Natchez & Mississippi in the News

This is the first installment of an irregular series where I bring you articles about Natchez and Mississippi that have appeared where you might not have seen them.

I was prompted to do this by seeing Mississippi make the Editorial Page of today's New York Times. As I predicted in my previous article, our corruption scandals are starting to get national attention. Read The United States Attorneys Scandal Comes to Mississippi.

The Concordia Sentinel has an interesting article about our new Federal Courthouse, which will be officially dedicated on October 22. It points out that when our community is willing to work together, historic preservation can become economic development. Read Federal Courthouse Dedication Scheduled in Natchez.

When I read this article, I thought about how worrisome it is that our current Mayor and Board of Aldermen so insulted the Department of Archives & History, a major player in preservation funding. Until we make some changes in our City's leadership, funding for historic preservation and its attendant economic development is going to be hard to come by. So sad - and so short sighted.

In the same issue is an interesting column about noted Natchez historical figure Winthrop Sargent. Read Sargent: The Newly Wed, the Warrior, and the American.

In case you missed it, Mississippi's governor's race made yesterday's New York Times. Read In Mississippi, Democrat Runs in GOP Lane.

If you run into articles about Natchez in other publications, send me the link.

UPDATE: I just ran across this interesting tidbit on MSNBC:

"Iowa is one of only two states - Mississippi is the other - that have never sent a woman to Congress or the governor's mansion. None have been tested in Iowa's presidential caucuses; any who campaigned here dropped out before the vote."

Did you know that? I knew Mississippi had never elected a woman governor or member of Congress, but I had no idea there was only one other state. We'll just have to do something about that! The article was predicting that Hillary Clinton would win the Iowa caucuses in January, and I doubt Mississippi will do that. There are no women running for Governor. So we'll just have to find a woman to run for Congress in 2008, where we just happen to have an open seat right here. Any ideas?

Mississippi Corruption in the Spotlight

I just did an article about our Governor making unfavorable national headlines, and now I find our state may be in the spotlight again.

I assume you are aware of the Department of Justice scandals where prominent US Attorneys around the country were fired for failing to prosecute cases purely for political purposes, which lead to the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, Presidential Advisor Karl Rove, and many others. Now Congress is looking into the opposite scandal: where US Attorneys DID prosecute cases purely for political purposes.

Scott Horton is a contributor to Harper's Magazine and writes No Comment, a legal blog on Harper's website. He is a renowned New York attorney known for his work in emerging markets and international law.

His family has been in Alabama for generations, and one of his relatives there alerted him in June to the prosecution of Democratic Governor Siegelman, which "smelled fishy". He began a series of articles. The New York Times, Time Magazine, and many others have weighed in on this issue. In July, 44 attorneys general petitioned the US Congress demanding a formal inquiry into Governor Siegelman's prosecution. All this activity has culminated in hearings before the US House Judiciary which begin next week. The hearings are restricted to the cases in Alabama and Wisconsin. However, other cases of abuse have been reported in Michigan and Minnesota.

Now, Scott Horton has turned his attention to Mississippi, and it's not pretty - in fact, it is totally disgusting. Perhaps the worse part is that I have to read a New York magazine to find out what is happening in my own state.

He started off with an article on 18 September 2007, wherein he says:

"At this point I believe, based on documents and evidence which have come to me, that the Mississippi prosecutions [like those in Alabama] will also shortly be exposed as being politically motivated and directed."

Prior to the 2003 state elections, FBI agents were all over Mississippi looking into the dealings of prominent Mississippi trial attorneys, who supplied the financial support to Democratic candidates. During the same election, lots of questionable money was coming into Mississippi for Republican candidates, including money tied to Jack Abramoff and his casino interests and the money from the Law Enforcement Alliance from America, a front group for the US Chamber of Commerce - but there was no investigation by the FBI. What probably alerted Horton to this case was that Noel Hillman, from the US Department of Justice, played a leading role in both the Alabama and Mississippi prosecutions.

On 25 July 2003—ninety days before the gubernatorial election between Musgrove and Barbour—the U.S. Attorney in Jackson, Dunn Lampton, secured indictments of Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz, his ex-wife Jennifer, Chancery Judge Wes Teel, former Circuit Judge Whitfield, and attorney Paul Minor. In this first article, Horton discusses in detail the case against Diaz, and says:

"Diaz was acquitted twice, but the major objective of the
prosecution—the election of Haley Barbour—was achieved."

Horton's second (3 October 2007) and third (5 October 2007) articles addressed the case of wealthy trial lawyer Paul Minor. If you read these detailed articles about what happened, you will be totally shocked. It's unbelievable the lengths that Barbour, Bush, and their Republican buddies went to in order to destroy Minor, simply because he was a major donor to Mississippi Democrats and was a staunch opponent of tort reform. Obviously, small issues like the law and the Constitution mean nothing to these guys.

There is one especially interesting aspect of this whole sordid tale. The idea of rushing to the defense of the Judges attacked by the Chamber of Commerce started with Richard Scruggs, probably the best known and wealthiest of the Mississippi Trial Lawyers. He did all the things Minor did and was initially under investigation by the FBI. If these trumped up charges against Minor were real, then Scruggs should have been the first one indicted. However, Scruggs contributes to Republicans, whereas Minor contributes to Democrats. In addition, as we all know, Scruggs is Senator Trent Lott's brother in law. According to Horton, Lott was very aggressive in protecting Scruggs. In fact, FBI Agent Matthew Campbell, from the Gulfport office, expressed total disbelief that the case against Minor was pursued, but the case against Scruggs was dropped. Agent Campbell was quickly transferred to Guantanamo. A Republican lackey replaced him. Senator Lott's role in this, if true, is a clear violation of Senate ethics rules, and he may soon find himself under investigation by his colleagues.

Scott Horton is not through. He is promising more installments. This guy is good! He is a true investigative journalist, of which we have very few. He is influential, and people pay attention to him. Mark my words, Mississippi is about to have its dirty laundry exposed in the national spotlight. It's also possible that Trent Lott may be the former Senate Republican Leader again.

UPDATE: I told you this issue would go national. It's on today's editorial page of the New York Times: The United States Attorneys Scandal Comes to Mississippi

Our Governor Makes Worldwide Headlines

While I was in Austria for a month, I kept up with local news by reading the Natchez Democrat online. However, most of the other news I heard or read was international. I was much surprised to see our very own Governor, Haley Barbour, making headlines around the world.

It all started with a story in the Bloomberg News outlining in glorious detail how Barbour's friends and family have earned hundreds of thousands of dollars from hurricane related business. His former lobbying firm, which still makes payments to him, has represented four clients with business related to the recovery - not to mention casinos and tobacco companies. His nephew doubled his lobbying fees after Barbour appointed him to a special reconstruction panel. Another nephew's wife owned a company that managed FEMA trailers and is now being investigated by the FBI.

This article caused a major uproar. This is not some lefty blog or Democratic press release. Bloomberg is the largest financial news and data company in the whole wide world. It was founded by Michael Bloomberg, now the Republican Mayor of New York City, and it made him a gazillionaire. It has grown into a global financial news empire, including television, radio, Internet, and publications.

Shortly thereafter, Bloomberg News ran another article about Barbour's so called "blind trust". Barbour said he had severed ties to his former lobbying firm, but Bloomberg somehow got a copy of the trust, which says he still had a stake in the company worth $786,000 PLUS pension ($300,000 a year) and profit sharing. Barbour says his trust is legal in Mississippi. Yeah, but, as Bloomberg points out, Mississippi laws are ridiculous and require no disclosure. Barbour refuses to disclose his finances.

The website of the national magazine The Atlantic had a further article, recommending the author of the Bloomberg articles for a Pulitzer Prize. It states that:

"...there is already enough in the public domain to show that Governor Barbour knew that he had an ongoing stake in the work of his former lobbying firm."

The article also mentions a prior ethical lapse by Barbour, when he was Chairman of the National Republican Party. In 1993, he set up a not for profit organization called the National Policy Form, which was theoretically a think tank. However, in reality it was used as a vehicle for funneling foreign money into Republican campaigns. The IRS eventually shut down this boondoggle, ruling it was a subsidiary of the Republican Party and not a nonprofit group.

