Jackson Free Press

Mayor Frank Melton says he only plans to talk for 30 minutes Friday morning on the "state of the city." The Clarion-Ledger reports:

Melton said the four main points of his speech will be crime, economic development, education and infrastructure. "It's going to be very blunt and to-the-point. It won't have anything to do with politics or race or anyone who has attempted to influence me," he said.

Melton also said he may not rely on a script.

"My advisers are telling me I need to have a prepared speech, but I'd rather sit on a stool and talk from my heart," Melton said.

The address will be 10 a.m. at The Alamo on Farish. Doors open at 9:30 a.m.

Previous Commentsshow

What this quote *mean*? It's going to be very blunt and to-the-point. It won't have anything to do with politics or race or anyone who has attempted to influence me," he said. Maybe a script would make a degree of sense.

DonnaLadd

Aug 7 2006

Is he giving a State of the City address for Jackson or Madison? I forget. Trust us Melton.... We don't think anyone has attempted to influence you. We certainly know you don't know a lick about politics. To top it off, you are setting race relations back 50 years! Way to go! How about a State of Your Mind address!

pikersam

Aug 7 2006

State of Mind address wouldn't make sense either :) I can't wait to see how this works.

Ironghost

Aug 7 2006

If he plans to speak only 30 minutes, why would he want to interrupt the governor's day and all of the other "dignitaries" day to include "former mayors and mayors from other cities?" Really, the speech could take just 2 minutes and it should read like this: Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to take this opportunity to let you know that all of the work from the past administration has been totally trashed! I have reduced City gov. by firing every policeman, every fireman, every social worker, every department head, all engineers and anyone I thought would not follow my orders. I have hired every incompetent I could find in the City of Jackson to include former drug dealers and gang members (these are the people I trust). I have gone into the black communities and have serched every car, every pocket and every home - even their two year old males. I have shut down many black businesses and I have closed three white businesses who were playing the SEX CARD. My next big kill will be the Christain Bros. Complex. I will have 200 families trying to find a place to live: Don't worry, I have promised them vouchers and will build them a home, one by one, as soon as I finish Mrs. Johnson's place. I have replaced the City's Lobbist with a neophyte, and we won't need the $800m because I am raising your taxes from 3 different sources: property, car tags and waste management. And, don't forget the tax hike (bond issue) will be $90/person/yr for the next 20 years. I, ME, andf MYSELF think that's the right thing to do. By the way, Stephanie Parker Weaver sends a special thanks to the tax payers for her new city car. She is also proud that she gets her $3/gal. gas free. Thanks to the citizens of Jackson for your belief in me. I will continue to do my night raids in the moble command unit and, THAT MY FOOLS - IS THE BOTTOM LINE!!!!!!!!!

justjess

Aug 9 2006

Ugggh! justjess, did you get that speech out of his garbage can?

kaust

Aug 9 2006

No, Knol Aust. This speech is an accurate account of his record and can be evidenced by media reports. So, get ready to pay higher taxes if you live in Jackson so that he can turn that rainy-day fun into a drought. This is proof positive of the proverbia saying that we must be careful of what we wish (vote) for - we just might get (elect) it!

justjess

Aug 9 2006

If this is his attempt at damage control, he's getting off to a bad start: "My advisers are telling me I need to have a prepared speech, but I'd rather sit on a stool and talk from my heart," Melton said. He may mean well, but I expect a speech full of inconsistencies. As the saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. If he doesn't use a script, he may be traveling down that road with gasoline drawers on.

LatashaWillis

Aug 10 2006

I think that Jackson should stand behind the man that they elected

REV

Aug 10 2006

No matter what? Germans were told they should stand behind Hitler, too. Not saying Melton is Hitler, of course; simply re-applying your logic to show that it doesn't make any sense.

DonnaLadd

Aug 10 2006

Not sure I agree with your use of the "Hitler Card", even in a illustrative way, but I agree that there are limits to which Jacksonians should support Melton.

Jeff Lucas

Aug 10 2006

Well, the point is simply that we are not *supposed* to simply "stand behind" someone we elect—if they turn out to be a different person/leader than we thought we were electing. Perhaps the example of George W. Bush or Bill Clinton might be more palatable, but the point is the same.

DonnaLadd

Aug 10 2006

I think that Jackson should stand behind the man that they elected Kinda hard to do since I didn't vote for him. :-) Plus, most registered voters in Jackson did not vote at all, so using the word "they" is a stretch.

LatashaWillis

Aug 10 2006

Well, the point is simply that we are not *supposed* to simply "stand behind" someone we elect—if they turn out to be a different person/leader than we thought we were electing. Perhaps the example of George W. Bush or Bill Clinton might be more palatable, but the point is the same. - LADD It just seemed like your initial response to Rev was a bit heavy-handed for a fairly innocuous post suggesting Jacksonians should support Mayor Melton. I would like to know a little more elaboration by Rev about why we should support Melton just because he's an elected official. More specifically, I'd like to know what Melton has done to deserve our continued support, whether Rev is a Meltonite, and what exactly does he think "standing behind" our mayor means. I'm not someone who blindly follows an authority figure just because he/she happens to be in a position of authority. He/she has to earn my support on a daily basis.

Jeff Lucas

Aug 11 2006

OK, inquiring minds are dying of curiosity. How'd it go? How long? Did my reporters get barred? Awaiting a report in Chi-town. ;-)

DonnaLadd

Aug 11 2006

Off subject, but how was the flight Donna? Or more specific, how was the airport up there?

James Hester

Aug 11 2006

I flew into Midway, Jim, and it was fine. There weren't even long lines checking in ... yet. There was extra security everywhere along the way, but all was fine. Lots of talk about stashing shampoo and such among passengers. ;-) Oh, and on the runway in Jackson, we passed the Delta plane in the mud. They were trying to dig it out. Eek. And it's a gorgeous day in Chicago. This is my first time in Evanston. This neighorhood is beautiful, and boy do I love them big-ass lakes. Waiting for my room now in a funky mod hotel. I'm happy with AAN for stashing me here, I must say, at least so far. ;-) From the cab I kept noticing all the newspaper boxes on the corner in these creative neighborhoods. The fools in Jackson and Madison need to catch onto the fact that having lots of local media is a major sign of progress and life in a community. Makes people want to move there. Anyway. ;-)

DonnaLadd

Aug 11 2006

Yeah, just wondering what happened at the speech?

pikersam

Aug 11 2006

From the C-L.

millhouse

Aug 11 2006

I'll wait and get the whole story here. You can get bits and pieces from other sources, but I come here for the whole story. :D

Lady Havoc

Aug 11 2006

Donna...I did see Adam Lynch near the stage

seanbp

Aug 11 2006

I attended the speech and it was the typical song and dance routine about "grace and benevolence". It was one big smoke screen to try and make everyone forget that he has no real plan for this city. It was very disheartening to see and hear this Mayor today.

seanbp

Aug 11 2006

... and for kittens, apparently, Lady. ;-) Good to know Adam is still a free man.

DonnaLadd

Aug 11 2006

Hello all. Adam and I were both there and we'll be posting a story about it momentarily.

Brian C Johnson

Aug 11 2006

So, the mayor boasted that he didn't have time to "write 15 pages of garbage" to formulate a city plan. Looks like they could only get 12 pages anyway! see .pdf file Franklin Covey and Frank Melton. O RLY? LOL! What a joke!

pikersam

Oct 3 2006