Jackson Free Press

Mayor Frank Melton's State of the City address at the Alamo Theatre on Farish Street on Aug. 11, 2006, opened with great pomp as a Jackson Police Department color guard marched into the hall. The stage was set with plush leather chairs, and the audience stood as Dathan Thigpen sang the National Anthem while the color guard stood at attention.

Rev. Charles E. Polk of Saint Luther Missionary Baptist Church gave a long, rambling prayer, in which he called on God to bless the audience but "especially" Mayor Frank Melton. "God," Polk thundered, "I ask you to give this man supernatural powers to lead Jackson."

The guests of honor took their seats as they were announced, like arrivals at a state dinner, to the audience. Guests included former Mayors Kane Ditto and Dale Danks, members of the City Council, senior administrators including City Administrator Robert Walker and City Attorney Sarah O'Reilly-Evans, and Melton's wife, Dr. Ellen Redd Melton of Tyler, Texas.

Jayne Sargeant introduced the mayor, recounting a now familiar bio and repeatedly referring to the mayor as "this young man."

Finally, a taped fanfare began and Mayor Melton strode down the aisle, his bodyguards in natty suits, Assistant CAO and "Chief of Publications" Carolyn Redd and Chief of Staff Marcus Ward following. Melton did not take the stage but stood before it, speaking extemporaneously into a body mic, as promised, though he occasionally glanced at a poster with bullet points. Melton spoke for about 20 minutes.

The theme of Melton's remarks was "grace and benevolence."

"I made a promise to you all 13 months ago, and I'm sticking to that promise," Melton said. "No politics, no race and no influences."

Melton repeated the claim that he had arrived in Jackson 24 years ago "with a baby in one arm, a wife just out of medical school, dead broke." In truth, neither his wife or natural children ever lived in Jackson, and Melton came to Jackson after his company, Civic Communications Inc., bought TV station WLBT. Melton became the CEO.

"You believed in me. You've taken great care of me, and you've taken great care of my family. That's where my passion comes from. You made me a wealthy man, and I intend to leave that wealth right here in Mississippi," Melton continued.

Throughout, Melton's remarks were answered by one vocal member of the audience, who cried out, "Yes, Lord" or some variant after almost every statement he made.

"We're looking at a new hotel for downtown. We're looking at a sports arena for downtown. It's going to be unbelievable," Melton said. "And hold onto your seats: They've finally started work on the King Edward Hotel."

"Oh my!" the woman cried from the audience.

"Let me tell you something else," Melton said. "I'm not going to have anyone saying anything negative about Jackson. That goes for us as a community, and it goes for the media also."

Melton spoke about schools, citing George Elementary as a success and praising improvement at Lanier High School.

"And you know what?" he asked. "When those young men and women leave school, they don't have to worry about the Town Creek Apartments."

Melton urged citizens to call the police whenever they see a juvenile out on the street during class hours.

Melton segued from education to crime, but the two are deeply interconnected for him. "I've had this job for about 13 months, and there are three men that I really miss in my life: my father, my grandfather and my father-in-law." Melton went on to profess that had it not been for his "father's left hand," he never would have made it out of the "inner city" of Houston.

"You want to talk about crime? Let's talk about family," Melton said. He recounted a conversation he had with a juvenile who had dropped out of school in the 9th grade, who had never met his father and was smoking marijuana. He also described a 16-year-old who was once his swimming student that had been shot and killed early in the morning recently.

The vast majority of crimes are committed by adults, and juveniles are far likelier to be the victims of violent crime than the perpetrators.

Melton acknowledged that he has "struggled" with crime over the past 13 months.

Jackson has a "$300 million" infrastructure problem resulting from "years of neglect," Melton said, though he quickly veered from that subject back to blighted neighborhoods. He said that retired NFL star Deon Sanders was coming to Jackson to build houses. Eventually, Melton returned to the subject, claiming that Congress had pledged $25 million to improve infrastructure.

