Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Sid Salter: Renick Will Serve Mississippi Well on TVA Board

William “Bill” Renick, Sr., of Ashland is a solid choice by President Joe Biden to represent Mississippi’s interests on the Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors.

Like Richard Howorth and Glenn McCullough before him in that role, Renick brings a quick, analytical mind to guiding the fortunes of the nation’s largest public utility. But Renick’s life experience in rural Mississippi and his extensive Mississippi political resume should make him effective on Day One. 

Renick, 68, has a unique 50-year background in public service – holding elective office in municipal, county and state government – winning election as an Ashland alderman at the age of 18. He also held appointive office as an economic development leader and as a hospital administrator. After serving in the Mississippi Legislature, he served both former Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove and former Lt. Gov. Eddie Briggs as chief of staff.

Renick even did some lobbying in Jackson as president of the Mississippi Retail Association.

Quick with a joke or a story and possessed of an authentic gift for putting people at ease, Renick also displayed throughout his government service a willingness to engage on behalf of causes he supported and to give as good as he got in political combat. Those qualities made him effective both in partisan battles and in struggles over the division of the governmental resource pie.

Renick was a trusted source during my time covering state politics. He came close to making a gubernatorial bid against incumbent Republican Gov. Haley Barbour in 2007 but wisely dropped out of that race before the ballots were printed. Whether in a legislative vote or in sizing up the potential for political success, Renick is a master of reading the tea leaves.

I remember getting an earful of the famous Renick temper while he served as Musgrove’s chief of staff. Like a lot of my favorite politicos over the years, Bill’s vocabulary in profanity when angered allowed him to paint rather vivid imagery. But there has always been far more laughter than confrontation in our interactions over the years. He will do a marvelous job on the TVA board.

For me, it’s challenging to think of the TVA and its impact on the South without returning to the lyrics of an old Bobby Bare country song made famous in the late 1980s by the country music supergroup Alabama.

Bare wrote a piece called “Song of the South” and the lyrics tell the tale: “Well, somebody told us Wall Street fell, but we were so poor that we couldn’t tell, cotton was short and the weeds were tall, but Mr. Roosevelt’s gonna save us all.

“Well, Momma got sick and Daddy got down, the county got the farm and we moved to town, Papa got a job with the TVA, he bought a washing machine and then a Chevrolet… .”

The TVA initially brought jobs to the impoverished South in the teeth of the Great Depression, but in the long view, it brought decades of economic development that spurred a greatly improved quality of life. In short, it brought hope, progress, and gave isolated rural communities a puncher’s chance to grow and thrive. 

At inception in 1932, the TVA was designed to bring electric power to those who had none when only about ten percent of rural American households and only two percent of rural Mississippi households had electricity. TVA, now the nation's largest public utility, today supplies electric power to about 10 million people in Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.

In Mississippi, municipal and cooperatively owned utilities sell TVA electricity in the counties of Alcorn, Attala, Benton, Calhoun, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Clarke, Clay, De Soto, Grenada, Itawamba, Kemper, Lafayette, Lauderdale, Leake, Lee, Lowndes, Marshall, Monroe, Neshoba, Newton, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Panola, Pontotoc, Prentiss, Quitman, Rankin, Scott, Tallahatchie, Tate, Tippah, Tishomingo, Tunica, Union, Webster, Winston and Yalobusha.

Despite a lifelong affiliation as a “yellow dog” Mississippi Democrat, Renick’s demonstrated abilities as an economic developer and public administrator saw his nomination win the sincere praise of both of Mississippi’s Republican U.S. senators as the nomination moves to the Senate confirmation process.

The preponderance of the leadership of the state’s planning and development districts is also supportive of the nomination at the grassroots level.

 Sid Salter is a syndicated columnist. Contact him at sidsalter@sidsalter.com


17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sid you have stooped to a new low.

You really have to be ignorant of Ashley’s diary, and Hunter’s laptop and iCloud account to try to put a positive spin on anything this dementia Joe says or does.

Sid, why aren’t you writing columns about why Hunter called his dad “Pedo Pete” on dozens iMessages. Or how Pete was also his pseudonym for discussions of kickbacks from the ChiComs and Ukrainians?

Anonymous said...

A Democrat-nothing else need be said.

Anonymous said...

Salter is such a symp for socialsm, doesn't realize FDR prolonged, not shortened, the depression.

Anonymous said...

"A Democrat-nothing else need be said. "

Yep. A lifetime of government "jobs" on his resume.

Anonymous said...

"...a solid choice by President Joe Biden..."

Biden is a busy man. I'm pleased that he could break away from his schedule to make such a solid choice. Roosevelt would be pleased.

Anonymous said...

"FDR prolonged, not shortened, the depression."

Never shorten a crisis when to lengthen it will bring political favor.

Anonymous said...

Sack Salter and bring back Tulp.
Tulp is smarter and a better writer.

Anonymous said...

