Jackson Jambalaya

Here are the June & July campaign finance reports for the Madison County Supervisors elections. In a nutshell, they are a complete, and I do mean complete joke and are not worth the paper they are printed on. Few candidates are reporting anything, itemizing contributions is a novelty, and one incumbent didn't even bother to file one. Some observations from the little information available:

-John Bell Crosby took in $23,300 for the year. The June report states $10,000 came from Warnock employees and their family members. His opponent raised $6,200 year to date.
-District 2 candidate Ronnie Lott has raised only $3,050 this year but spend over $35,000 on this race, including $33,000 to G. Williama Marketing. G. Williams does direct mail and billboard advertising.
-D.I. Smith reported $37,121 for the year in contributions. His opponent Gerald Steen reported $36,149 for the year in contributions but for some strange reason can't seem to tell anyone where the money is coming from. Interesting.
-Karl Banks did not submit any reports in June or July.

Well, the Board of Aldermen for the City of Madison passed a resolution calling for Madison County District 2 Supervisor Tim Johnson to resign and Mayor Mary Hawkins-Butler signed it. Haley Westbrook of Fox40 interviewed several parties in this little dispute and posted some interviews online that were more in-depth than seen in the typical broadcast. I wish other stations in town would follow this example and start posting more .pdf's and unedited interviews but that's just me.

The Madison Board of Alderman unanimously passed a resolution last night calling for the resignation of District 2 Supervisor Tim Johnson. The resolution states:

" WHEREAS, the citizens of the City of Madison are also residents and taxpayers of Madison County, Mississippi, and have a vested interest in the administration of county affairs, especially as it relates to expenditure of public funds and allocation of such funds to infrastructure improvements throughout the county; and
WHEREAS, District 2 of Madison County is primarily located within the City of Madison; and
WHEREAS, the citizens of the City of Madison residing in District 2 have a right to expect active and vigorous representation regarding the use of County funds and the fair allocation of public benefit resulting from such expenditures; and
WHEREAS, the actions and lack of action by District 2 Supervisor Tim Johnson have caused public concern regarding the quality of representation the citizens of District 2 in the City have received; and
WHEREAS, such actions include but are not limited to:
(A)Proposing the largest tax increase in the history of Madison County, without the required legal notice;
(B)Resisting a full performance audit of questionable engineering fees, including subcontracts and allegedly inflated fees for administration of such subcontracts;
(C)Supporting payment of engineering fees for study, design and redesign of projects which are not practically or financially feasible;
(D)Public misrepresentation to citizens and municipal officials regarding the use of proceeds from a fifty million dollar bond issue in an effort to generate support for such issue, then supporting the use of such proceeds in a manner contrary to his earlier assurances;

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND BOARD OF THE CITY OF MADISON, MISSISSIPPI that the City of Madison, Mississippi, does hereby call upon Madison County District 2 Supervisor Tim Johnson to resign from his post in order to allow the citizens of District 2, and specifically those citizens residing in the City of Madison, to elect a supervisor who will vigorously support the interests of District 2."

Copy of resolution

The resolution was signed by Mayor Mary Hawkins-Butler.

While sitting at the barber shop this week arguing the finer merits of rhubarb pie v. muscadine cobbler, everyone agreed it was a travesty we couldn't find a restaurant that served decent fried green tomatoes. Oh, I don't mean the thick slabs some serve that taste like a brick, but the ones thinly sliced, dipped in a nice golden batter, and fried perfectly, the kind that makes your mouth water, close your eyes, and think you are in a Southern heaven more glorious than the lillies of the field. While there, my barber told me something he heard from T-Bob, who is a cousin three-times removed on his mother-in-law's side and just happens to know everyone and is the second coming of Marcell Ledbetter.

T-Bob told him a few things about the Secretary of State's investigation of The Fine Arts Institute of Mississippi. There is a hearing scheduled next week, but apparently there are settlement negotiations taking place this week. Seems Mr. Murphy's charity will be able to wiggle out of being shut down if he agrees to some rather onerous conditions. Of course, if the Gaming Commission denies his appeal (hearing scheduled after the SOS one) for the decision to shutdown Boxcar Bingo, it will be moot anyway as the bingo operation is the funding mechanism for the so-called charity. Does anyone wonder if Tim Johnson is lobbying some of his former colleagues in the legislature to lean on the Gaming Commission? Just an honest question that I asked the barber as I thought out loud, not wanting to believe such things could happen in my beloved Magnolia state.

My barber took offense to my skepticism and promptly started sweeping the floor, making it clear I was more than welcome to take my unpleasantness elsewhere.

Copy of Order
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Copy of Order