Jackson Jambalaya

He was a good man
But, i don't believe he ever "worked" a day in his life.
I asked him on several instances how much money he earned as state tax commissioner. He ALWAYS became angry and refused to answer

Governor Winter was a true statesman and a caring person. He made MS a better place.

I met with him a few years ago. He was about 94 at the time. Still working and sharp as a whip. He was telling me stories about his early days in politics. I was amazed. Rip.

Shad White has not earned the right to be on the first page of press hogs. He should have said RIP and let it be.

@12:52, you are full of shit. I practiced law with Governor Winter for many years. He worked very hard and took nothing for granted. I don’t believe for a second that you asked Governor Winter about his time in the tax office or, if you did, that he refused to answer. He always was candid about the office that he asked to abolish. Go back into your hole.

When the rest of the world points to Mississippi's greatest generation and assumes they were just a bunch of rednecks choosing to relive a racist past, Mississippi could point to William Winter and say, not so. He will be missed.

A part of our history is gone.

He was a great man and will be missed.

And while many, including myself did not agree with his political views . . . we can all agree that he was a gentleman, and a true statesman.

He left politics behind if he sat down for dinner with anyone . . . even with those that did not agree with his views.

Thoughts and prayers to the Winter family.

To 2:53
I DID ask him. And he ALWAYS refused.
I am sure he was an industrious...lawyer. But, i never saw where he ever sweated for his bread. He was a good man.
As for how u prefaced your comment...that seems to sum up your "depth."

Great guy, he have been my guest on my radio a few times. A true Statesman..

Great guy, he have been my guest on my radio a few times. A true Statesman..

I respected William Winter when he was our governor.

Then in 2010 while attending a Millsaps graduation ceremony I was beyond stunned while listening to him speak.

Seriously, if someone living in Mississippi had gone into a coma in 1960, then woke up listening to William Winter’s speech that day, they would have sworn that absolutely no progress whatsoever had been made with race relations during the last 50 years.

@2:53, Thank you.

About ten years ago I wrote the Governor a letter telling him that during his term as governor the largest influx of illicit drugs came into the state and that he failed to execute the laws. I further complained about the failure of public education which his reforms were designed to improve. I was shocked when I got back a kind letter from him on his law firm stationery thanking me for my letter and sharing his view on general shortcomings as a public leader. A true gentleman in the public sphere.

Do the disrespectful comments about a guy who JUST died need to be said? Or can we keep those to ourselves?

@5:53pm - There hasn’t been any race relations improvements in the last 50 yrs in Mississippi...

Whites don’t want to be around blacks. Blacks don’t care about whites. Same then as now. We’re just a little better at covering it up, and not saying the N word in public.

Gov William Winter was so much a gentleman and a class act. The national view of MS and of our politicians from the 40s-through the 90s has shaped our political reputation. William Winter was better than that. Lott, Eastland, Carmichael, Montgomery, Colmer, Cochran, and more did their usual thing but William Winter was really a bigger deal than all of them in the long run. Still gotta a long way to go. RIP Gov Winter

He cared. He did what he could. He represented the state well. Rarely if ever embarrassed himself or us in the process. I, too, disagreed with some of his politics, but that's rather beside the point. Rest in peace honorable servant.

8:27PM, Thank you!

Thank you so very, very much..…for making my exact point!

Now, will you kindly tell us whether

You are the teacher, that’s old enough to know better?

Or the student, that’s not old enough to know better…and repeats what he/she’s “been taught?”

All these people saying "I didn't always agree with his politics" blah blah blah. WHAT policies or politics do you not agree with, pray tell?

I thought he was one of our best Governors although I did not agree with him on some of his political views.

8:27. Try as a black guy wandering around South Boston or as a white guy strolling west Chicago. The Sipp ain’t got the corner on bigots of any color.

When I was at Millsaps in the fall of 1961, I had an afternoon job at a bank downtown. I would walk to work down West Street. One afternoon a man pulled alongside me and offered me a ride, which I happily took him up on. It was William Winter, in a Ford or Chevy sedan. I knew who he was because I had recently read a story in "Life" magazine that Mr. Winter, as Mississippi tax collector, was the highest paid public official in the United States. He was not at all prepossessing. Of course, I did not say anything about the magazine article. I soon knew that he supported abolishing the position, which was an admirable refusal to coninue in a job that made him a poster child for what we now call income inequality. As I recall, he ran for the job on the basis that he would do his best to kill the job. He asked how I was doing, etc. For all the years since then, I have admired and respected him not so much fpr being a politician who offered a potential voter a ride, but because he was the best politician we've ever had in Mississippi, and because I've never known a better person.

My husband had conversations with former Gov. Winter on more than one occasion when they crossed paths at Beatty Street for lunch. The gov was a regular guy and always a class act—a true Southern gentleman. They always parted ways as friends. RIP.

2:53: Thank you Sir.

In 1967 as a teen I worked on Governor Winter’s Campaign for Governor. Warren Hood it should be recalled, provided important, critical financial help. William was the racial moderate up against John Bell Williams, a segregationist and demagogue. Sadly William lost but then went for two more races before winning. Persistence by he and Warren Hood and the Boys of Spring later led to victory, leading the way to the landmark Education Bill, Mississippi’s highest priority then as now. William loved history so let lt be remembered.: William will go down in history as the finest Governor in the history of Mississippi. William Winter has always been my hero.

6:27 - In addition to being an historian, Winter was also a grammarian who would rail at your use of the phrase 'Persistence by he and Warren....'.

Problem with the laboriously crafted landmark Education Bill was that it was never funded. Looked good on paper, though.

He was a gentleman and a scholar. Sadly, his education reform Bill that cost millions never worked. Our education problems are deeper than
Teacher pay raises and public kindergartens can solve.

5:13 The bill was never fully funded so we don't know if it would work or not. Rich districts don't think more funding hurts them do they? Does teacher pay raises and public kindergartens hurt the kids? How much would it help? Not enough, I suppose.

RIP Mr. Winter.

Governor Winter may not have cured race relations in Mississippi, but he did not applaud racism and segregation as other politicians previous to him. I met him when I moved to Jackson in the 80's. I was a young black girl just graduating from Ole Miss and entering into the legal profession, and he was such a gentleman and very kind to me. He will be missed. God bless his family for loaning him to this state.