Wednesday, June 9, 2021

Dale Danks Passes

 Former Jackson Mayor Dale Danks passed away today.  He suffered a massive stroke several days ago and had been in critical condition.  Prayers and condolences to his family. 

40 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jackson's best Mayor ever

Anonymous said...

He was a great mayor..Especially the first 4 yrs. Then, he bought into that Bert Case B.S. ... Jackson's Mayor For Life.

searchingforreason said...

RIP Dale. One of the best mayors this city ever had and a true friend to law enforcement.

Anonymous said...

I always had a lot of respect for him.

RIP

Anonymous said...

This was a Mayor who showed up. Haven't seen the likes of that in many years.

Anonymous said...

🙏 for the family!

Don Drane said...

Hate to hear this. An honorable, respectable and principled man. The mold was broken.

Anonymous said...

Thoughts and prayer to his family.

IMO, Dale Danks was the last Mayor that truly cared about the City of Jackson.

Anonymous said...

4:51, I also had respect for him, but find it hard to agree with some of the other comments 'best mayor Jackson ever had'. Disagree with that sentiment - he was a good Mayor, at a time when it was easier to be a good Mayor - Jackson or otherwise. But not the GOAT

Anonymous said...

Danks got Harvey Johnson to win. That is his legacy.

Anonymous said...

Well remember and appreciate his Leadership during the Easter Flood of 1979

Anonymous said...

Most people don't realize that Mayor Danks was not even a native Jacksonian.

He landed in Jackson during the 1950s when his Dad relocated their family
from Florida.

Dale fell in love with the place and decided to stick around.

He initially worked his way up to the Mayor's office.

Dale Danks is easily the last great Mayor the City of Jackson has ever seen.










Anonymous said...

Can’t say I knew him personally but I most certainly remember his years in office. Always seemed to be a man of true character with respect for the office and those he served. His leadership abilities is truly to be desired.

reximus said...

@5:47, who then would be the best Mayor Jackson has had? Allen Thompson?

Anonymous said...

He shocked people when he was elected Mayor in 1977. Did a great job especially during the 1979 Jackson flood. Was on national TV constantly during that week and represented the city well. Wish he had won the Attorney General race in 1987 against Mike Moore but no Jackson politican was gonna win statewide back then. RIP Mr. Mayor.

Anonymous said...

Agree 7:06. Big mouth at 5:47?? Who tops Dale Danks as GOAT? Watch. There will be NO COMMENT from 5:47.

Krusatyr said...

Best Mediterranean Complexion. Who else could get a tan just by eating a plate of pasta? He loved and cared for Jackson where other recent Mayors drive it down like a cat in the road.

Anonymous said...

Without a doubt, he handled the worst crisis Jackson ever faced (1979 Easter Flood) as well as any leader could. He truly cared about the City, and was an example others would do well to emulate. Rest In Peace, good and faithful servant.

Anonymous said...

5:47 where are you. 3 hours now. Chicken shift. Answer. Who is/was the GOAT?

Anonymous said...

"Krusatyr said...
Best Mediterranean Complexion. Who else could get a tan just by eating a plate of pasta? "

Well, another fact most people don't know .... his Maternal family were of Italian ancestry.
Thus his Mediterranean Complexion.

But Dale took all of those jokes in stride.



Anonymous said...

Legend has it he passed right after the election was called for the current empty suit.

Godspeed o’ Tanned One. GODSPEED!!

Anonymous said...

Great guy and loved his family. That’s the most important part

Anonymous said...

Golden Gloves boxer, trash truck driver, salesman at Kensington’s, and one hell of a courtroom lawyer (once one a medical malpractice case in a day).

As for Mayor, integrated the City workforce with quality hires (Rueben Anderson was an early appointee as municpal judge), as noted by 4:14 friend of law enforcement, managed to keep the City from exploding when a cop shot a drunk, pregnant black woman, managed the transition to a new form of government (he had little choice about the change, and managed it well), created the Jackson Hinds Library System, opened Savanna Street, built the J.B. Curtis water treatment plant, took over maintenance of Hwy 80 and 51 from the State (can we remember when Jackson actually operated better than the State?), brought the International Ballet Competition to Jackson, etc. etc.

