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Aldermen votes may matter most
Published Monday, May 5, 2008
While much debate and discussion goes into the Natchez mayor’s race, six other positions within city government make up a more important wing than that of the mayor.
Natchez operates under the strong board, weak mayor system of government. That means that the six people who sit on the board of aldermen collectively hold the true legislative power in the city.
In Tuesday’s Democratic primary, 16 men and women will be in competition to become the nominees for six different aldermen positions. Some wards do not have any Republican candidates on the ticket, so for several wards Tuesday’s election could decide the faces of your representatives in government.
We’ve interviewed almost all of the candidates — a few did not respond to attempts to reach them. And after reviewing their opinions, their records and their campaign issues, the following candidates receive our endorsement:
Ward 1: Retiring Fire Chief Paul Johnson earns our nod. We believe Johnson’s careful, calm demeanor would be a welcome addition to the board. And, he brings a unique perspective to the office as a long-time city employee and department head.
Ward 2: Incumbent James “Ricky” Gray earns our selection for the Ward 2 position. Through his last two terms, we’ve seen Gray grow into the role. He proudly touts that he’s the only member of the current board who has gone to all of the training offered by the Mississippi Municipal League.
Ward 3: Democrat Gwen Ball is unopposed and will face Republican incumbent Bob Pollard in the general election.
Ward 4: Incumbent Theodore “Bubber” West is the best, most knowledgeable candidate among the field. His years of experience will be invaluable to a board that’s guaranteed to have at least two new members, perhaps several more. His young challenger Ernest “Tony” Fields is filled with enthusiasm, but hasn’t yet invested enough time to truly understand the issues. In four years, if he works hard to get involved in city government, Fields will be ready.
Ward 5: Former Woodville Alderman Tim Sessions is our favorite in Ward 5. The former banker brings both an understanding of finance and a familiarity with public projects and financing. Out of all of the aldermen candidates — excluding incumbents — he was the one who most seemed to have a grasp on the city’s current budget and current spending practices. For a challenger, that’s impressive.
Ward 6: Architect Dan Dillard is the best choice in Ward 6. His professional experience means he brings much to the table in terms of his ability to work with others think out of the box and consider all sides of an issue.
While we think these candidates are the ones who will best represent the city, we urge you to look at the issues and vote for the man or woman that you think is the best.
Regardless of whom you choose, we just hope you’ll vote on Tuesday.
Comments
Posted by redusmfan (anonymous) on May 5, 2008 at 7:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)
No pick in ward 3? Come on, tell us your opinion, oh wise toothless one......we can not live without your words of grand poopoonewnew wisdom...lol...
It is true that the alderman actually have a whole lot of power in local government and they need to be chosen with careful consideration. Please VOTE!!!
PS poopoonewnew is a term from a kids program on TV..I do not remember the shows name...but it is hilarious.
Posted by mike8427 (anonymous) on May 5, 2008 at 1:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
redman, this article is about the democratic primary, there is only one candidate for the democratic party ward 3. Who else can you pick?
Posted by natchez500 (anonymous) on May 5, 2008 at 1:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
how can you go for bubba west again and anyone on the board now
Posted by justmeinchez (anonymous) on May 5, 2008 at 5:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree with you, natchez500. How could anyone support the current aldermen who gave themselves a raise and said no to a raise for the police and firemen...until a few months later. It seems the current mayor could have spoken up immediately for those who keep our city safe if he truly had their best interest in mind.
Posted by natchez1 (anonymous) on May 5, 2008 at 7:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The Democrat's choices for Alderman are not too bad, Love to see a change in Ward 1. Joyce has to go, I hope the white community will vote for change and vote for Johnson, sadly a vote of Sanders will be a vote for no change again. Please vote for Johnson!
Endorsing West was interesting, He has been a decent Alderman, but his financial troubles and his health have hurt his standing.
I have been unimpressed with Tim Sessions on all the interviews I have seen but maybe he will be good.
I have seen so little in the ward 6 race to pick a candidate. I think Dan seems committed and should be a good choice.
I was surprised with the Endorsement of Middleton albeit halfhearted. Middleton's ideas for the city are so few to rule out his main idea of putting the recreation complex at Belwood and still give him the endorsement makes it look like the Democrat has a personal problem with Phillip.