Conservative columnist David Brooks lambasted this and other corruption of the conservative Washington establishment in a column entitled "The Masters of Sleaze." He talks about the infamous convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, but points out "Abramoff didn't do it on his own. It took a village." The village consisted of what he called the "sleazo-cons" - "people who, having read Barry Goldwater's 'Conscience of a Conservative', embraced the conservative part while discarding the conscience part." These were Barbour's buddies in Washington.

Then another national magazine, The New Republic, comes out with an article entitled "Barbourism: The K Street Evil Genius Who Took Over Mississippi". WOW - powerful stuff! This article sets out in detail how Barbour took the "K Street Project" he helped create in Washington and recreated it in Mississippi - and it's scary! The Washington K Street Project led to the conviction of Lobbyist Jack Abramhoff, the resignation of Majority Leader Tom Delay, etc. The American People eventually became disgusted with the corrupt Republican Party and voted Democrats into power in Washington.

And this corruption has come to Mississippi? Yep! Here's one example:

"After his election in 2003, Henry and Austin Barbour (Haley's nephews) joined Capitol Resources, a lobbying firm just steps from the governor's mansion--much like Barbour Griffith & Rogers overlooks Capitol Hill. The firm shares a number of BG&R's clients, including Northrop Grumman and Lorillard Tobacco Company. Most lobbying shops in Jackson are small, single-person firms, which, while business-friendly, have rarely dominated the legislature the way that Capitol Resources has, with its 15-strong battalion. 'They made a habit of going after other lobbyists' clients, saying, "If you want anything done in the Mississippi legislature, you better hire us,"' says one Democratic legislator."

And how does it work? Here's one small detail. Barbour vigorously opposed the cutting of the grocery tax and making up for it with an increase in the tobacco tax. Last year, he vetoed it. But this year:

"...the bills died at the hands of Senate finance committee chairman Tommy Robertson. Oddly, Robertson had been a vocal advocate of previous tax-swap bills. Earlier this year, however, he and two other Republican legislators--who, in their day jobs, are lawyers--had received a $1.2 million contract from the Mississippi Development Authority, which is overseen by the governor, to help homeowners finalize their Katrina grants."

The national and state media just took off on this story, and it's still out there. Do you know what most commentators say? "Those Mississippians believe all that BS that Barbour is feeding them. He'll win in a landslide."

Maybe not. Tommy Robertson, who killed the tax swap bill, was defeated in the Primary, in spite of Barbour campaigning for him. Insurance Commissioner George Dale, who sold out the victims of Katrina to the insurance companies, also lost in the primary. I'm not sure Mississippians are quite as dumb as those Yankees think we are.

I Decided to Come Back!

It was a tough decision because Vienna is a very cool place, but I decided I had to come home to Natchez. While I was gone, I did keep up by reading the Natchez Democrat online. And quite a lot happened while I was gone!

The best news by far is that Binky is gone. Eddie Walker was easily elected Circuit Clerk in the runoff election. I know Eddie pretty well, and he will do an excellent job. Of course, he will walk into a huge mess when he takes office, but I have confidence that he will straighten it out as soon as possible.

The City is up to its usual shenanigans. Right before I left, there was some concern about the City having enough money to get through the fiscal year. (The City's fiscal year goes from October 1 through September 30.) About a week later and before they'd even passed the budget for the year beginning October 1, they approved a $15 million recreation complex! What were they thinking? As usual, they had no information - and of course, they never asked the public what they thought. A recreation complex might be a very good idea, but to do it without careful planning and public input is just reckless spending of your money. Supposedly this is a good political move in an election year. I sure hope the Natchez voters are too smart to fall for this irresponsible pandering.

I was very sad to see the Court of Appeals upheld the City's rezoning decision regarding Fat Mama's. It's troubling to have the State's highest court say it's okay for the City to force development on a neighborhood where 100% of the residents opposed it.

But on a more positive note, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Board of Trustees voted unanimously to deny a permit to the developers of the condos at the old pecan factory site on the bluffs. Who knows what will happen next in this saga, but I loved the susequent editorial in the Democrat:

"Back in February, the City of Natchez, or more precisely, Mayor Phillip West, sent a clear message to the leaders of MDAH: Your authority doesn’t matter in Natchez. West ordered the former Natchez Pecan Shelling Company building bulldozed without the legally required permit from MDAH. What’s worse, he did so one day after speaking to the Historic Natchez Conference at which both MDAH
Executive Director Hank Holmes and MDAH Historic Preservation Division Director Ken P’Pool were listed as participants. What a slap in the face that was to the two men and the agency for which they work."

It goes on to say:

"But if West and the city aren’t careful, their cavalier attitudes toward the MDAH may continue to burn the city and future developments. What’s going to happen when the next city project needs approval of the MDAH?"

Exactly what lots of us said at the time.

See You Later - and Don't Forget to Vote!

I'm leaving this weekend for Vienna, Austria for about a month. Since Vienna is about 7 hours ahead of Natchez, there may be some delay before you see your comments posted. I'll probably post a couple of articles about my trip. If there's anything you want me to bring back for you, let me know.

Since I'm leaving, I voted absentee yesterday, and the process has definitely been improved. There is a special room just for absentee voting, and it was busy. When you walk in, they ask you a few questions and fill out a form for you. You are then handed a ballot with an envelope and directed to the hallway where there are privacy stands. You're told to fill out the ballot, put it in the envelope, seal the envelope, and bring it back. Then they watch you sign your name across the seal of the envelope. I didn't see Binky the whole time I was there. (Maybe he was upstairs watching the ballots being examined.) I haven't heard a single complaint this time. I guess Binky decided it was time to clean up his act.

I went to the Secretary of State's website to download the official election results, and guess what? The results from Adams County's Democratic Primary weren't there. Adams County Republican results were there. Even crazy Wilkinson County got their report there. Somebody's not doing their job.

PLEASE VOTE ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 28!

If no candidate got 50% of the vote for any office in the Primary Election on August 7, then the top two candidates for that office run in the runoff election on August 28. If you voted in the Republican Primary, you cannot vote in the Runoff. All other registered voters are eligible. This time voters will be making choices in one statewide race (State Auditor) two county wide races (Circuit Clerk and Tax Assessor), the southern district Justice Court Judge's race, and two Supervisor's races (1 and 3).

I recommend Mike Sumrall for State Auditor because he's definitely the most qualified. This is an important office. Don't forget that's who caught Binky embezzling funds. (Here is an interesting blog endorsing him.) For all but one of the other races, I think there are no bad choices.

However, the most important vote is the one for Circuit Clerk. For the sake of our county, please vote AGAINST Binky Vines and FOR Eddie Walker. I'll be checking the Natchez Democrat online to see what happens. If Binky wins, I might decide to stay in Vienna.

Shocking!

Sunday's Natchez Democrat had a truly shocking Top of the Morning.

Dr Kenneth Stubbs, an internal medicine physician in Natchez, made a good case for increased funding for Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Natchez. He discussed the benefits provided to the community by the college.

"Almost all basic college courses in English, math, science and history are offered and credits may be earned toward an associate in arts to be applied towards a bachelor’s degree from one of our area’s four-year colleges or universities.
In addition, Co-Lin Natchez has a very busy Career and Technical Education Center offering training in a wide variety of potential career paths. These include several health related fields such as practical nursing, health care assistant, respiratory care practitioner, medical transcriptionist and medical records coding."

He elaborated on the benefits of the health care course offerings and pointed out that the need for health care providers is growing fast - and I might add that these jobs are well paid and generally come with benefits.

There's only one problem. The teaching facilities for these programs "are bursting at the seams", are taking space away from other much needed programs, and are spread out all over the campus providing logistics problems. It's obvious Co Lin Natchez needs a new health training facility, which will require increased funding from Adams County. Dr Stubbs strongly advocated for this facility, even though it will mean an increase in the taxes we pay.

So what is so shocking about this? Dr Stubbs is a pillar of the Republican Party in Adams County. Republicans cut taxes, not increase them. Republicans hate government programs and think the private section can always do everything better. So I am shocked to see this Republican stalwart push for a tax increase for a government program. Geez - he sounded like a Democrat!

However, he is absolutely correct. This is an excellent investment of our taxpayer dollars for many reasons. Dr Stubbs mentioned two:

1. "You, your child, grandchild or other close relative or friend could more easily take advantage of a learning experience or job opportunity right here at home.


