Jackson Free Press

Remember way back on March 3 when we first told Jackson on a JFP blog posting that Melton seemed to be bound for the Bahamas right in the midst of all his drama about catching Vidal "The Most Dangerous Man in Jackson" Sullivan? (A roommate of a staffer was on a plane with him to Dallas and called us from the airport there; then a person with the city told us he was headed to the Bahamas, thus setting off this whole travel-gate narrative.) The Clarion-Ledger did a good job of follow-up that weekend and found him in a hotel in the Bahamas with his two bodyguards. Then he told a Ledger reporter he would "cream" her if she did the story. Well, now the story is back on the front page of the Ledger because Melton threatened to expose City Council travel expenses after they challenged his unauthorized temporary employees this month. And guess what? His travel expenses are the most expensive—and he seems to have never reimbursed the city for his bodyguards' ritzy stay in the Bahamas.

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I love how Melton blames his puppet chief for "ordering" him to take his bodyguards: Melton said Police Chief Shirlene Anderson has "ordered" him never to travel alone. "The security people are required to go with me ... wherever I go. That is a requirement," he said. "I'm kind of not like your regular mayor. I've been doing things out there." And this is good work on the part of the Ledger—it damn near qualifies as "enterprise" reporting: Perhaps as interesting as what Melton's travel records reveal is what they do not. On June 14, Melton flew on a private plane to meet with Dallas real estate investor Gene Phillips about possibly taking over redevelopment of the King Edward Hotel and the Farish Street entertainment district, but no record of the trip exists. If Melton accepted a plane trip to Dallas from Phillips, the trip might have violated state lobbying law, since Phillips is not a registered lobbyist. Melton said Phillips did not pay for the trip but would not say who paid for the charter flight. Meanwhile, the biggest traveler with the City Council has been Crisler, who has spent money attending meetings with the Congressional Black Caucus, the National League of Cities and the Mississippi Municipal League. "While Marshand was going to some kind of ethnic conference, the trips that I take are to raise revenue and for economic development for the city of Jackson," Melton said. Some kind of "ethnic" conference!?! Melton really has no idea about the importance of lobbying Washington for federal dollars, eh? Of course, he showed that when he fired John Waits and replaced him with one of his young friends to "lobby" from Jackson. This is idiocy.

DonnaLadd

Dec 29 2006

And, by the way, if the chief is "ordering" Melton to take his bodyguards on expensive island trips, then the citizens need to demand that her ineffective, doting, wasteful butt be fired.

DonnaLadd

Dec 29 2006

Crisler was the Council President so I am sure there were meetings he had to attend that other council members would not be required to attend. I'm sure Allen will have the highest travel budget this year of the council members. So Frank, why are you not using ARMED bodyguards or security guards then if you are in such danger? Frank, once again you got caught and your way to defend yourself is as usual to call everyone else shady and lie about it (as if your chief can order you to do anything when she can't fire anyone without your permission).

Kingfish

Dec 29 2006

If we had a real chief, she would pull Recio and Wright off the Melton beat and put them on desk duty or such. On what planet would a chief allow three men under indictment for getting children to commit crimes to keep running around together like this? This is the kind of idiocy that makes this town look like Hicksville to outsiders—where we don't know any better than to let imcompetence folks like these run our city into the ground and make fools out of us. We can do better. We deserve better.

DonnaLadd

Dec 29 2006

you are absolutely right. Kind of reminds me of this: http://www.mdr.de/IT/45870-high.jpg

Kingfish

Dec 29 2006

I just hope the people in the "other 6 Wards" as I've heard them called on morning talk radio hear loud and clear when Melton says: "While Marshand was going to some kind of ethnic conference, the trips that I take are to raise revenue and for economic development for the city of Jackson," Melton said. "Ethnic Conference"?!? It's like he doesn't even want to say the word "black" or "African-American?" What a dolt! Funny, he sure uses his "ethnicity" when he needs it. Oh yeah, I wouldn't turn in meal receipts from my travels if a majority of it was alcohol! Been there, done that... that's what you do! I love the way he keeps throwing BMI under the bus. And, that $20,000 he gets is to help cover expenses and related stuff to being on a board. Why isn't he using that to pay for ALL trips that are BMI related? Where's Redd in all this?

pikersam

Dec 29 2006

If melton needs bodyguards then why is he allowed to strut around the City with two unarmed men? This is so stupid! The reality is melton trying to keep these men close to his chest for fear of someone getting smart enough to cut a deal re their upcoming felony cases. The three blind mice could see through this scam. This might not be posted to the correct blog but does anyone know if it is a fact that the City Council voted to only meet every-other week. If this is true, then doesn't it seem reasonable to cut the salaries in half? If it only takes two meeting a month to take care of the pople's business, then it should only take half the cost or less.