Yes Phillip has messed up sometimes and the Democrat is right to criticize him. His biggest error was the demolition of the Pecan Factory, really stupid and I still have no idea what he was thinking.
His rehiring of Willie B was at the behest of at least one Alderman that the paper then endorsed.
I also find it interesting that the paper takes him to task over the city planners. The city planning department was damaged by the previous mayor who cut the staff and then ran off the city planner and others. Phillip inherited a planner who did not comply to his contract. He left and few people applied for the position, is that Phillips fault? He hired a planner who rapidly proved to be a disaster. Phillip tried to get him to do his job and adhere to his contract, he did not so he was fired. The new city planner was the second choice on the job search. He has had a variety of positions, over a short period of time, and that proved a factor it him not getting the job in the first place. Time will tell whether John Lewis be be a good planner.
I know how hard it is to get good people to relocate to Natchez for a job. Even if you offer a fair wage housing costs are high here and not everyone is keen to move here.
They criticize Phillip for the state of the roads in Natchez, this also seems unfair, Phillip has been working to get grant monies for the roads. This always takes time, and when combined with several natural disasters money has been tight from state coffers. The city has also been in financial straights too as tourism numbers are down and the city has been paying high debt service for the various monuments built by previous Mayors. The paper highlights all of the low points of the last 4 years, it does not mention any of the good things that have happened except to say it was all due to Katrina, a major overstatement. Sure Katrina helped but with hundreds of other places that new development could have gone it came here.
Posted by OldGrandDad (anonymous) on May 5, 2008 at 8:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
natchez1, I think that we will find the Democrat has a personal problem with a Graning in office also, although I can't imagine why. I expect Middleton, should he win on Tuesday, to get the "halfhearted" endorsement in the general election also. I'm surprised at some of their endorsements for aldermen but thats my own fault for allowing anything to surprise me anymore. But in the long run, how much weight does their endorsement carry? I'm not sure that it carries more or less than my own (worth a handful of butterbeans and a slice of cornbread).
Posted by ntz143 (anonymous) on May 5, 2008 at 8:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)
change can only happen when people get out and vote. For those of you who choose to criticize elected officials, I sincerely hope you are planning to vote tomorrow...otherwise, don't complain. As for Jake vs Phillip...the issue is who is the lesser of two evils. My problem with Jake is what exactly has he stood for as an Alderman? What cause has he championed? What difference has he made? The same arguement held true 4 years ago with Sue. Its called the curse of the incumbents....you're in office so what do you have to show for it? As for Phillip... the ego comparisons to Butch are justified but for the life of me, I can't fault the man for tearing down the Pecan Factory. IT WAS AN EYESORE...DRUG HAVEN... the suggestion that it had historical value is laughable at best. Where were the preservationists when it was falling in?
My problem with Phillip is his tendancy to load key city positions with African Americans, regardless of their credentials. He had a very unique opportunity to REALLY bridge a racial gap and he resorted to the same ole tactics of reverse racism. Very disappointing. And I think that his support among the white community has suffered greatly because of this.
Posted by natchez1 (anonymous) on May 5, 2008 at 9:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)
ntz143 -
Phillip was elected 4 years ago by a very slim margin. He did not get much white support. I actually think tomorrow he will do quite well - He will win tomorrow and I think he will get a decent amount of white supporters. Four years ago many people claimed he would fire all the white people in city hall, and not do anything for the white community. Both these things were proved untrue. Although he has made errors he has hired white people, retained a white police chief, city engineer, and many others, he ended the bus tax, worked for a new hotel tax to support the "white" tourist business, actually improved the look of downtown by keeping the grass cut and buying a new street sweeper. Natchez looked much worse when Hank was mayor.
Jake is a nice guy - and he might do a good job; however he has a very thin resume from someone who has been in office for years. Phillip has contacts and has used them when he really needed them. Phillip can be charming when he wants and impresses many people from out of town.
I hoped Phillip would have been a "perfect" mayor, he made mistakes but he has had many more successes. I did not vote for him last time but at least in this round he has my vote. Had Middleton waged a better campaign with more ideas and plans he could have won. Chick still has a chance to get my vote but he has to have more than I'm not Phillip.
Posted by rushinghjr (anonymous) on May 6, 2008 at 12:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Birds of a feather fly together!
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