Franklin County native Sherman Lee Dillon is a working musician and a married father of seven children.

By day, he cares for four grandchildren at his home in south Jackson.

At night he performs at downtown clubs like Hal and Mal’s.

Dillon is also the Green candidate for governor of Mississippi.

Just in from a Nashville recording session, the 52 year-old returned to Meadville on Tuesday along with his daughter, Anna, who attends Hinds Community College and helps with her dad’s campaign.

&uot;I don’t have a lot of time to spend on the campaign trail.

I’m just a basic, plain-old guy who’s concerned about where my children have to live,&uot; he said.

But sitting on an old church pew in the foyer of the Franklin County Courthouse, Dillon took time to talk about his run for governor.

&uot;It’s not rocket scienceŠ&uot;

Dillon, who has a bit-part to his credit as a dobro player in the award-winning film &uot;O Brother, Where Art Thou,&uot; joined the Greens in 1992 after hearing about the international political party while touring Germany with a country music group.

&uot;Our drummer was about to throw a cigarette butt out the window, and the driver said ‘We don’t do that over here.

The Greens don’t allow it.’

I thought that was pretty cool,&uot; Dillon said.

Dillon offers a fresh perspective on the pervasive problem of illegal dumping and littering in Mississippi.

&uot;One very fundamental thing is that everything is made to be disposable.

That mindset has to change,&uot; said Dillon, who supports recycling efforts used in other states.

&uot;I remember when bottles were returnable.

In states where bottle bills exist, the litter rate has decreased by 75 percent.

We need to provide some incentive to recycle,&uot; Dillon said.

Dillon also supports the use of television ads to educate people and help curb the habit of littering.

&uot;Everybody needs to embrace this problem,&uot; he said.

Protecting our environment is one of the Green Party’s four main pillars, which also include commitments to grassroots democracy, social justice and non-violence.

And for Dillon, those pillars provide the basic framework to address any issue.

&uot;I don’t think the solution to our problems is rocket science.

If the state can get focused on the future, using these four pillars as a guide, then our children will have a better state to live in than we had,&uot; he said.

&uot;We need smarter optionsŠ&uot;

Dillon, who will not accept campaign donations over $200, said Mississippi’s campaign finance laws first need reforming to provide everyone with a real voice in government.

&uot;It would hurt my feelings to vote for a guy that spends $10 million to get a job that only pays $100,000.

If we continue to let money determine what happens, it’s going to interfere with what’s going on,&uot; he said.

On the economic front, Dillon favors innovative approaches to replacing traditional manufacturing jobs that have been lost, such as in the Southwest Mississippi timber industry.

&uot;The solution is not to replace them with other industries.

They will just use us up and leave again.

We need smarter business options,&uot; said Dillon, who ran a guitar shop in Jackson for 10 years.

Dillon mentioned a group of high school students from Houston who recently teamed with engineering students at Mississippi State University to build a solar-powered car that won a cross-country race.

&uot;If they can do that on an international level, then surely Mississippi could establish a similar industry.

We need to make those types of investments,&uot; he said.

Dillon also wants to see basic utilities such as gas, water and electricity produced and sold locally.

&uot;There’s no way that buying electricity from Atlanta can help Mississippi,&uot; he said.

Socially, Dillon supports better health care for rural Mississippians and sees an urgent need to address the problems that breed domestic violence.

&uot;Women are more likely to be killed by their husbands or boyfriends in Mississippi than anywhere else,&uot; he noted.

&uot;A very clear directionŠ&uot;

In the 2000 Presidential race, over 8,000 Mississippians voted for Green Party candidate Ralph Nader. But the Green Party is relatively new in Mississippi, having registered with the Secretary of State’s office in April 2002.

Still, Dillon has been working to get his message out by speaking at political forums in Tupelo and Biloxi and attending social gatherings in the Jackson area.

He also plans to begin some voter registration drives on college campuses soon.

&uot;A lot of people have Green values, but are not members of the Green party,&uot; Dillon said.

Dillon, who earned a psychology degree from Mississippi College in 1972 and was later certified in early childhood development, is also continuing to make contacts and recruit people to help research campaign issues.

&uot;Bob Dylan once said ‘I will know my song well before I sing it,’ and that’s what I’ve been trying to do,&uot; he said.

And while third party candidates often have a difficult time making a significant impact in America’s political system, Dillon is serious about his candidacy.

&uot;I’m not saying I’m the smartest, or the most likeable, or anything else.

But I have an internationally recognized party supporting me, and I have a very clear direction.

I’m not saying I’m the best person to be doing this, but I am the person who is doing it now.

And we’ll find out,&uot; he said.