Why would anyone want to serve on any board in Clarksdale? Why would anyone want to serve in any city or county office?
The exodus from the Clarksdale Municipal School Board following the termination of the Superintendent in an illegal executive session is part of the reason.
Then school board member Sandy Stillions had the integrity to leave the meeting when he saw it was illegal. Those left in the room, including a minister, apparently didn’t care.
And that lack of caring about other people, the rule of law and the lack of honor and respect due others and the office elected officials hold are all part of the reason.
It was said more than 2,000 years ago that those too smart to work in public service are cursed to be led by those lesser men and women of the world.
This attitude of thumbing your nose at authority, the law, and the principles of honesty and integrity, also apply to city and county government.
There is another story on Page One of your Clarksdale Press Register about where candidates for office live or don’t live.
We will let the story stand on its own, but this paper hopes local, state and even federal officials will look around and see that we have a number of elected officials -- judges, mayors, supervisors, school board members -- who may or may not live where they say.
Secretary of State Michael Watson told a crowd in Clarksdale a little over a year ago that there were more than a dozen state legislators who had questionable residency.
And public servants who will lie about where they live and how they conduct public business will lie when asked if they are stealing tax dollars.
But back to our point.
Why would good people -- people of honesty, integrity and good character -- want to serve in public office or on boards with those who don’t have to those traits?
The City of Clarksdale currently has vacancies on four boards, the county has several and we can’t find people who want to serve on our school board.
And these facts also makes people ponder do they really want to live or move here.
Clarksdale, Coahoma County and the good people of this community need to demand better.