2. Then, if your own health care needs arise, the qualified providers will more likely be available so your health care needs can also be met here at home."

But there are also economic reasons why this is such a good idea. Politicians are always saying we need jobs, and health care is a field begging for employees. We are always looking for new industries to come to our county, and one major reason they don't come is a lack of skills training in the community. As Dr Stubbs pointed out, having this new building would free space that could be used for a much in demand building trades program. When people and businesses consider relocating, one aspect they always consider is health care. We're doing well now, but we need to support our health care industry - or we may lose it.

Building this training facility is not just a "feel good" project - it is an "economic development" project. And I guarantee you it will do a lot more for our economic development than some of the lame ideas our City leaders have come up with - like casinos and condos.

Supervisors are running for election now. Before you vote, be sure you ask the candidates if they will support the funding for this facility.

If a Republican and a Democrat can agree wholeheartedly on a project, it's got to be a winner!

Deja Vu All Over Again - August 28

As Yogi Berra infamously once said: "It's deja vu all over again!" We've just gotten the results of the August 7 election (see them here), and we've got to do it again in the runoffs on August 28. But the choices are fewer this time.

Undoubtedly, the most important race is for Circuit Clerk. Inconceivably, 2837 residents of this county voted for a crook - Binky Vines. Amazing! Even worse, he got the most votes. Would one of those people please explain to the rest of us why in the world you did this?

Fortunately, we have a very good alternative in Eddie Walker. He has worked as an investigator in the District Attorney's office for almost 30 years. In that capacity, he has worked with 5 Circuit Clerks and gained invaluable experience and knowledge about the job. Wouldn't it be nice to have an experienced person in that position? My favorite of Eddie's many qualifications is that he's married to a CPA - no worries about "I'm just a bad bookkeeper" with Eddie. As you can see, Eddie is the favorite of my unscientific online poll. (By the way, there's a typo in Eddie's name in the poll (Eddiw), since I put it there late on Election Night when I was bleary eyed. I wanted to correct it, but I couldn't without removing the results.) As Eddie's website says: "Bring honesty, integrity, & accountability back to the office of Circuit Clerk."

There's an interesting note on the election results in that race. By my calculations, there were 1232 absentee/affidavit votes cast in that election. Binky got 38% of those. He went from a 5 vote margin over Eddie to almost 200. As I told you, Binky was flagranting violating the rules governing absentee ballots, and you see the results. Hopefully, he won't try it again. I know several complaints were filed with the Secretary of State's office, but obviously Binky has no qualms about violating the law.

There are several other local races that will be decided in the runoff. In the other county wide race, Tax Collector, it's Peter Burns versus Rose Daniel Johnson. For District Court Judge, Southern District, it's Danny Barber versus Charlie Vess. There are also runoffs in two of the Supervisor's races. For District 1, it's Mike Lazarus vs Mike Smith, and in District 3, it's Boo Campbell vs Britt Gibson. Although I have my favorites in each race, there are no bad choices here.

Vote on Tuesday, August 28 like your life depended on it - because it does.

Can You Help the Humane Society?

While we are waiting for the excruciatingly slow count of the ballots, I thought I would share this article submitted by Anne Vaughn with the Natchez Adams County Humane Society.

In recent months, the Natchez Democrat has published a series of articles regarding animal neglect and abuse in the Natchez-Vidalia area. The Natchez-Adams County Humane Society deals with these issues every day, and it can be overwhelming.

The one thing that would have a proven positive impact on animal welfare would be for pet owners to spay and neuter their dogs and cats. There are simply not enough homes to accommodate the massive numbers of animals being born. Unless you are a professional breeder of pedigreed animals, there is simply no good reason to allow your pets to reproduce. Even one litter is one too many.

Just in the first two weeks of July, we received 69 cats and kittens and 39 dogs and puppies. How much better it would have been if these litters had been prevented instead of ending up at our shelter!

In the three-month period between April 1st and June 30th, 2007, NACHS took in 334 cats and kittens, and 380 dogs and puppies. Due to lack of space and funds to care for them all, we were forced to euthanize 74 percent of them.Our shelter staff and volunteers are animal lovers all, and it kills our souls to have to put down so many beautiful, healthy pets.

In that same three-month period, only 27 felines and 61 canines were adopted from the shelter, and 21 dogs were reclaimed by their owners. On any given day, there are hundreds of animals at our shelter that are waiting and hoping for a home. We invite everyone to come see the selection of fine pets we have to offer. Our shelter at 392 Liberty Road in Natchez is open Monday through Friday, 2-5 p.m.

NACHS charges a modest adoption fee ($45 for canines, $35 for felines) that includes the cost of spaying and neutering. We lose money on every animal adopted, but much prefer that to having to euthanize them. Incredibly, some people choose not to have their adopted pets altered, even though they have already paid for the operation, and often the adopted pet is returned to our shelter accompanied by an unwanted litter.

In addition to the financial burden we bear to feed, shelter, medicate and care for all of these dogs and cats, we have recently been alerted to half a dozen neglected and starving horses in the Natchez-Adams County area. We were able to rescue several of them that were in dire straits – two of them near death and unable to stand on their own. One of these has recovered through the daily care given her by NACHS volunteers, but the other is still at the veterinary clinic, creating an ever-mounting expense for the Humane Society.

It takes on average $8,500 per month to operate our shelter in normal circumstances. We currently receive only $1,250 monthly from the City of Natchez and $1,000 from Adams County. Anyone who cares about animals and understands the huge service NACHS provides our community should contact their supervisors and aldermen and let them know how important their funding of NACHS is to the health and welfare of Natchez and Adams County. Just imagine the chaos hundreds of animals would cause if they were left to roam freely in our small community!

NACHS recently mailed our members a plea for donations. Anyone who is not a member and would like to contribute to our cause can send their check to NACHS, Post Office Box 549, Natchez, MS 39121. Donations of any size would be most gratefully received.

Could We Please Have Some Privacy?

There are differing opinions of our new fangled voting machines (which, by the way, I heard have just been declared outdated). There are, of course, differing opinions about candidates. There are differing opinions about the election results (or lack thereof). But there is one election opinion about which everyone seems to agree.

Could we please have some privacy when we vote? One of the foundations of our country is the secret ballot. But we sure don't have that here. Something needs to be done about this - and soon. I talked to a representative from the Secretary of State's office and was told that local election officials are supposed to arrange them for privacy. Well, that's ridiculous. Unless you have a handful of machines in a gymnasium, that will never work. You can read those machines from a mile away. I personally don't care if anyone looks at how I vote - I'm usually proud of it and will tell anyone. But a lot of people are very private about it, for various reasons - and they have the right to privacy. I know of several people who did not vote just for this reason.

There has to be a solution to this problem. Let's have some comments with ideas that you have.

I was reminiscing with some other old fogies about the old days, when we had actual voting booths. (You'll notice the expression "voting booth" is still around, although the booths are long gone.) You walked into a booth and pushed a large handle which closed the rear curtain. The ballot would not work on the machine until the curtain was closed. When you finished voting, you moved the handle back to open the curtain. That same move of the handle registered your vote and made the machine inoperable until the next person came in.

At the end of the election day was when the fun started. Each candidate could authorize a person to stay inside the precinct when the polls closed and when the door to the building was locked. The poll worker would use keys to unlock the back of each machine and call out the numbers for each candidate. When that machine was finished, all the candidate representatives would look at the numbers to be sure they were right. Then the pollwork took out the counter and put it in a locked box. This continued until all the machines were counted.

It was very exciting to be involved. As each number was called out, you would hear cheers and moans. If it was an election with lots of candidates, there could be a lot of very nervous people in that room. This was before the days of cell phones, and we were cut off from the rest of the world while we were in there. You were supposed to call your numbers into your candidate's headquarters the minute you got out - so you had already lined up a phone to use as near to the polling place as possible. When the doors opened, everyone took off running - it looked like the beginning of a marathon.

The pollworkers then took all the locked boxes to the County office and made their reports in writing. So a well organized campaign with a person in each precinct would know the results before the county did. Candidates who were missing numbers would call around to other campaigns to try to get those numbers.