@10:10-10:23 am

As an independent thinker, I'm so sick of the GOP catering to and enabling Proud Boys,Neo-Nazis and violent militia wannabe vigilantes, hypocrists, pathological liars. The Trumpsters changed the GOP into a party that admires criminals, has total disregard for the law, and supports those as clinically insane as Taylor-Green and Hershel Walker and dingbat Palin.
I'm sick of those who think insults and baseless claims are a substitute for wit or intelligence.
What they are is proof you are poorly educated and have no manners and no consistent moral or ethical code at all!

But, worse, you have so little common sense that you actually believe the GOP has no corrupt, immoral jerks and that everyone in the other party must be.

As someone who actually worked in government and literally accomplished things that should have improved your worthless life had you bothered to apply yourself, I saw no angels in either party and more arrogant and lazy people just " showing up" and attending parties. They couldn't tell you why they were for or against anything with any credible argument because they never bothered to learn the job you elected them to do.

YOU and those LIKE YOU are responsible for those "do nothing but holler" politicians.
I did see a few honorable men and women who tried. I saw a few party members and Sid is one, who actually studied an issue before picking up a pen.
One Democrat, Mabus did a lot of good for Mississippi while an auditor. He was less effective as a Governor as his party choices did him no favors.

Anonymous said...

Doesn't matter about experience and qualifcations,if he doesn't parrot the line that the election was stolen he will be viewed by the Trump supporters as factually wrong,morally repugnant,and deeply offensive.

Anonymous said...

11:25 CVS has your meds ready for pick up.

Anonymous said...

Thank you 8:29 AM. I have been trying to post a similar post for some time but KF will not post it. He will probably not post this one.

11:25 AM, What would you call Hunter, Joe, and their family? Criminals would be a very good way to describe them. Some people will just close their eyes and pretend it isn't happening. Do you even believe what Joe and Hunter are saying when you can read it and listen to their own words?

Kingfish said...

Because y’all usually try to post those comments where it has nothing whatsoever to do with the subject of the post.

Anonymous said...

You have never had an independent thought in your life. Everything you said that described one political party, is the same description that fits the other political party.

We don't have a two party political system. It is one system playing two parts. Washington, D.C. is a city state sitting over 50 vassal states, and the decisions being made there are to benefit the Federal Reserve Board, or international bankers. They are one and the same.

Illegal taxes being collected to pay interest on a debt that can never be settled, while portions of those taxes were/are being used to fund the infrastructure of the vassal states.

The TVA was/is part of the infrastructure that was built to supply the required power for the bankers to exploit the rich natural resources they had swindled from the American people.

Those bankers intend to foreclose on that debt that can't be settled in the very near future. You really don't own anything now, you only have possession of it. When the foreclosure is made public, you won't even have that.

An independent thinker, huh. An independent thought would frighten the hell out of you.

Anonymous said...

HUGE Bill Renick fan, and we have worked on opposing campaigns. He is a great representative for Mississippi!

You idiots are all over the place as usual, with your unrelated rantings.

July 13, 2022 at 8:29 AM What an irrelevant and rather sick response.

July 13, 2022 at 9:26 AM "A Democrat-nothing else need be said." What a narrow little uninformed brain you have. Same for you, 10:10!

Congratulations, Bill!

Anonymous said...

Renick is apparently a really nice old guy, but what does he know about the energy industry?

Anonymous said...

When will people in power learn it isn't enough to be just a nice guy or a friend or family member? When there is a job opening the first thing that is checked is if they know anything about what the job is about. A man may be a saint but it he knows nothing about energy it makes no sense to put him in charge of the energy dept.

We have too many people in charge that knows exactly nothing about what they are in charge of. Nice guy or a thug, it does not matter.

Anonymous said...

@11:25, what the hell are you babbling about/at? Your panties and your logical fallacies are showing..."Oh yeah...well...you republicans..."


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Trollfest '07 was such a success that Jackson Jambalaya will once again host Trollfest '09. Catch this great event which will leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Othor Cain and his band, The Black Power Structure headline the night while Sonjay Poontang returns for an encore performance. Former Frank Melton bodyguard Marcus Wright makes his premier appearance at Trollfest singing "I'm a Sweet Transvestite" from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Kamikaze will sing his new hit, “How I sold out to da Man.” Robbie Bell again performs: “Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be Bells” and “Any friend of Ed Peters is a friend of mine”. After the show, Ms. Bell will autograph copies of her mug shot photos. In a salute to “Dancing with the Stars”, Ms. Bell and Hinds County District Attorney Robert Smith will dance the Wango Tango.

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Jackson Jambalaya is the home of Trollfest '07. Catch this great event which promises to leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Sonjay Poontang and his band headline the night with a special steel cage, no time limit "loser must leave town" bout between Alan Lange and "Big Cat"Donna Ladd following afterwards. Kamikaze will perform his new song F*** Bush, he's still a _____. Did I mention there was no referee? Dr. Heddy Matthias and Lori Gregory will face off in the undercard dueling with dangling participles and other um, devices. Robbie Bell will perform Her two latest songs: My Best Friends are in the Media and Mama's, Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be George Bell. Sid Salter of The Clarion-Ledger will host "Pin the Tail on the Trial Lawyer", sponsored by State Farm.

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If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

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