As several posters have said: truly cared about Jackson. During the 1989 campaign Ditto distributed flyers blaming Danks for the tap fee and the water bills being “high”, but the systems worked. Ditto got elected and realized the fees were necessary, only to have the City Council repeal them in 1997 while running against Harvey - and lost anyway.

The current Wonder Boy wishes he could carry Danks jockstrap.

Anonymous said...

9:28. BRAVO. Thiskid is a certifiable clown show/joke.

Anonymous said...

Before and after he was Mayor Mr Danks was a top notch attorney. I got to know his family when he was our family attorney. True nice man who also was right on top of things here in Jackson. Most people may not know that his first administration placed top quality African-Americans in city government. He never placed one part of the city over any other. It was a real pleasure seeing him lead... RIP Mayor...

Anonymous said...

RIP

You other losers keep rooting against the Capital City from behind that keyboard.

Anonymous said...

His father taught he about the stock market when he worked for the Hinds County Tax Collector. Jimmy Carter had just given each citizen $25 in stimulus money. Dale Sr. said to invest in Beatrice Foods and Zales Jewelers and took me to meet John Geary the stockbroker at Deposit Guaranty building. I was impressed with the sign with red letters that had the stock prices running on the sign.

Anonymous said...

Cue the Marshall Ramsay pearly gates cartoon…..

Anonymous said...

Danks was a leader in every assignment God gave him. Can someone explain the GOAT reference without being smarmy?

Anonymous said...

3:05 -

Greatest
Of
All
Time

Anonymous said...

Moved around Jacktown in a black Jaguar like a BOSS! RIP

Anonymous said...

10:17 Name one thing that is better in Jackson today than when Danks was mayor. Jackson is a good sized city. Name something.

If another 1979 flood occurred Antar would blame Trump and divert relief funds into a "Climate Change Commission" to award more money to his minions.

Anonymous said...

10:17 Name one thing that is better in Jackson today than when Danks was mayor. Jackson is a good sized city. Name something.


Uhh-- the zoo?

Anonymous said...

Like was mentioned earlier. Will always rememebr his service thru the Jackson Flood of 1979.
Very Likeable guy good judge, commom sense guy. We need more of these

5:47 said...

847 - 547 here. For the record, I dont live and die watching JJ every minute of the day - or any social media for that matter. Guess chickenshit lovers like you that have nothing else to do except diddle with yourself think the rest of the world should follow in your path.

I would start with Leland Speed - a much better Mayor than Danks. I would suggest Scott as well, although it is hard to compare the eras.

As I said, I respect lots of what Danks did (while I can find fault with some of his methods and actions that are being overlooked here or are unknown to those who fly at 30,000 feet. But he was no comparison to Speed, even ignoring those questionable actions.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the GOAT clarification.

Anonymous said...

Yeah doofus at 10:59. Leland Speed, Sr. served one term and was not re-elected. Danks served 3 terms.

Anonymous said...

Dale was a pretty good amateur actor, too. He was in a number of shows with the Millsaps Players in college, and later acted at the Jackson Little Theatre.

Anonymous said...

Hey asshat, this is doofas. Leland Speed served one term as mayor; danks served two. So by your definition danks had to be better?

Let's look at how it came down; Speed was elected Mayor while the US (which did include Jackson at the time) was still embroiled in a world war. Danks, who is being praised here as the best mahor ever was the last mayor to have the benefit of serving as a mayor with TWO councilmen; not seven. Because Danks gave us the ridiculous government form that we have today. He didn't serve a third term because his second one was not a success, and he had also just been defeated, trounced rather, by the first person to be elected to a statewide office in a century from the coast.

Yes, Speed served one term. But that term was a success and did a good job of moving Jackson forward. Danks kept it in the road and dealt with the flood crisis but that's about all that can be said of his terms.

You want to claim Danks? Fine. Go ahead. Its a moot argument with no resolution. Depends on how you want to measure it (Superbowl rings, or overall record? Years served without consideration of the offensive line and receivers? Yes, mixing metaphors just to keep idiots confused.)

Don said...

I recall meeting Dale Danks when I was about 7 years old. He and my dad were good friends. I’d never heard my Dad nor my Dad’s mom say anything negative regarding Danks.

Rest well.



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