One time I was at a precinct that had a lot of trouble getting the machines to open, and we were very delayed in getting out. When we burst out the door, we were totally shocked to be met by a huge crowd of people, including reporters and TV cameras. Every other precinct was in but ours, and a major election depended on the results. Pretty exciting!

Ah for the good old days!

Election Night Blog

Each paragraph is posted separately and the blog is updated regularly.

The first precinct is in, and based on the results, I can safely predict that Ronny Brown will be reelected as Sheriff. No other races are so clear cut.

I am putting the results into a spreadsheet with previous election results, and basing my predictions on this analysis.

After 5 precincts, I would also say it's looking good for Reynolds Atkins for Tax Assessor at this point, but it's too early to predict.

After 9 precincts, looks like Circuit Clerk is close, but I expect it to spread out shortly. Also Darryl Grennell looks to be reelected Supervisor District 4 without a runoff.

There are 2000 absentee and affidavit votes that won't be counted for days, and this will affect most races.

The Northern Justice Court Judge race between Audrey Minor Bailey and Patricia Dunmore will definitely be decided later.

Mike Lazarus, Supervisor District 1, will definitely make the runoff. It may take a few days to find out if he can avoid the runoff by getting over 50% of the vote.

After 12 precincts, the Circuit Clerk's race is still close, and it won't be decided tonight.

The last 8 precincts are taking forever to arrive, but they'll all come at once. So hang on! I sure do wonder why those votes are taking so long to leave the Courthouse.

Well, I went to visit a few candidates and just came back. All the results are in now - at least from today's voting.

In addition to Darryl Grennell, it looks like Spanky Felter also got reelected as Supervisor District 5. The others likely will have to go on to runoffs or generals.

Apparently James Lee got reelected Coronor. It looks like a runoff in the Southern Justice Court Judge's race between incumbent Charlie Vess and Danny Barber. However, the outstanding ballots might give Vess over 50%. We can safely say there will be a runoff for Tax Collector between Peter Burns and Rose Daniel Johnson.

And of course, our very own Bob Dearing was reelected to the Mississippi State Senate, for which Adams County can be grateful.

The biggest surprise to me is the closeness of the Circuit Clerk's race. I am truly shocked Binky got that many votes. Who in the world voted for him? Right now, it's a runoff between Binky and Eddie Walker (only 5 votes apart), but that could easily change after the absentee and affidavit ballots are counted. Only 355 votes separate the top from the bottom. I predict whoever runs against Binky wins easily.

My biggest disappointment is, of course, that Ronny Brown got reelected as Sheriff. However, that was more than made up for by Reynolds Atkins winning for Tax Assessor - the most important race of all. As as extra bonus for me, at this point, it looks like George Dale was defeated as Insurance Commissioner.

The Runoff Election is Tuesday, August 28!

(But only those who voted in the Democratic Primary today get to vote.)

Future of the County in Voters Hands Tuesday

This Tuesday, voters go to the polls in the first, and most important, round of selecting leaders for Adams County and the State of Mississippi.

There are seven countywide races. District Attorney, County Attorney, and Chancery Clerk have already been decided, because no one is running against the incumbent. However, the rest are very heated. Two key races, Tax Assessor and Sheriff, will be decided Tuesday, because only two Democrats are running. I have posted previous articles indicating why I think it is important to support Reynolds Atkins for Tax Assessor and Charles Woods for Sheriff. (Click here to read all articles about the Elections.)

The other three races, Coroner, Circuit Clerk, and Tax Collector, will likely not be decided until a runoff on Tuesday, August 28. Remember, that only people who voted in the Democratic Primary on August 7 will be allowed to vote in the Runoff on August 28. There are no Republicans or Independents running in any of these races, so you must vote this Tuesday to have a say in these results.

Unfortunately, I will have to vote absentee in the runoff, since I'll be out of town. I have absolutely no faith in the absentee ballot process since Circuit Clerk Binky Vines is in charge of it. He is desperately trying to get reelected and is flagrantly violating the absentee rules - which is what happens when you let a crook stay in office. Absolutely disgusting! (See this article.) Some people are writing in Binky Vines for Attorney General in the hopes their ballots will not be thrown out. Hopefully, Vile Vines will be thrown out by the voters on Tuesday - so we don't have to wait another three weeks. By the way, if absentee ballots are key to certain elections, you'll definitely see a challenge.

We're also voting for our representatives to the State Legislature, which I wrote about here, as well as the Southern District Representatives to the Public Service Commission and the Transportation Commission.

There are eight statewide offices: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, State Auditor, State Treasurer, Commissioner of Agriculture & Commerce, and Commissioner of Insurance. Six of these races really will be decided in the General Election in November, but two have heated primaries - one Republican and one Democrat. The Republican primary is between Phil Bryant and Charlie Ross for Lt Governor, and they have been busy attacking each other. However, few local voters will be involved in this decision. According to the poll on this blog, only 18% will vote in the Republican primary - and it will probably be lower. This is because all the important local races will be decided in the Democratic Primary. (See this article.)

The statewide Democratic Primary is for Insurance Commissioner, where Incumbent George Dale is being challenged by Gary Anderson. This race has become interesting because Dale is basically a tool of insurance companies, and he betrayed the voters of Mississippi after Katrina. Check out the blog A M in the Morning, described as "dispatches from Katrina's ground zero by Ana Maria" for several articles about Dale - start with Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Doesn't Get It - His Job, That Is . . . Those poor insurance companies complained so about their losses after Katrina, but the insurance industry made $108 billion net profit in 2005 & 2006, after paying taxes and Katrina claims - and fraudulently sending the federal government a $23 billion Katrina bill. According to Forbes Magazine, "Mississippi, dead last in income, is the sixth most expensive place to insure a house." To protect their cushy situation in Mississippi, insurance companies are major contributors to Dale's campaign. It's time we had an Insurance Commissioner who protects the public, not insurance companies - so vote for Gary Anderson.

On Election Night, I will be live blogging about the results, if you want to check it out. Also, the Natchez Democrat will be posting the results live online. They also have an excellent Election section, where you can learn about candidates and other election information. I wish they would do a little investigative work on some of these candidates, but otherwise, they've done a good job of providing the basic information. I was also disappointed in their endorsements - all incumbents, except for Binky.

VOTE ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 7

THE FUTURE OF ADAMS COUNTRY DEPENDS ON IT

Be Careful When You Vote for Sheriff - Part II

Well, I’ve definitely stirred a hornet’s nest. Have you read the comments to Part I? Ronny Brown must be running scared – his supporters have accused Charles Woods of everything except sleeping with this sister. Maybe that’s coming next.

So many of the comments have to do with Tommy Ferrell that you might think he was running for Sheriff. Tommy Ferrell is the former Sheriff, who was defeated by Ronny Brown in the last election. I haven’t asked Tommy if he is supporting Charles Woods, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he is – since he knows first hand how Ronny runs his elections. However, I can tell you for sure that he is not involved in the Charles Woods campaign. This election is between Charles Woods and Ronny Brown and has nothing to do with Tommy Ferrell.

Last week, I told you why I could never support Ronny Brown for Sheriff. Now, let me tell you why I like Charles Woods. When he graduated from the Natchez Adams County Public Schools, he signed up to defend his country – which was not an fun thing to do in those days. They say the Army is a good training experience for youngsters, and in this case, that turned out to be true. Charles served as a policeman in the Army and fell in love with law enforcement - and he’s been doing it ever since. When he was discharged from the Army, he went to work for the New Orleans Sheriff’s Department. He then moved to California, where he worked for Lockheed and a local police department. All along, he continued his training in law enforcement.

As so many Natchezians do, he came home in 1993 and joined the Natchez Police Department. He started as a patrol officer, which he still does when he is needed. He went on to become the Crime Prevention Officer and Public Relations Officer. He has coordinated the Miss Lou Crimestoppers and the Citizens Police Academy. In addition, he worked with TRIAD, a senior citizens support organization, and coordinated over 30 neighborhood watch groups.

As you can see, Charles Woods has plenty of experience in real law enforcement, which has taught him several important lessons. One is that you have to enforce the law fairly and equitably, but with compassion and respect for all. He’s learned the importance of preventing crime before it occurs. He knows that working with the citizens on a daily basis is key to effective law enforcement. He also knows that he is only as good as his employees, and he will have only professional, trained officers. Finally, he’s well aware that he is funded through taxpayers’ hard earned money, and he will spend it frugally and well.