In his conclusion, Melton said that he brought his audience to the Alamo Theatre because it was his neighborhood and that all would be amazed by the transformation it would undergo in the next three years.

"I'm going to continue with the same passion," Melton said. "I've made some mistakes, and I've always been honest about those mistakes. You have helped me work through those mistakes, but the easiest thing in the world is just tell the truth when you make a mistake instead of spending six weeks trying to lie. Just move on with your life. We're going to continue to make mistakes, but I want to tell you this, ladies and gentlemen: The mistakes I make are mistakes of the heart. … I did an interview with Geraldo Rivera the other night. He asked me what my greatest strengths and my greatest weaknesses were, and I said that my greatest strength is people. My greatest weakness also happens to be people. One of my protective staff people directed me and said, 'That's not right. Frank, your greatest weakness is your heart.' And I'm OK with that."

"Thank you, Jesus!" the woman called.

After remarks from Walker and Evans, Interim Fire Chief Todd Chandler said that he had a surprise for the mayor in the form of six new fire trucks. Melton tried to pass credit for the trucks to Mayors Danks, Ditto and Johnson, but Chandler said: "These are your fire trucks, mayor. They were ordered under your administration." Chandler presented Melton and Council President Ben Allen with framed photographs of the trucks. He then named Melton "honorary fire chief," and gave him a "hand-made" fire helmet. At the conclusion of the event, a number of honored guests went for a ride in the new trucks, which were all parked outside, their lights flashing.

"I thought it was an inspiring speech," said Bill Chandler, president of the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance, after the speech.

"It was pretty good," Rep. Erik Fleming, D-Clinton, said. "Some people were saying, 'Well, he should've had some details,' but he said he's going to deal with the details later."

-- with additional reporting by Adam Lynch

Previous Comments

ID

122812

Comment

Deal with Details later? It's been 13 months already.

Author

Ironghost

Date

2006-08-11T16:59:57-06:00

ID

122813

Comment

Good move Chandler..............kiss Melton's a$$ and hope that he will let you keep your job. You have done about as much as the mayor has which is NOTHING. What did our police chief have to say? NOTHING. she has also failed miserably. Melton is 25 percent into his term. We have less than three years until the next mayoral election. When will things turn around? It will not happen overnight, but we have already wasted thirteen months. "Melton never used notes, but spoke from the heart" said the evening news. Well, you don't need a written speech when you are still lying. We need results not rhetoric.

Author

lance

Date

2006-08-11T17:11:00-06:00

ID

122814

Comment

Supernatural powers? Like this?!? You made me a wealthy man, and I intend to leave that wealth right here in Mississippi,” Melton continued. In the form of punitive damages maybe....

Author

pikersam

Date

2006-08-11T17:23:41-06:00

ID

122815

Comment

I'd just like to say, "Amen!" Oh, and "Where's the beef?!?"

Author

kaust

Date

2006-08-11T17:59:24-06:00

ID

122816

Comment

How about supernatural powers like found here? http://www.indra.com/8ball/front.html

Author

Lady Havoc

Date

2006-08-11T18:50:13-06:00

ID

122817

Comment

This whole production was a waste of air time. Did anyone get any comments from the wife???

Author

jada

Date

2006-08-11T19:45:20-06:00

ID

122818

Comment

Ironghost's reaction is identical to the one I had. I said more or less exactly what Rep. Fleming said...in April 2005. Now that he's been in office for more than a year, it would be nice to hear a few of those details. lance, you're thinking of Todd Chandler. Bill Chandler, a friend of mine whom I respect and with whom I pretty much completely agree on every major political issue I can think of off the top of my head (even if we disagree from time to time about specific politicians and political candidates), is an advocate for immigrants' rights and does lots of work with the AFL-CIO. He's best known in the JFP for calling down the race-pandering of certain state legislators who proposed strict anti-immigrant policies last year. He doesn't work for the City of Jackson. One of these days I'll want to sit down with Bill and ask him just why he supports Melton as much as he does, because I really am curious, but Bill's a good guy and I don't question his motives. Cheers, TH

