Jackson Free Press

March 30, 2005

Candidates for Ward 2 include incumbent Democrat Leslie Burl McLemore, a JSU political science professor who helps organize the annual Fannie Lou Hamer school, specializing in recognizing both the sacrifices lost and the rights won during the Civil Rights Movement. McLemore has held the position as Ward 2's councilman for six years, and currently heads the City Council as president.

Challengers are Democrats Ineva Pitman and Vallena Greer. Pitman is a retired public school teacher and civil rights activist who has participated in marches both locally and in Washington, and has mingled freely with personalities such as Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King and Fannie Lou Hamer. Greer is an education consultant who says her policies were inspired by the progressive policies of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement.

At a March 22 debate, hosted by The Clarion-Ledger and the League of Women Voters, candidates were asked what they thought the most important issue was facing their ward.

McLemore said the major issue was crime. "If we don't get a handle on it, we aren't going to be able to develop the things we ought to for our city," McLemore said, adding that crime statistics had shown a fall in recent years. "We have to work closely with organizations for our youth, look at crime prevention and we need to have more organizations and churches working with us on this issue." McLemore said that rampant juvenile delinquency was a serious factor.

Pitman followed McLemore's train of thought in saying delinquency was a problem and that young people needed more things to keep them busy in the ward. "Our youth don't have adequate recreational facilities," Pitman said. "Ward 2 does not have adequate playgrounds, or recreational facilities for our young people so they turn to destructive behavior."

While Greer did not write off the issue of crime, she emphasized the flight of valuable businesses and the condition of the roadways. "The streets are in poor condition, and the businesses are leaving," she said. "We need more quality businesses in our ward. Something besides one-hour motels."

In regard to abandoned property, McLemore said he and the council had been fighting a hard uphill battle in ridding the city of its dilapidated eyesores. "We've been addressing the issue," McLemore said. "We have some programs this year where we've spent nearly $500,000 tearing down buildings, cleaning up vacant lots. We have to follow a state-mandated process, but there's still a lot of work to be done."

Greer said she wanted to move the impetus away from simply tearing homes down and work on renovating them into new uses. "I want to turn abandoned homes and businesses into recreational and educational centers where we can fund programs on the weekends to teach the basic skills of reading and writing. I would also like to turn some of the buildings into mom and pop enterprises," Greer said.

Pitman suggested taking a more individualistic approach. "I recommend contacting the homeowner and seeing what their problems are," Pitman said, suggesting that city grants could be used in reconstruction efforts. "I would also try to let them know about the resources where they can get aid in reconstructing their homes."

The candidates took different views on addressing the problem of business flight from the ward.

Greer said, "I want to encourage businesses and help constituents to be aware of the non-profit and for-profit money available to help them to get their businesses together."

Pitman, however, took a more aggressive stance. "I say put [fleeing businesses] on notice that if they leave Jackson for the surrounding areas we're not going to follow them," she said, "and let businesses know that those who stay we're going to make it worth their while."

McLemore defended the council's record, saying the council is already doing what it can with the resources available to encourage businesses. "It's important for us to create the atmosphere where business will try to remain within the city and I think we've done that," McLemore said.

Bickering between the city and the county has been phenomenal, with county supervisors and city leaders locking antlers on countless occasions. Both Ward 2 contenders seemed willing to hold the position of the standoff rather than surrender the needs of the city.

"I just don't have a good feeling working with people who once lived in Jackson and know something about the structure of the city and then go to the outlying areas and then try to control Jackson from the outside," Pitman said. "I've seen relationships where the outlying areas try to pick [the main] city clean of all its resources simply because it is black controlled."

"I think there should be a strong relationship [between the city and the county], but at some point the council should look after Jackson and not leave it standing by itself," said Greer. "The outlying cities are growing faster than Jackson while Jackson is backing up."

McLemore said it was more within the power of the voters than politicians to enact a change in the county/city rivalry.

"I think we're talking about two or three strong personalities [at the root of county/city battles,] but if voters insist that there's cooperation, then cooperation will happen," McLemore said. "Jackson is the capitol city. There is no way that we can isolate ourselves from our surroundings."

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City Council Election Forums
The League of Women Voters and The Clarion-Ledger are sponsoring election forums for Jackson City Council wards. All are on Mondays at 7 p.m. The remaining forums are:

Ward 4
April 4 at the Police Training Academy
Ward 5
April 11 at Provine High School
Ward 6
April 18 at Forest Hill High School
Ward 7
April 25 at Rowan Middle School