If you want a Sheriff that knows how to use his brain and not just his brawn, if you want a truly professional and experienced Sheriff, if you want a Sheriff with a heart, if you want a fair Sheriff that will serve all the citizens of the county, and if you want a Sheriff who will watch how he spends your money, then you should vote for Charles Woods.

UPDATE: Did you see this article in the Natchez Democrat?

Local biofuel developer John Rivera is being sued for fraud, and the Adams County Sheriff’s Office is having trouble presenting him with papers.

If you look at Ronny Brown's Campaign Finance Reports, you'll see that John Rivera gave him $5000 and also allegedly paid for that big party on the Bluff. Do you suppose this financial support had anything to do with Brown not being able to find Rivara? Do you suppose he had any trouble finding him to pick up the donation? Hmmm.

“Hopefully, we can get this worked out the first of next week,” Brown said.

Yeah - after the election.

Be Careful When You Vote for Sheriff

If you haven’t committed a crime or been the victim of one, you may not be aware there are some serious problems in the Sheriff’s Office today. Let me start by telling you why I got interested in this race.

A friend of mine served on a jury for a significant murder case. When the trial was over, this friend was absolutely livid and called to tell me we had to have a new Sheriff. Apparently, the work done on this case by the Sheriff’s Office was so shoddy that a person possibly guilty of murder got off scott free. That is pretty serious stuff!

As I looked into it, it became apparent that the problem was INEXPERIENCE – they’re just plain incompetent. When he became Sheriff, Ronny Brown had no law enforcement experience. He claimed he did, but he just worked in Parole and Probation, which, I’m sorry, is definitely not law enforcement.

So what did this inexperienced Sheriff do right after he was elected? Fired most of the experienced, competent staff and replaced them with his buddies. After all, loyalty to him was more important than any knowledge or experience. This was the first not smart thing he did.

Ronny hadn’t been in office a year when a prisoner died while in his custody. Her parents have filed a federal law suit against him, and people say they have a good chance of winning some big bucks. Guess who’ll pay for that? We will, as taxpayers.

That’s not the only cost to taxpayers. Ronny spent more than any Sheriff ever, mostly in administrative costs. So far he’s spent about a million and half dollars more than the previous Sheriff. Ronny just had to buy eight new cars last year – and then he bought eight more this year. He was driving a brand new Ford Expedition SUV while the Chief of Natchez Police drives an old Ford Taurus. There is one place Ronny has saved money though – the narcotics unit. Why does that not make me feel good?

If you check the State Auditor's Report for the first year Ronny was Sheriff, you’ll see he was cited for not giving the County the money he collected in fees in a timely fashion. He was also cited for not following the proper procedures for spending money. However, he promised to do better. Now check the audit for the following year. He’s still not paying the money he’s collected to the County as required by law, and he’s also cited again for not spending taxpayer money in the manner required by law – 32 times!. But not to worry, he promised again to do better. Somehow I just don’t believe him. (The latest audits are not available online for me to check.) This sounds suspiciously like someone else we know.

Another thing is very troubling to me. Apparently, his employees have been threatening and intimidating voters who dared to support his opponent, Charles Woods. The Sheriff’s Office has a lot of power, and abuse of that power for political purposes is abhorrent.

My final concern about Ronny is not major, but it bothers me. It’s the way he looks and dresses. He’d be perfect to play the Sheriff in Mississippi Burning. Although I hate to cast aspersions on someone for the way they look, I do think image is important. Say what you will about Tommy Ferrell, he always dressed the part.

In my next article, I’ll tell you why his opponent, Charles Woods, is the person to vote for on August 7.

Do You Know Your State Legislators?

What's a state legislator? Mississippi is divided into 52 equally populated Senate Districts and 121 equal House Districts. Each Senate District elects one State Senator, and each House District elects one State Representative. The term State Legislator refers to both Senators and Representative. The House and the Senate together form the Mississippi State Legislature, and they make all the state laws that we have to obey. All legislators are up for election this year, so this is our chance to tell them if we like what they're doing.

Districts tend to be drawn across county borders, so Adams County has part of two Senators and part of four Representatives. This picture will give you and idea which district you live in - or you can check your voter registration card.

Let's start with the State Senate. Democrat Bob Dearing represents District 37 (orange on the map), which covers most of Adams County. Most of you know Bob, because he's been serving us in the Senate forever - well since 1980 anyway. Most of you probably also know about something positive he's done, since he does a good job of representing our county. Most notably, he was instrumental in the Four Laning of most of our major highways and the Bluff Stabilization Act, but he's done a lot more. I can't imagine anyone in Adams County voting against him, especially since his opponent in the Primary, William Guy, is a trial attorney from McComb.

Democrat Kelvin Butler represents District 38 (green on the map) which includes a portion of Adams County, along with parts of Amite, Pike, Walthall, and Wilkinson. He lives in Magnolia. This is his first term, but he seems to have done a good job and will likely be reelected. He's Chair of the State Library Committee, so I have a special fondness for him. His opponent in the Primary, Spencer Nash, is a former Judge, also from Pike County.

Now for the House of Representatives. Two of our Representatives, Democrat Robert Johnson from District 94 (brown on the map) and Republican Sam Mims from District 97 (blue on the map), have no opposition and are already considered reelected.

Democrat Angela Cockerham of Amite County represents District 96 (orange on the map) and was elected in a special election in 2005. Even though I'm not in her district, I followed her election and was very impressed with her. She's an attorney and obviously quite smart and well spoken, but she's also very friendly and has one of the prettiest smiles I've seen in a long time. I've had a few dealings with her, and I think she is a future star of the Democratic Party. Her opponent in the Primary is Larry Lee from Wilkinson County, and so far I haven't been able to find any information about him.

Democrat America Chuck Middleton of Claiborne County represents District 85 (yellow on the map). He's a businessman and a veteran and has been in the Legislature since 1996. I don't know much about him or his opponent in the Primary, Arnold Clark of Jefferson.

So those are your choices for the Legislature in the August 7 Primary. Please note that ALL of these races are only on the Democratic Ballot. So if you choose to vote in the Republican Primary, you'll have no choices to make.

To find out more about the incumbents, you can go to the Mississippi Legislature website.

It's Official - Sort of

According to the Democrat, the City signed a lease option agreement with the Lane Company to continue their destruction of our bluffs by placing a casino at the bottom of Roth Hill. Although I feel certain that the Lane Company will do a good job, it's still a casino. And casinos are disasters for communities. From the article I wrote about the economic impact of casinos:

"All of the legitimate research that has been done by unbiased economists and other academics show that legalized gambling eventually causes: 1) increased taxes, 2) loss of jobs, 3) economic disruption of other businesses, 4) increased crime, and 5) large social welfare costs for society in general and government agencies."

Not being restrained by facts or research, the Mayor and Board of Aldermen were so excited with themselves today, as they unanimously approved the Mayor signing the deal. It's so sad that the beautiful community of Natchez is reduced to groveling for casinos, prisons, and coal plants. If only we had leadership with vision.

These casino operators know exactly where to go to find unsophisticated (to be kind) politicians. Sixteen years ago, all the City officials were so excited about the economic benefits of the casino coming - so much so that they signed the worse casino deal in the State. Only one problem - the benefits never appeared. In fact, the opening of the casino created a decline in sales and business downtown. Over 70% of businesses reported a decline a year later. Although casinos promised increased tourism, that didn’t happen either. But some people never learn - and unfortunately, they're our elected officials.

There is one small glimmer of hope. The agreement signed today was a lease "option" agreement. The Lane Company has six months to decide if it wants to actually sign a lease with the City. We can dream that perhaps Lane will see the futility of three casinos fighting for business that can barely support one now.

Of course, each of those three casinos thinks that it will be the one left standing after the Battle of the Natchez Casinos. Can you imagine what that Battle's going to be like? Each casino will be offering escalating incentives to get gamblers. More of our downtown entertainment businesses will close, because they won't be able to compete with the casino prices. Our city police officers will be working overtime to combat the crime that always follows gambling. There are already many families in Natchez that have been destroyed by gambling. Now there will be more, and there will be a strain on our City and County to provide the welfare and other social benefits to those devastated families. Those promised economic benefits will never appear to counter our increased costs. so our taxes will have to go up.

