Jackson Jambalaya

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.