Jackson Free Press

At the May 24 City Council meeting, tension filled the chamber as the members worked through a number of rote actions. The source of the tension was revealed when Council got to Resolution 38. Ward 6 Councilman Crisler presented a resolution, co-sponsored by Council President McLemore, Ward 1 Councilman Ben Allen and Ward 5 Councilwman Bettye Dagner-Cook, encouraging Mayor Harvey Johnson not to make any bold changes to the city's employment structure—that is, not to move city staffers into civil-service positions to prevent their being fired by the new mayor who takes over in July. Council had discussed the resolution, which is similar to one passed in 1989 when Kane Ditto defeated Mayor Dale Danks, the day before in the work session so Johnson knew it was coming.

"I thought about this overnight," Johnson said, adding: "This resolution is disappointing to me. But I suppose this is the season of disappointment for me." Johnson expressed his dismay that the Council was demonstrating that they did not trust him. "The media and The Clarion-Ledger have tried to re-write history. I am disappointed that my colleagues have opted to be co-conspirators in that re-writing of history. I will be the mayor until the end."

Bo Brown, of Ward 3, agreed with the mayor. "I am appalled to see this one here, and I certainly will not be a part of it."

Crisler defended the resolution, saying that he does not mistrust the mayor but that this is the time to be "extending our arms to give the next administration a chance to succeed." He continued, "This is one of those places where you are going to offend someone."

McLemore added that Johnson has done his job well and said he has always supported the mayor's efforts. But, he said, the voters decided in May that it is time to go in a new direction. "The council has no choice in that; we have got to move with it."

The mayor responded that transfers and fillings are the duty of the executive branch. These concerns have no affect on the upcoming administration: "The decision in May—all of us will abide by that decision. But, the charter of the city states that I am the mayor until July 3, and I intend to serve as mayor until I am not mayor anymore," Johnson said firmly.

Stokes moved to table the resolution, which passed.

After the meeting, the mayor held a press conference to respond to media reports that he was shunning his duties by not speaking to the media. Among other things, he said: "It takes the media participating in the crime-fighting process alongside our citizens and the Police Department instead of sensationalizing the problem."

Ironically, considering that the mayor held the press conference to, in part, criticize bad media coverage, The Clarion-Ledger rewrote that statement the next day, morphing it into the mayor saying that "more uplifting stories from the media would help defuse crime." (After city spokesman Chris Mims wrote the newspaper demanding a retraction, The Clarion-Ledger indeed ran a correction on May 24, this time quoting what the mayor actually said, but not repeating what they had incorrectly "misstated.")

Johnson said other things that the media did not report, either. He said that the media focuses too much on the negative but also took some personal responsibility, expressing remorse that he did not better utilize the media as an important vein through which to circulate information. During election time, Johnson said, he wasn't as concerned with campaign coverage, but was dismayed to see the media not report his successes with city projects, improvements and issues being discussed and embarked upon by the Public Works department.

Previous Comments

ID

64583

Comment

I'm only surprised Councilwoman Barrett-Simon didn't co-sponsor the resolution as well! "Stokes moved to table the resolution, which passed." Score one for Stokes......LoL !

Author

K RHODES

Date

2005-06-02T01:46:46-06:00

ID

64584

Comment

Nothing surprises me that Crisler does. I'm trying to give him the benefit of any doubt I still have - althouh I haven't had much for years. Before long, others will see what others already know. I'd be surprised if Johnson didn't do the right thing.

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2005-06-02T10:08:48-06:00

ID

64585

Comment

Clarification from mayoral spokesman Chris Mims: Mayor Johnson did not call the press conference where he stated "It takes the media participating in the crime-fighting process, etc." The 100 Concerned Clergy held a news conference in the Josh Halbert Gardens, Friday, May 20, 2005 to express their concerns about crime, specifically against young people, in light of the 11-year-old who was recently taken from her own home. Mayor Johnson, several representatives from Hinds County law enforcement, the chief and a couple other officials were invited to say a few words. It is in this context that the Mayor said what he said about crime and the media. We apologize for incorrecting reporting where the mayors made the comments.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2005-06-02T16:17:13-06:00