Author

Tom Head

Date

2006-08-11T21:08:37-06:00

ID

122819

Comment

And Lady Havoc, that's brilliant. :P (And what's with the woman who referred to Melton as "Jesus"? Or the fact that Melton was referred to over and over again as a "young man"--when he's, what, 55? This is troubling, to be honest.) Cheers, TH

Author

Tom Head

Date

2006-08-11T21:12:30-06:00

ID

122820

Comment

Oh, never mind. I see that Todd Chandler also spoke. I should have read the article more carefully! It's hard to do, but I do see five silver linings: 1. I like the fact that he held the address at the Alamo Theater and centered his speech on building downtown Jackson. 2. I like the fact that he referred to the King Edward Hotel renovations as a good thing. That's one battle that doesn't have to be fought anymore. 3. I like the fact that he connected education and crime instead of writing off the crime problem with "thug" and "superpredator" rhetoric. 4. I love the fact that he praised JPS' successes rather than writing off the entire school system. 5. I like the "only positive Jackson spoken here" type comment, though he hasn't always lived up to that principle himself. I personally think our city will do great and thrive and improve regardless of who happens to be mayor, and I think it's important that we distinguish our criticisms of the administration and our concerns regarding specific issues from general criticisms of the city--because the latter just plays into the Suburban Theogony garbage, and that's not good for anybody. There's nothing else I can say here that I haven't already said in other threads. The State of the City and the Crime Summit are all well and good, but I want to see positive, constructive action. And I want to see an end to the racial profiling, an end to referring to black youths beaten up by police as "damn thug[s]," an end to the sense that Melton would rather his administration be feared rather than loved if it cannot be both. An end to a lot of stuff. To be honest, I still want Melton's resignation. I don't see much hope for this administration. But I would love to be proven wrong. You hear that, Mr. Mayor? Please, for the love of God, do a great job and make a fool out of me. Cheers, TH

Author

Tom Head

Date

2006-08-11T21:22:48-06:00

ID

122821

Comment

I find it hard to believe that The Clarion-Ledger would make this particular statement in their editorial today: No Jacksonsonian would disagree with anything the mayor said Friday. Are they sure? That is such a weird rhetorical statement. Obviously, it's false, and it should be false. People in a democracy are never lockstep on every single thing; they're not supposed to be! That paper.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-08-12T08:10:57-06:00

ID

122822

Comment

I find it hard to believe that The Clarion-Ledger would make this particular statement in their editorial today: -Ladd Remember that this the same paper that just fired one of their own for plagerism. The apple dosen't fall far from the tree. (smile) I haven't learned how to do those symbols yet!

Author

lance

Date

2006-08-12T08:32:31-06:00

ID

122823

Comment

I found this part a bit optimistic on the paper's behalf: Melton said Friday the detailed plans are coming next week. A year into the administration, it is late, but it certainly will be welcomed. Yeah right! Don't hold your breath.

Author

pikersam

Date

2006-08-12T08:48:00-06:00

ID

122824

Comment

In his conclusion, Melton said that he brought his audience to the Alamo Theatre because it was his neighborhood and... ...to show them the fire hydrant he steals water from for the Farish St. YMCA! 8-p

Author

pikersam

Date

2006-08-12T09:08:41-06:00

ID

122825

Comment

My thought when I read this was: Supernatural powers? Let's hope so -- God knows that by now, the man has proved he doesn't have any *natural* ability to lead the city.

Author

Tim Kynerd

Date

2006-08-12T12:38:55-06:00

ID

122826

Comment

I, for one, am very interested to hear more about the convention center hotel project. This could be a major piece of the puzzle for downtown Jackson. Let's keep our hopes up and wait and see if Mr. Melton has really got a rabbit to pull out of the hat. If true, this could be major news for Jackson. Can anyone confirm the rumors?

