Clarksdale, Coahoma County and the rest of Mississippi head to the polls next week to choose our elected officials.
I hope we get it right this time.
One of the things newspapermen have to guard against as their career moves forward is cynicism.
Hope spring enternal from the heart of young journalist who firmly believe everyone reads every crumb they write and certainly believes the truth.
As we get older we realize how easily the public is fooled and how quickly even those politicians elected on a platform of change become the status quo.
Well, I’m not that old yet. Please continue reading my work, and maybe, just maybe this time it will be different.
Governor’s race
We have two very different men in the race for this state’s top post.
I know Jim Hood personally having worked in Chickasaw County. He visited my office regularly and his son and my son were running buddies.
It broke my heart when Jim decided to run for Governor. He was a good Attorney General and served well as this state’s top lawyer. He was talked into it and is obviously the best candidate the Democrats could find.
Tate Reeves is just not my kind of politician. I also don’t think he was the best candidate the GOP could find.
But he pouted and threatened and he rose to the top as his party’s top choice and the voting public also picked him.
At this point let me say if you want more rural hospitals to close you need to vote for Reeves. He did nothing over the past six years to accept Medicare expansion in this state. And if you want public education to get worse, you also need to cast your ballot for Reeves. He did very little to fund public schools as Lt. Governor.
Both of those are critical issues in this state and in our community.
Lt. Governor
Delbert Hosemann will be a different kind of Lt. Governor.
A Republican, rock solid lawyer by trade and a politician who has the personality to bring people together, Hosemann will be a strong voice for Middle-Of-The-Road Republicans.
Hosemann has also campaigned in the Delta and even made a visit to Clarksdale at a meeting that was attended by several of our Democratic Legislators.
The Lt. Governor is the most powerful political position in this state and Hosemann will wield that power judiciously.
Having just stepped out of the Secretary of State’s job, look for this man to know the ropes and to step into this post as Lt. Governor with a plan on day one.
Transportation Commissioner
Both men running for Transportation Commissioner have visited Clarksdale over the past few months.
One promised to fourlane Highway 6 and six other highways in Northeast Mississippi. The other held his cards a little closer to his chest, made few promises and said he has a plan and Clarksdale is part of that plan.
Party politics
Psst! Let me tell you my brilliant observation after having lived in your community for six whole months -- Coahoma County will vote Democrat on Tuesday.
But hear this: Mississippi has seen the fastest and most dramatic rise in Republican candidates and voters of any state in the Union over the past 10 years.
It has become very difficult to be part of the plan if you have a “D” after your name in Jackson. I don’t care how great your idea is or how strong your voting block is, if you can’t work with the powers-that-be, you will be relegated to the sidelines.
I hope this is the election where we elect politicians who seek to work for the betterment of this state and not just do the bidding of their political bosses. I hope this is the year we elect men and women of intellect who are smart enough to bring new ideas to the table.
I hope this is the year Mississippi embraces change, innovation and unique solutions to our state’s unique problems.
My father once said politics and marriage are the art of compromise.
Now, let me see if I can figure out how Sara is going to vote.
Floyd Ingram is the Editor of your Clarksdale Press Register. He has voted for Democrats and Republicans at all levels of government for more than 40 years. He has been happily married to Sara for 31.
