You know my joke: first thing to sprout on lawns in the spring is political signs.
Forget farming, people need to get into the printing business. But let me assure you that’s probably just as shaky as farming right now.
A drive around Clarksdale will show you we have a bumper crop of signs this year and with a little over two weeks to go in these races, things are sure to get dirtier than gumbo mud.
Look long and hard at your candidates
We marvel at those candidates who talk about their hometown and how much they love Clarksdale and yet they buy billboard advertising with the money going into the pockets of out-of-town companies.
That’s typical of people who are giving you a smile and a catchy slogan, and that’s all a billboard really offers.
Have you seen some of the signs that are going up at corners, rental property and locations around town that no one seems to own? Sticking a sign in someone’s yard shows you they are linked to the candidate.
Please notice I didn’t say they would vote for the candidate. Signs don’t vote, people do. Let me point out the candidates who shunned the Clarksdale Press Register in the last county election got kicked out. They were all flash and no substance.
If you want to reach Clarksdale voters with your name, personal information and address the issues: the Clarksdale Press Register is the place to be!
Did you know we print more than 2,000 copies that go to subscribers each week? Check out our ad on Page 12 to see how many views our website gets each week and how many readers we reach monthly.
Hold them in YOUR hand and hold them accountable
Newspapers are the best medium for getting facts and figures across to people.
You can say a lot in a newspaper ad. You can reach people with a vested interest in this town. People are looking to see what your vision is for Clarksdale and want to come alongside a true leader who can get the job done.
We all know candidates who are smooth talkers but say nothing.
Candidates need to come out and put the following five questions in black and white:
1.) Are you going to reduce those high-priced salaries that our Mayor and Commissioners voted for themselves four years ago?
2.) Are you willing to do the hard thing and tell property owners and your neighbors they need to clean up their property.
3.) Who are you going to support or how will you pick Clarksdale’s next police chief? We will add, are you going to support him when he - or she - sets about cleaning up this town?
4.) If you are going to bring jobs to Clarksdale, have you ever done business with multi-millionaires and can you talk financing, tax-breaks and offer workforce solutions to state and federal agencies that will bring these industrialists to town.
5.) Are you going to be able to do what’s best for Clarksdale and not what’s best for your friends or your back pocket?
Don’t get fooled again
One of my favorite rock-n-roll songs warns people not to get fooled again.
It goes on to tell us to “Meet the new Boss - the same as the old Boss.” Some people never learn, prompting the masses to suffer at the hands of the same kind of leaders for generations.
It was written in 1971. I was 11-years-old and throwing papers in the quaint little Golden Triangle town of West Point.
I would like to think the The Golden Triangle is booming because newspapers in West Point, Columbus and Starkville gave their readers in 1971 the facts and challenged them to wisely pick good, strong, moral leaders who can do the things I have eluded to this week.
We’ll see if Clarksdale is fed up with politics as usual and wants real, immediate change that will yield long-term results.
Floyd Ingram is the Editor of your Clarksdale Press Register. Call him at 662-627-2201 with your prediction on who will win elections this spring in Clarksdale. He hopes the winner is Clarksdale.