Author

tombarnes

Date

2006-08-12T13:05:36-06:00

ID

122827

Comment

It's nothing specific, but this article mentions the hotel. Funny... I did a google search earlier today about the company that may do the arena downtown and saw a thread that you'd started on another site. We share the same concerns about the project. Only, I disagree about the Coliseum. If the state put a few million into it, and took away the ridiculous alcohol ban, it would still be a perfectly fine mid-sized venue. But, Jackson needs something 2 or 3 times the Colisuem's size downtown.... not another carbon copy of it.

Author

millhouse

Date

2006-08-12T16:43:35-06:00

ID

122828

Comment

"But, Jackson needs something 2 or 3 times the Colisuem's size downtown.... not another carbon copy of it." I couldn't agree more.

Author

tombarnes

Date

2006-08-12T16:58:16-06:00

ID

122829

Comment

Quick history lesson. Jackson almost got a new coliseum in the mid-90's. The state was flush with casino revenue (at one time we had a $300 million surplus) and the legislature was really interested in getting rid of the "circus tent" coliseum and building something larger. Jackson city officials had several meetings with state officials and made it clear that a larger coliseum was their preference and it was looking like a done deal. But, Jim Buck Ross, the long-time Ag Commissioner at the time, nixed the larger venue (the Ag Commissioner runs the Fairgrounds) and told lawmakers re-modeling the existing structure would be fine. While a few Jackson-area lawmakers (including one from Jim Buck's home turf in Rankin County) disagreed, the legislature took Ross's advice and gave us what we have today. Maybe we'll get another chance.

Author

Mr PR Professional

Date

2006-08-12T17:39:29-06:00

ID

122830

Comment

Thanks, MPP... I never knew about that. Current Commissioner Lester Spell is the one responsible for the ridiculous no alcohol policy at the Coliseum, too. That's why I wouldn't want anything built where the state of Mississippi has any say in it.

Author

millhouse

Date

2006-08-12T18:01:32-06:00

ID

122831

Comment

'Cause like, Drunks just make the atmosphere, ya know.

Author

Ironghost

Date

2006-08-12T20:45:08-06:00

ID

122832

Comment

The one word that keeps coming up from everyone is: PLAN You can can find Melton's answer in an old Mel Brooks movie: "Plan???? Weeee... don't need no stinkin' plan....." "Badges? Mucho badges....Jest!!! Seeee.... We must have de mucho badges..."

Author

Cliff Cargill

Date

2006-08-12T21:59:50-06:00

ID

122833

Comment

**I find it hard to believe that The Clarion-Ledger would make this particular statement in their editorial today: "No Jacksonsonian would disagree with anything the mayor said Friday."** <--ladd I know! I thought the very same thing when I read that silly editorial! Hell, I listened to the so-called *State of the City* address and kept waiting to hear something substantive. Instead, all I heard was a recycled campaign speech full of lies, hyperbole, and feel-good rhetoric. I did not hear anything remotely resembling an action plan. Ironically, he did not really mention his flagship issue (crime) even though he's devoted the majority of his time playing Barney Fife while criminal activity skyrocketed!

Author

Kacy

Date

2006-08-12T22:05:09-06:00

ID

122834

Comment

And what's with the woman who referred to Melton as "Jesus"? Tom, I don't think this poor, misguided woman was calling him Jesus. It was just an exclamation. If she really knew what was going on, she would have holered, "Help us Jesus!" :-P