Be prepared for the Battle of the Natchez Casinos, because it won't be pretty.

Why You Should Vote in the Democratic Primary

You should vote in the Democratic Primary on Tuesday, August 7 - even if you're a diehard Republican. Here's why.

In Mississippi, voters do not register as Democrats or Republicans - they just register as voters. When a Primary Election comes up, as it will on August 7, every voter gets to pick which primary they want to vote in. You don't have to be a Democrat to vote in the Democratic Primary, and you don't have to be Republican to vote in the Republican Primary. BUT you do have to pick one. (There is a court case pending to change this - click here to read about it.)

Many people make the mistake of picking the Party Primary of the Party they like, but that's a BIG mistake. Instead you should pick the Party Primary where you can most make a difference - where you have the most significant choices. And in this election, that's the Democratic Primary.

Although there are some state offices that have Republican Primaries, there is only ONE local office that has a Republican Primary - District 1 Supervisor Sammy Cauthen is being challenged by Paul Brooks. Every other local office is either unopposed (6) or has a Democratic Primary (16). So do you want to vote for one local office or sixteen? It's a no brainer!

Be careful when you go to vote. The poll worker may ask "Democrat or Republican?" They're not asking your Party. They're asking you which ballot you want.

Another significant fact that many people do not know: only the people who voted in that Party Primary will be allowed to vote in the Runoff. There will be no Republican Runoffs in this election, so if you vote in the Republican Primary on August 7, you will not be allowed to vote at all in the Runoff Election on Tuesday, August 28.

Every registered voter has the right to vote in the General Election on Tuesday, November 6. However, you'll only be able to vote for two local offices: Supervisors from Districts 1 and 2. All other local offices will be decided in the Democratic Primary: Both State Senators, three State Representatives, Sheriff, Circuit Clerk, Tax Assessor, Tax Collector, Coroner, both Justice Court Judges, and Supervisors from Districts 3, 4, & 5.

If you care about how your government is run, then you must vote in the Democratic Primary on Tuesday, August 7.

NOTE: How you vote is private. Whether you vote and in what primary is a matter of public record. People who do not vote or who vote in the Republican Primary will have no right to complain for the next four years, and we'll know who you are.

I'm Totally Disgusted!

I went to the meeting of the Natchez Planning Commission. They handled a few cases, and then came to the Proposed Natchez Development Code. The consultant, who has certainly never impressed me with any wisdom or vision, was there. She asked the Planning Commission to recommend adoption of the Draft Code to the Board of Aldermen. They made a few minor changes, and then passed the motion to recommend adoption. There was one abstention (I believe it was Linda Futrell), but everyone else voted yes.

As you know, I wrote extensive comments on the Draft, most of which were totally noncontroversial. I not only sent them to the Planning Department, but I mailed them to every member's home. Do you think they ever even mentioned them - much less discussed them? Of course not! Did a single one of those members express any concern whatsoever about what this Code will do to Natchez? Of course not! They just rolled over and played dead. They should all resign in shame.

We had a poll on this blog about development of the Bluffs, and 97% of you voted for something besides condos and casinos. Well, you all just lost. 75 foot condos, casinos, and liquor stores will be allowed in the historic waterfront district by right, and there will be nothing you can do about it.

The Planning Commission was so proud of itself for banning electric signs in the historic district. Well, those signs will be the least of our problems. Plus, you know perfectly well that the Board of Aldermen will allow them.

I did accomplish one thing. I requested that my comments be made a part of the public record, which they assured me they would. That will help with the inevitable lawsuits - since that seems to be the only way to accomplish anything in this city.

I don't know about you, but I'm totally disgusted!

Rentech Questions

The following was submitted by Jane Gardner as a letter to the Editor of the Natchez Democrat . However, it was not printed as submitted, as sometimes happens. So, here is the correct version.

I am concerned with the prospect of Rentech, Inc. establishing a facility in Natchez. I am not only worried about environmental issues but also the expense associated with building and maintaining a coal-to-liquid facility.

Rentech officials and coal industry supporters say Rentech will produce a clean alternative fuel. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: coal-based fuel results in more than twice the greenhouse gas pollution than the conventional gasoline it would replace. It goes on to state: “Without full capture and storage of the carbon dioxide, the coal-to-liquid process results in a 118.5 percent increase in global warming pollution over traditional oil-based fuels.”

The proposed Rentech coal-to-liquid plant will be using the Fischer-Tropsch process to convert coal into a liquid diesel fuel to be used in buses, trucks, and jets. This technique was used in World War II Germany when oil embargos existed, but no company has been built on a commercial scale that also captures the carbon dioxide. Also, it is my understanding that a coal-to-liquid company does not exist in the U.S. at this time.

Even The Denver Post newspaper has spoken out against coal-to-liquid facilities and this is the location of Rentech headquarters: “But even if carbon sequestration is perfected and made affordable – and that’s a big “if” widespread use of coal-to-liquids fuel would create a fuel that still is dirtier than conventional gasoline.”

Not only are the carbon emissions a glaring negative, but the cost of these liquid-to-coal companies is so astronomical that analyst say, economically, it makes no sense. Analyst at M.I.T. estimate the cost at $70 billion to build enough plants to replace 10 percent of American gasoline consumption. The Energy Department estimated that a plant capable of making 50,000 barrels of liquified coal a day would cost $4.5 billion. The United States burns 9 million barrels of gasoline a day.

The coal and mining industries are behind the creation and push for these liquid coal industries, like Rentech. The coal industry is spending millions of dollars lobbying in congress right now to pass legislation with government incentives so these companies will have the funding to be built and maintained.

The New York Times reported that Peabody Energy, the world’s largest coal company, which has $5.3 billion in sales, told an industry conference nearly two years ago that the value of Peabody’s coal reserves would skyrocket almost tenfold, to $3.6 trillion, if it sold all its coal in the form of liquid fuels. Peabody has quadrupled it’s annual lobbying budget to about $2 million since 2004. There is no surprise Peabody Energy is investing heavily to promote Rentech.
The Chinese government announced it is considering suspending its planned $13 billion dollar liquid coal facility because of the high energy, water, and monetary costs associated with the plant.

The coal industry and Rentech are asking congress to pass bills that will give them loan guarantees for six to 10 major plants with the estimate of building one at $4.5 billion and a tax credit of 51 cents for every gallon of fuel sold through 2020, also automatic subsidies if oil prices drop below $40 a barrel and permission for the Air Force to sign a 25-year contract for almost a billion gallons a year of liquid coal fuel.

We do not have an endless supply of coal in this country; it’s already becoming harder to mine, leading to the increased use of destructive techniques like mountain top removal mining which according to the EPA, at its current rate, another million acres will disappear within decades.

Mississippi should be investing in renewable energy resources like biofuels which are based on agriculture so they’re good for America and for the farmer and they are domestically produced, not imported.

The coal industry, the most polluting industry in our nation, wants to artificially create and entirely new industry that will produce a product that emits twice the carbon and greenhouse gases as gasoline. This is outrageous and it will be at the tax-payer’s expense.

Unfortunately, I believe this coal-to-liquid scheme is nothing more than a way for the coal and mining industries to get richer at the expense of our health, our land, and our tax dollars.

You Should Be Worried About Your Property Taxes - Part II

In the previous post, I talked about why I couldn't support Jerry Lyles for Tax Assessor. Now, let me tell you why I wholeheartedly support the incumbent, Reynolds Atkins. (Full disclosure: he is the father of my next door neighbor.)

In my opinion, he is the perfect public servant.

Accessible: He is almost always in his office and will stop whatever he's doing to talk to a taxpayer. When I first moved here, he spent a lot of time explaining to me how taxes work in Mississippi, which is quite different from the way it's done in Maryland, where I moved from. I went to see him several months ago for help writing an article for this blog about how tax assessments are done. He took time to go over the process in detail and answered all my questions. I've been in his office several times, and I've seen him deal with the public.

Honest and Fair: He has never had a complaint lodged against him in his 12 years in office. He's only had 6 appeals in all that time, and none were upheld by the Board of Supervisors. If you point out a mistake to him, he'll correct it. In fact, he pointed out a mistake in mine that I didn't even notice! He has passed all of the state audits on his office with flying colors.

