Jackson Free Press

"Nick Bridger" writes a good column this week about the whole fearmongering phenomenon in Jackson, and how candidates are trying to play politics based on fear.

Personally, I'm concerned with what I see as an upcoming crime. I see it coming, and so should you. In Mississippi, you don't have to register as a Republican or Democrat when you register to vote (or an Independent, which is my preference). As such, at primary election time, a person can vote for either. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem. Democrats would vote for Democrats, and Republicans would vote for Republicans. With Rick Whitlow running unopposed in the primary, it is a certainty that many of the city's Republicans will instead vote Democrat and cast their votes for Frank Melton, one of their own, in an attempt to oust the mayor before the election proper.

I see this as something more than a callow action on their part; it's an attempt to steal the election. Add this to the constant, repetitious flow of misinformation and you have a candidate not worth voting for.

I urge you to get out and cast your vote in the primary election for the man who has brought crime to a 24-year low and made the city safer: Mayor Harvey Johnson.