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2006-08-12T22:44:34-06:00

ID

122835

Comment

help

Author

mslink

Date

2006-08-13T18:14:14-06:00

ID

122836

Comment

So, whqt is the deal with the CL, Eric Stringfellow and Melton? First, they endorse this man, then they dog him and now they are singing his praises. The State of the City address was a real flop as it relates to substance. FM did not have one thing to bring to the table other than his mistakes. I sat with my mouth at half-mask when he boasted of the renovations taking place on the King Edwards "As I Speak." Isn't this the same man, who for 13 months and during his acceptance speech, threatened to "TEAR IT DOWN! FM is not only a liar, he is hippocritical in that he is willing to say anything at anytime for the sake of publicity. His remarks to Tom Brocaw were far removed from the spill he gave about Lanier High Sc. This man is as dangerous as a twice told tale. I was also interested in his acolades to this (g)father, (f)ather and (f)inlaw. Absent was any discussion about his mother. FM's wife sat poised with legs crossed at the knees, a tight grip on a note pad and with a poker face that did not respond to any of the humor or "emotional" remarks made. Did any media try to interview her? FM has said in the past that she does not interview because of "security reasons." For the life of me, I can't understand that Jacki Kennedy, Barbara Bush, Nelson Mandela's wife and a host of other women have spoken up and out during great security risk involving the entire country. What is the deal about Jackson and this security mess. Absent from FM's speech was the raising of taxes. The one thing that made me absolutely sick of my stomach was his calling the CAN MAN out on the carpet saying, "Can Man - You have got to go!' Then to proceed with "We are going to build Jackson State a football field there." FM picks on the "preceived" weak and helpless. He is a bully and really a coward. Does the fact that the MAN who sells metals and BUYS CANS has a name; is a real person; has feelings; is hard working; earns a decent and honest living. mean anything to that MF, I mean FM? I was insulted that the mayor of the capitol city boasted about getting all of his training from the mayors of Ridgeland, Madison, Pearl....He than said, "I have learned a lot from them." During his remedial courses in politics 101, he has failed miserably. The sad thing is that he nor the foot soldiers around him realize that they are off beat and totally out of step with managing a city. Why would such an ill prepared person seek such a task-driven position? Was he too shallow to know the duties and responsibilities of this office. Now that you KNOW - GO!!!!

Author

justjess

Date

2006-08-14T11:50:19-06:00

ID

122837

Comment

Yes, I've noticed that The Clarion-Ledger seems to be doing yet another about-face. Lover's spat, I tell you.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-08-14T11:53:18-06:00

ID

122838

Comment

Hey justjess, I agree with a lot of what you said but as far as "Can Man" goes I think you might have the wrong end of the stick. The Can Man is the name of a business operating in South Jackson which purchases scrap metal and junked cars. Unfortunately, a fair bit of the metal and cars going into that place were stolen -- and I am not assuming here. My husband's automobile was stolen from Alta Woods--and purchased by the Can Man. The cops found it there the next day. (If a car is sold for scrap they don't have to have the title). Also my husband has had the copper plumbing stolen from under his rental houses and sold to the Can Man. People who are addicts are seriously willing to cut someone's pipes out and sell it for about $15. To the Can Man.

Author

Izzy

Date

2006-08-14T12:59:08-06:00

ID

122839

Comment

Laurel, I am so sorry about your husband's automobile and the copper plumbing stolen from under his rental houses. I sincerely mean this; however, stealing and selling are relevant and the CAN MAN business does not have a monoply on this type of behavior. I had a $4,000 diamond bracet stolen by a relative and it was found in one of the fine jelery stores of northeast Jackson. The bracelet was sold to the store owner by a guy who was a crack-cocaine abuser. My point is this, just as pawn shops and other outlets are regulated then perhaps the CAN MAN could be required to produce proof of purchase or other identifying info. We don't have to get rid of the player to get rid of the game. When FM spoke to the CAN MAN, it was not the referral to the man's business: It was the nasty referral to the man. This is different and I think that my understanding and interpretation of what was said was on point.

Author

justjess

Date

2006-08-15T10:22:16-06:00

ID

122840

Comment

thanks for the kind words. As far as your point goes, well, I didn't hear FM's remarks directly & if you think they were too personal then I respect that opinion. It never works to degrade a person -- as you imply, it is better to talk about issues and facts, not make nasty remarks. On the issue of pawn shops and scrap yards...hmmm... I have to think more about it. Sounds like drug abuse is as much the culprit as anything else. But anyway, thanks to ya for the conversation.

Author

Izzy

Date

2006-08-15T11:38:36-06:00