Tariq "Skyhook" Abdul-Tawwab is getting a nice paycheck courtesy of outgoing Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba. The City Council was not too pleased when it found out Hizzoner quietly hired Abdul-Tawwab in March. JJ obtained his employment through a public records request:
The new Deputy Director has no public works experience but his wife is a member of the Order of the Sisters of Rukia. Mr. Abdul-Tawwab worked at JXN Water for a few months before he was um, forced to leave the organization. His background is customer service.
Ward 1 Councilman Ashby Foote tried to question the hire at a recent meeting of the Public Works Committee buuuuuuuuut Ward 5 Councilman and Committee Chairman Bryan Grizell immediately adjourned the meeting.
35 comments:
Will be very interesting to see if new mayor lets this person stay in this position, with no experience and ties to Rukia, OR ends his employment and hires someone qualified.
What Horne does here will be very telling.
Grizell avoiding questions is very telling.
A bunch of Sarcophaga flies circling the decay and filth before they are thrown out.
The grift continues.
Now y’all see what trashy mindset the Mayor has. He should ashamed of himself. Karma is a bitch, will see you at your court proceedings next year! Thats just LOWDOWN.
Horne and Kane Ditto aren’t going to allow anyone to remain in the current position. Certainly not anyone with radical ties to Rukia
Where does a nickname like "Skyhook" come from?
Yet somehow it is still white flight that is blamed for the city's ineptitude.
I have a theoretical degree in physics. I am far more qualified than any of these minstrel show charlatans.
Grizell wanted to talk about it in executive session that way he can talk about the defeated Mayors actions behind his back. Then next month talk about transparency.
Pudgy will carry Antard's water to the very end.
Maybe this explains why there is more traffic leaving Jackson than entering Jackson!
Had everyone stayed you are correct. School would be better and we would have to work together to solve our problems.
Actions speak louder than words. What he does is what we'll be watching.
Does Grizzel have a real job?
Horhn hates JXN Water just as much as Chokwe. Tariq "Skyhook" Abdul-Tawwab's job is safe.
School would be better ...
Why would the schools be better? Be specific.
June 9, 2025 at 3:22 PM - Have you lost your mind? Terminate him and hire someone with experience? The damned position did not even exist until a month ago when Antar started passing out sugar plums.
The only difference between Antar and state agency heads in this state, in this respect, is that they usually make up these positions out of thin air and staff them as soon as the governor appoints them - and Antar, who does it on the way out.
We had never heard of "Deputy Directors" until about 25 years ago. Now there are dozens of them making 150-200k, scattered among agencies.
June 9, 2025 at 3:22 PM
That no one opposed Grizzell is pretty shitty.
I am sure happy that I pay zero state income taxes here.
JPD sure could have used Tariq Tawwab and David Archie as crime fighters. I’d love to see Mr Archie in his crime fighting uniform with that gavel.
If Horhn does not immediately fire Jim it will be a cause for concern. Surely Horhn knows Taliaferro just wants an informant inside Public Works.
This sort of thing, or even worse, has been going on in our national government for some time. DOGE has only scratched the surface in finding billions in taxpayer dollars in outgoing channels to untraceable recipients. Corruption is rife, both locally and nationally.
5:49, my thoughts as well. Grizzell The Grifter was right there with the mayor throughout the shocking garbage contract debacle, joining the young lady on the council in supporting Richard's Disposal. Of course she was the first to fall in the FBI's bribery sting. I can't imagine Grizzell gave his support to the mayor for free. His ward needs to find a better representative and send him packing!!
@507 - you may be correct in saying Hohrn hates JxnWater - but if so, he better learn to like them or at least get along with them because they are going to be here to stay (thank the good Lord and Judge Wingate) and once they are ready to be gone if by chanch Hohrn is still around he will see the water/sewer operation be placed in an entity other than the City of Jackson. As it should be, and in most any other situation would have already been there.
Most large cities don't manage their own utility operations; check them out and find me cities where the basic utility operations are a fundtion of the city. Most are utility districts serving areas within and outside their locations. Hell, some like the Louisville KY utility district service 20 or so counties with their water service and sewer collection.
Hohrn might not 'like' JxnWater, but he will quickly learn that having them have that headache and taking those problem issues away from his desk will be one of the best benefits of the current situation that he is walking into.
"Where does a nickname like "Skyhook" come from?"
It's an old basketball term.
How old is Kane Ditto ?
He's gotta be in his late 70's/early 80's by now.
Grizzell is awful and as long as people like him are on the City council, it won’t matter who we elect as Mayor…
Borrowed it from Limbaugh
Kane Ditto is 81, born May 1944, and still wanting to be an influencer. He did enough damage already.
Why do you think Hohrn hates JXN Water? It was my impression talking to him that they got along fine. What did I miss?
You can bet if Grace "I love Chokwe" Greene wins after the absentee ballots are counted, that no such questions will be raised.
Classic!
Trashy?
.After several round of intense questioning and back-and-forths among council members and members of the administration, Grizzell brought up the fact that a recent luncheon for council clerks was paid for by a subcontractor for a firm seeking the city’s trash contract.
“When we learned back in November who the three vendors or firms were that submitted a bid... I knew they submitted bids before. It was not uncharted territory. On December 22, on or around, the (council) clerks had a luncheon at Iron Horse Grill. I attended, my clerk attended, Banks’ clerk attended, Hartley’s clerk attended, Foote’s clerk attended... And one of the subcontractors who submitted a bid with Waste Management showed up and paid for that lunch,” he said.
Ward 6 Councilman Aaron Banks, though, says the luncheon was just a way to say thank you to the council clerks and that the organizer of the luncheon did not know that the subcontractor contacted was connected to one of the firms vying for a city contract.
Instead, he explained that the contractor was chosen off a master list of contacts the clerk’s office uses to sponsor events that could not be paid for otherwise.
https://www.wlbt.com/2022/01/26/jackson-city-councilman-defends-luncheon-paid-by-trash-subcontractor/
If a city has an established practice of maintaining a list of people to ask to for favors and money, should a city doing this worry about conflicts of interest?
Boomers and zoomers might need a help with the reference KF is making In Living Color (1990) - Mo' Money w Whiz and Ice
@10:02, Kingfish has been using the term since 2007. We know the reference. Please catch up.
@1:19 Zoomers would not have been here in 2007. Checkmate boomer.
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