Competent and Experienced: The Tax Assessor appraises property. That's all he does. He doesn't determine how much tax you pay. That's done by the County and City officials. You want someone is that office that knows about and is experienced in appraisals. Reynolds was an appraiser for 17 years before opening Atkins Lumber Co. He went back into appraisals when he was elected Tax Assessor, and he turned his business over to his sons.

When I wrote my previous post, he sent me the following statement and asked me to post it here, which I am happy to do:

Don't be misled!

The Tax Assessor's job is to value property by making property assessments. Jerry Lyles says in his ads that taxes are too high, and he will lower assessments. He could lower property assessments as much as he wants, but it would not change the amount that property owners pay in taxes. The Board of Superviors and the Board of Aldermen and the School Board would just increase the millage (tax rate) to get the money they need for their budgets.

In addition, the Mississippi State Tax Commission audits the Tax Assessor's offices four times a year to determine that assessments are done in a fair and equal manner. If a Tax Assessor does not follow the rules of the Tax Commission, they can decide to turn down the Tax Assessor's tax roll. If this happens, they can withhold all homestead exemption money and the one mill imposed for use for reappraisal ($190,000 a year).

Currently, all appraisals are handled by the me and my staff at no additional cost to the County. This has been a savings of over $1,000,000 in the 12 years I've been in office. Jerry Lyles has no appraisal experience and will find it necessary to hire contract appraisers for about $70,00 per year. In 2009, a reappraisal year, the cost will be over $200,000.

If you have any concerns, questions, or problems with your taxes, please come to our office. We are always available to taxpayers.

- Reynolds Atkins, Tax Assesssor

BOTTOM LINE: The job of the Tax Assessor is to appraise property. Atkins is an appraiser, and Lyles is not. Who do you vote for? DUH!

You Should Be Worried About Your Property Taxes

One of the major sources of revenue for the City of Natchez and Adams County is property taxes. Do you know how they figure how much tax you owe? Last year, I wrote a couple of articles about tax assessments trying to explain how it worked. However, I left out a key component. Who determines the value of your house and property?

In Mississippi, that's what we elect a Tax Assessor for. There was actually a study done on effectiveness of Tax Assessors, and it ranked the states. Amazingly, Mississippi was not at the bottom, but slightly below average. What we have done right is to have it done on a county level and by an elected, rather than appointed, tax assessor. What we need to improve is enforceable state standards.

Basically, what this means is that it's up to us to vote in a competent Tax Assessor. We will have that opportunity on August 7. If you don't learn about the candidates and, even worse, if you don't vote, then I don't want to hear any griping about taxes. How you vote is secret, but whether you vote is public record.

This time the outcome will be determined on August 7. There will be no runoffs and no generals, because there are only two candidates and they're both Democrats. So if you don't vote in the Democratic primary, you'll have no say in how your taxes are determined.

Let's look at the candidates. Challenger Jerry Lyles is running against incumbent Reynolds Atkins.

I'll start with the challenger, because he worries me a lot. In the last election in 2003, Lyles ran against Sammy Cauthen for Supervisor District 1. I thought he was impressive, but I didn't feel like I knew much about him. I knew Sammy Cauthen and had no significant cause for complaint, so he got my vote.

In March 2004, Lyles was arrested and charged with three counts of false voter registration, for which he could have been jailed for 3 years and fined $15,000. When he went to court, he ran ads on television asking supporters to show up to support him, for which he was admonished by the judge.

"This is a court of law and will be conducted as such. This is not a circus, not a political meeting, and not a Jerry Lyles Jr. meeting. Nothing is decided by the number of supporters you turn out for court. The court decides the cases fairly. It was an outrageous and poor decision on your part. Your actions show a lack of respect for the court and were not very smart."

In June, Lyles pled guilty to one count of registering a voter who did not live in the county. The judge sentenced him to one year's probation, and at the end of that year, his record was expunged. I saw no jail time or fines mentioned. (Doesn't this sound familiar?)

Because his record was expunged, he can legally run for office. Another confessed criminal is running for office. Have these people no shame? Although his crime is not as heinous as that of Vile Vines, I really do not want a criminal determining my taxes. He was interviewed by the paper for an article on this race, and of course his past was brought up. Do you know what he had the nerve to say? "Mistakes were made." I hate that phrase and anyone who uses it. Not "I made a mistake". No, those mistakes just made themselves. It means he does not acknowledge his crimes, nor does he have any remorse. Therefore, he could easily do it again.

Do you realize how open this office is to abuse? What do you think will happen if his supporters go in and tell a tale of woe? Will their assessment be reduced? How often will that happen? We'll never know, because we can't challenge or investigate every property assessment. If this man is elected, hold on to you wallets, because to make up for any favors he might do for his friends, the rest of us will have to pay more. People like me who openly oppose him might find our assessments magically increased. Of course, we have the right to appeal, but who knows what will happen in the Natchez courts.

Plus, he's going to cost us more money from the getgo. He's going to have to contract out the assessments, since he doesn't even know how to assess property. Or even worse, try to do it himself after he's taken a little course.

In my next post, I'm going to tell you about Reynolds Atkins and why I love him to death!

The Mysterious Disappearing Meetings

Those of you who read this blog regularly know that I'm obsessed with the proposed Development Code for the city of Natchez because of parts that will be devastating to the Natchez that we love. You also know that I've told you twice that the Planning Commission and the Zoning Board of Adjustment were meeting jointly to discuss the Code and make recommendations to the Mayor & Board of Aldermen.

The first meeting was supposedly May 17. There was a meeting, but they had other items on their Agenda and only briefly discussed the Code. They decided to meet in a special meeting in about two weeks just for this purpose. After several inquiries, I was told by staff in the Planning Department that the meeting would be May 31. Others called and were told the same thing. We went to the City Council Chambers at 5:15 pm and found the building locked. I went across to City Hall and found it locked as well. Later I discovered that no meeting had been called - no members were notified. Is the Planning staff incompetent or did they lie to us?

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Planning Commission isn't until June 21, where the staff again say the Code will be discussed. Will it really? Will the members of the Zoning Board be invited? Might the meeting happen earlier without the public being told? Will the Mayor & Board of Aldermen vote on the Code without the recommendations of their Commissions? Who know the answers to any of these questions? This is, after all, the magical land of Natchez where anything can happen. Stay tuned as I attempt to solve the riddle of the Mysterious Disappearing Meetings!

More on the Development Code Saga

For background on this issue, see my previous posts: Rape and Mutilation of the Waterfront and Save the Waterfront - Continued.

Tonight, at the recommendation of Walter Brown, the Mayor and Board of Aldermen voted to amend the City Charter to allow for the changes in the composition of the new Natchez Planning Commission as proposed in the new Development Code. No one opposes the new composition that I know of. Look for the amendment to appear in the paper (probably the Legal Section), since it must be published. I don't think anyone but Walter Brown has actually seen the wording.

In testimony at the hearing and in written comments submitted to the Planning Department, I suggested 6 changes for consideration. Since none of the changes were adopted or discussed at the recent meeting and since I don't think the members of the two Commissions had even seen my written comments, I mailed copies to all the members at their homes. Five of the changes I proposed are noncontroversial and are just common sense suggestions. However, one change is significant, and I reproduce for you below. Both Commissions (Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Adjustment) will be meeting together next week, and I hope they at least consider my recommendations.

DEFINITIONS:

Waterfront District 1 – Historic District
Uses By Right: Accessory Use or Structure, Antique Store, Art Gallery or Museum, Auditorium, Barber Shop or Beauty Shop, Casino, Condominium, Liquor Store, Museum, Planned Unit Development, General Restaurant, Signs, Specialty Retail Shop.
Uses By Exception: Bars or Nightclubs, Micro-Brewery (Brew Pub), Nightclubs, Offices other than medical, Residential Over Commercial, Resource Extractions

Waterfront District 2 – Not Historic District
The same except Condominiums are By Exception and Residential Over Commercial is not allowed.

COMMENTS:

This is the most troublesome part of the proposal.

To start with, it makes no sense to have the historic part of the Waterfront have less restrictions than the nonhistoric part.

Casinos, Condominiums, Liquor Stores, and Planned Unit Developments have no business being in our historic Waterfront District by Right. By Exception, fine, but definitely not by Right.