justjess

Dec 29 2006

Funny, he sure uses his "ethnicity" when he needs it. Indeed he does. He used it before the MAP Coalition to try to say that he feels their pain like other people can't. He has said repeatedly that the only reason the rumors from the 1990s went around is because he is a powerful black man. He is perhaps more adept at playing the race card from both sides of the deck than anyone I've ever seen. I guess the reason he's not a big fan of the JFP is because people who read both sides of the deck read our paper, and his inconsistencies on stuff like the race card become painfully clear. Or maybe it's consistency: He plays the race card when it benefits him personally. Pure and simple. Always has: Just watch some of those old Bottom Lines. I'm not quite sure I've ever seen a race-baiter quite like Frank Melton. And folks like poor Wyatt Emmerich are left scratching their heads about why he has such a "mixed" bag of support—because, Wyatt, he tells people what they want to hear. And until recently, there was no media outlet here willing to call him out of talking out both sides of his mouth. And there isn't a whole lot of glory in having a "diverse" support base that comes together based on fear and greed (or perhaps worse). Maybe it's just me, but I'm thinking that the ideal Rainbow Coalition isn't made up of a whole bunch of people, black and white, who want to see the races living and working separately and certain "thugs" run out of town and certain ones not. There is no big surprise here, Wyatt. Melton is a product of some ugly, ugly thinking in this area on the part of people, black and white, who have promoted and supported a separate-but-at-least-for-me-equal status quo. Wipe the sleep out of your eyes. This one's easy to figure out. Just sayin'. (Talking directly to Wyatt, folks, because I ran across him on a radio show this a.m. He did make some smart comments about all of Jackson becoming more progressive, at least in part because all the people who don't support the city have left; thus, the bond issue passage. But his befuddlement over Melton is just silly.)

DonnaLadd

Dec 29 2006

He plays the race card with Crisler yet its his supporters who scream racism and hurl Uncle Tom charges at people when he is prosecuted.

Kingfish

Dec 29 2006

1. "Let the man do his job..." 2. "If everyone would just leave him alone, and 'let' him do his job, he could stop crime in Jackson..." 3. "Let the man do what he was elected to do..." 4. "He operates 'outside the box'..." 5. "He really 'cares' about Jackson..." 6. "Go Frank, Go!" 7. "Well, he's still learning on the job..." 8. "Harvey Johnson Sucks!!!" 9. "The JFP Sucks!!!" 10. "This is all politically motivated..." 11. "Well, at least he's trying to do something..." 12. "The Clarion Ledger has a vendetta, and they suck too..." 13 "OK, he's made some mistakes along the way, but these thugs are out of control..." 14. "It's all one big plot out to get Frank and to help the thugs..." "Stand back folks, we're a fightin' crime over here...Could I have another one of those drinks with the little umbrella in it? Yeah, that's the one, just like in the magazine...just bill it to the City of Jackson."

Cliff Cargill

Dec 29 2006

oi vey. another example of Melton's two-faced nature. And sad for someone who is supposed to be a leader. Cliff, I love how you post that--it's perfect and comes in handy for all those who continue to wear their Melton-blinders in hopes that something different will happen.

Izzy

Dec 29 2006

If Melton escapes all the charges peding against him then I support turning the newly acquired hellicopter over to him and Shirlene too. We should pay Rankin and Madison Counties to relinguish any interest they have in it since their crime rate is allegedly meager compared to Jackson. If Melton can fight crime with the mobile command the way many people thought he was, can you imagine the impact on crime if he could chase criminals from the air? I know I'm spose to be crazy, but maybe Melton wasn't given enough time or the proper equipment to do the job promised or envisioned. I be thinking!

Ray Carter

Dec 29 2006

I'm kind of not like your regular mayor Thanks, Captain Obvious!!

andi

Dec 29 2006

Melton said Police Chief Shirlene Anderson has "ordered" him never to travel alone. She "ordered" him? Please, Shirlene wouldn't "order" a ham sandwich for lunch without Frank's permission! I think FM needs to just take his lying a** back under the rock he came from and let Jackson grow and thrive as it could under proper leadership. The supporters of FM may try to talk about Harvey, but in comparison to what we have now, he was the best! Election time, for me, was choosing the lesser of 2 evils and I chose Harvey. I would take someone who may have acted slower on some things over a THUG any day of the week.

honey2me

Dec 29 2006

One hangover that hasn't ended yet....

Ironghost

Dec 29 2006

I think there is another trip (shortly after FM's Inauguration) you (and the C-L) are not remembering. It involved the signing of papers in Virginia to sell TV-3 or some portion of his TV interests. He claimed to have 'looked' at a town there that he had heard about so we could have a like development in Jackson. Did the body guards, at taxpayer expense, accompany FM to Meridian for the purjury trials? If his life is in such danger, why can he go grocery shopping alone? Have any other MBN Directors had body guards? Do any of the ex-directors of MBN feel the need for body guards?

ChrisCavanaugh

Dec 30 2006

Did he ever sell Channel Three? I've forgotten where to look and the FCC's site isn't exactly user friendly.

Ironghost

Dec 30 2006

For some reason 'Liberty' seems to be the name of either what bought or what sold, Ironghost. Don't rightly remember and thank heavens I am not in the office today!

ChrisCavanaugh

Dec 30 2006

D'oh! Right here on the board, most of what I'm looking for.

Ironghost

Dec 30 2006