committed to serving this great city and state in whatever capacity they may need me and continuing the work of helping Jackson and Mississippi fulfill their incredible potential. 7 years ago you trusted me to be your voice in city hall and to ensure that people took precedence over politics. 7 years later I am proud that I represented Ward 2 and the City in a way that was grounded in dignity, morality, reason, honesty and transparency, things that have not always been present in city politics. I will forever be humbled and grateful for this special opportunity. 
 
I promise to work closely with my successor to ensure a smooth transition. Until his or her election, I will continue to be available to assist you, the citizens of Ward 2, in whatever way I can. 
 
Thank you Ward 2.
It's a shame Mr. Priester is leaving.  Jackson has long suffered because its best and brightest eschewed public service.  Too often the leadership class in Jackson consists of community activists and professional loudmouths who've never done a damn thing worthwhile or have a clue about how to run anything. 

We often disagreed but don't ever think yours truly didn't have respect for Mr. Priester or what he had to say. 

He will be missed. 



32 comments:

Anonymous said...

1-is he moving out of the city?

2-he was one of the few good ones on the council...

Anonymous said...

He's going to run for mayor. Just watch.

Anonymous said...

Must agree with 7:22 about running for Mayor.

Anonymous said...

He’s done nothing for so long I forgot he was even on the council

Anonymous said...

Melvin is a good guy. I’m sorry to see him step down.

Anonymous said...

He’s a good man. He will be missed

Anonymous said...

shame to see him go. Wish him well in whatever he does.

Anonymous said...

I hope he runs for Mayor.

Anonymous said...

Please run for mayor! A class act.

Anonymous said...

Well, the average IQ on the City Council is about to take a hit.

Maybe he is going to rest up for awhile then run for Mayor or something higher up, we can wish.

Anonymous said...

What the hell good is the City Council anyway?

Anonymous said...

He has moved out of Ward 2. He should have mentioned that in his statement and avoided all the mystery.

Anonymous said...

Melvin is a brilliant young man and comes from a great family. He is a gentleman and a scholar, the likes of which are rare in city government. Why he left is his business but his presence will be missed by the city council and the city.

Anonymous said...

But Jackson still has Kenneth Stokes to keep everything under control.

Jonnye Paicheck said...

I've seen a lot of resignation letters but never one that took exactly 1,050 words (I ran it through Word) to say I QUIT. Couldn't decide whether this was an obituary, a campaign speech or a tearful farewell to a jilted lover.

If nothing else, he's always been proud of his elocutionism.

Anonymous said...

As we all know, Former Councilman Priester is a man of intelligence. Life is too short to waste on ingrates and trifling charlatans.

Anonymous said...

He’d have my vote for mayor. Would be a huge improvement over the current incumbent...

Anonymous said...

8:20 am I'm not surprised that you don't understand how a gentleman behaves when he leaves an office or position.

It's often not possible to thank and commend everyone with whom you have worked in person, so sending out a written message in a way to reach the most people is done.

There are books on etiquette you could read, but if a letter is so bothersome, you'll just have to remain an uncouth boor.

Anonymous said...

Does David L. Archie live in Ward 2?

Anonymous said...

Never seen a better example of a sprint across a political bridge without burning it. Priester does not disappoint. He may not be a doer but he is
a thinker. Jackson needs at least one thinker.

Anonymous said...

Cliff notes: "My greatest accomplishment is that I raised taxes. I did nothing to increase the tax base for the city, but due to my hard work everyone's taxes went up."

Yep, Melvin is a shining star for the future.

Anonymous said...

He seemed to thank EVERYONE, except mayor flapgum and his Fred Flintstone hairdo. My bet too is that he will make a run for mayor.

Anonymous said...

I hope he does not run for mayor. Mayor of Jackson is a political graveyard. If Preister envisions a political future he will avoid the bottomless pit.

Anonymous said...

12:51, Jackson is a political graveyard because of the people that have filled those positions. However, someone like Priester might, just might, be what Jackson needs. If he was successful then there would be no bounds to where he could go. As a matter of fact I couldn't think of a better job to have to springboard your career if you could pull it off. His only obstacle is the electorate of Jackson seem to be apathetic.

Anonymous said...

With his resume and intelligence I wouldn’t be caught dead in Jackson! Competence just left the city council!

Anonymous said...

I agree with everything that has been said, but it may have looked better for his future political
aspirations if he had "bit his tongue " and only waited until his term expired.

Anonymous said...

He oughta save all the accolades for his going away party. You know, those occasions when you stand at the front of the room and talk while all who showed up are munchin' on meatballs and deer sausage in BBQ sauce. You don't do that in a resignation letter. He slap-ass forgot the meter maids, the guys who striped the serpentine road downtown and the wait staff who saved him a bag of rolls at the Mayflower (once a week).

"First, I'd like to thank my dad and mom. Next, my dog...And I can't forget Kingfish who week after week posts what a cool guy I am..."

Too mucho early wine- said...

Dang... LOTS of laughable comments here!

JJ posters!!

Anonymous said...

Mel is a bright guy. Hope he runs for higher office.

Anonymous said...

the guys who striped the serpentine road downtown

7:38 - what serpentine road are you referring to?

Anonymous said...

You must wonder why Priester would resign his seat and leave his ward unrepresented so close to a municipal election, unless he really does plan to run for Mayor again. He would have my vote, but I fear once again that he’s too erudite to have the mass appeal to most of the Democrackheads in Jackson needed to win.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for everything. You tried very hard. We will all miss you.


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