This is the only district with NO maximum lot coverage, and except for B3, the only district with no minimum yard requirements. This district is allowed a maximum building height of 75’, which is higher than all districts except B3 and I-1. This is ludicrous, since it can cut off all view of the river, our main attraction.

There is no planning vision reflected in these proposals. Is the whole waterfront going to taken up by wall to wall 75’ condominiums and casinos, as will be allowed by this proposal?

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Waterfront District 2 could stay as in except to definitely include Residential Over Commercial either by Right or Exception.

However, Waterfront District 1 should NOT have Casinos, Condominiums, Planned Unit Developments, and Liquor Stores by Right. These uses must be by Exception. This is a precious historic area of our city that must be preserved. Anything less is a crime of immense proportions.

Most importantly, the maximum building height must be lowered to 35’, and there must be minimum yard requirements and maximum lot coverage. Without a view of the river, Natchez looses its major attraction.

It can be expected that our Mayor and Board of Aldermen may put these back in the new Development Code. However, for the Planning Commission, the Planning Director, and the Consultant to recommend it is totally unprofessional.

PS. These Commissions are not rubber stamp groups, and they are willing to voice their opinion. At the meeting last week, they had the wisdom and courage to deny Walter Tipton's request to have electronic signs at the Convention Center. Their reasoning was that the code could not just grant this right to the Convention Center - such a move would immediately be struck down by the courts. Then all businesses downtown would have the right to have electronic signs, and that would destroy the character of downtown. They did allow the signs away from the historic district. So Walter Tipton could put his signs at the Visitors Center, if he wanted. Special appreciation should be given to Ed Godfrey, Chair of the Zoning Board of Adjustments, who was brilliant in his arguments, and to Karen Stubbs, who was serving as Chair of the Planning Commission, who initially raised the issue and continued to pursue it.

What's a Good Circuit Clerk Anyway?

I know some of you thought I would have written about this before now, but I've been wrapped up in the proposed Natchez Development Code. Everyone is talking about Binkey, and no one is paying attention to the new Code, so I felt like my efforts belonged there. But I couldn't let such a good story go forever without commenting.

As you all undoubtedly know, our esteemed Circuit Clerk, Binkey Vines, was indicted on 13 counts of embezzlement of $228,760 of taxpayer money. That's not small potatoes! Then on Friday, May 4, he pled guilty, but through some bizarre ruling by a judge in another county, he basically got off with a slap on the wrist. He can still serve and run for reelection! For details, see the initial story in the Natchez Democrat.

This is my favorite Binkey quote:

"I’m a good circuit clerk, and I’m a bad bookkeeper.”

This leads me to the title of this article - what's a good circuit clerk anyway? According to the Mississippi Official & Statistical Register, the Circuit Clerk is the chief officer of the Circuit Clerk and the chief elections officer. Basically, the Circuit Clerk is an administrator of two very important functions of county government. So what is a good administrator? According to the dictionary, it's someone who manages or has a talent for managing.

So are you a good manager if you:

1. Misplace almost $230,000 - especially when that amount is about equal to the annual gross income of your office? Think of your annual salary, and then try to imagine misplacing that amount of money.
2. Fail to file annual reports with the State that are required by law for several years running? Try to imagine not filing your income tax returns for one year, never mind several years.
3. Still have not filed the latest report? If only Uncle Sam was so lenient.
4. Blame an employee who was out sick for all your problems? Was she sick for three years?
5. Refuse to accept any responsibility for misdeeds? He is totally innocent, since this is all a sinister political plot by his enemies.
6. Consistently get "findings" (bad reports) in your annual financial audit and don't even bother to respond? Sort of like getting failing grades on your report card and totally ignoring them.

I'm sorry, but this man is not only a bad bookkeeper, but a bad Circuit Clerk. Actually, "bad" is not a strong enough word - I prefer abhorrent, appalling, atrocious, awful, beastly, dangerous, desperate, dire, disastrous, disturbing, dreadful, extreme, fearful, frightful, ghastly, gruesome, harrowing, hateful, hideous, horrendous, horrible, horrid, horrifying, loathsome, monstrous, obnoxious, odious, offensive, petrifying, repulsive, revolting, rotten, serious, severe, shocking, terrible, unnerving, unpleasant, unwelcome, vile. Oooh, I like that last word - Vile Vines!!

Do you really want Vile Vines in charge of your elections? Do you want Vile Vines managing your courts of law? YUCK - NO!! Anyone who still votes for this man is either missing a few brain cells or is not in contact with reality.

ADDENDUM: How could I have forgotten? Are you a good manager if you keep bouncing checks to repay loans? And how does he solve this problem? By cutting staff, of course! I wonder if that poor sick bookkeeper is one of them. (See article and editorial in Democrat.)

Save the Natchez Waterfront - Continued

In November 1999, Natchez adopted a Comprehensive Plan, which is required by state law. And it was done the right way, by professionals utilizing an incredible array of data and research and with ample opportunity for public input. It is very well written and makes interesting reading. There is a copy available at the Library, and I recommend it to you. In the Introduction, there is a wonderful statement, which they bolded for emphasis:

A community desperate for development without regard to the quality of that development will not be able to successfully compete with communities that are more concerned with the quality of development and other quality of life issues.

Does this make you think of our Mayor and Board of Aldermen?

After establishing Goals, Objectives, Policies, and Principles, the Plan then lays out a Land Use Plan, complete with map. By state law, all zoning decisions must be based upon the adopted Land Use Plan, as well as the policies outlined in the Comprehensive Plan. So far as I know, the Comprehensive Plan adopted in 1999 has not been amended. Therefore, the proposed Development Code must be based upon the Plan. But is it?

The map of the Land Use Plan is large, and I could not copy it all. However, I did copy one section.

The red line sticking into the river is the bridge, which is the southern boundary of Waterfront District 1 (WD1). The red line that veers off to the right is Canal Street. The street above that is Broadway, which is the eastern boundary of WD1. The river is of course the western boundary. If you follow Canal Street you'll see two small red rectangles. Right on the other side is Madison Street, which is the northern boundary of WD1.

Two interesting things about WD1 on this map.

First, it's a little hard to see, but there are 3 shades of green on the map designated for Parks: the darkest (not in WD1) is for public parks, the light green is the National Historic Park, and the middle shade is for parks and open space. I didn't see any mention of open space in the proposed Development Code.

Secondly, the rest of WD1 is pink, as is most of the downtown area. These are the Preservation Districts. This designation is to protect the architectural and historic integrity of Natchez. Two of these districts are in WD1, and this is what is said about these two districts in the Plan.

1. Natchez on Top of the Hill Historic District. Mixed Use by Right: Single family detached residential with "indoor only" commercial uses. Uses by Exception: farmer's market stalls, single family residential uses upstairs above commercial uses on the first floor, single family residential units on the first floor with street frontage, and multiple family uses. Compare this list of rights and exceptions to the one in the proposed Development Code (see my previous article).
2. Natchez Bluffs and Under the Hill Historic District. "Indoor only" commercial uses only by Right. Uses by Exception: multiple family residential. Single family detached residential use is not permitted by Right or by Exception.

Just to make matters worse, look at the Waterfront District 2 (WD2), which is south of the bridge. This area is red, which is General Commercial. Now compare that to the proposed Development Code, which is more or less like WD1, only more restrictive. (Why in the world is the historic waterfront district less restrictive than the non historic???)

I don't know about you, but I think the 1999 Comprehensive Plan did a very good job, and I only wish our proposed Development Code matched it. I know the law says it has to, but this is Natchez where the law doesn't seem to matter. If the Mayor and Board of Aldermen adopt the proposed Development Code, I predict some lawyers will be very busy.

UPDATE: One of my lovely friends has provided me with a copy of the 1999 Comprehensive Plan and the map that goes with it. Since files cannot be attached to blogs, I have posted them on my website.

UPDATE 2: The Planning Commission met tonight. The good news is that final implementation will be delayed. They will make recommendations to the Mayor and Board of Aldermen at their first June meeting, with the suggestion that their final approval come during the second meeting in June. The code would then go into effect on August 1. The most interesting news came via Walter Brown, who said the City Charter (basically it's constitution) would have to be amended before the Code could go into effect. This requires at least a 60 day delay. I have a copy of the final draft, and I will write more later. There will be an article in the Natchez Democrat Friday morning detailing some of the discussions.