Jackson Free Press

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This newspaper frequently criticizes the current mayor of the city. There's no denying this. Our critical coverage of Frank Melton began months before he took office a year ago July 4. We set out on the mayoral campaign trail to get at the facts and let the chips fall where they may.

The fact is that Melton often lies. This is no longer much of a secret; most of the local media are now openly reporting the mayor's tendency to prevaricate, fabricate and fib—but our reporters and editors were alarmed all the way back during the Melton campaign.

Melton came off as disingenuous early in his campaign, demanding that young and old citizens alike register to vote and do their part for American democracy by casting a vote in the 2005 election, even going so far as to chide young members of some audiences for not having registered already. Melton, however, was not registered to vote locally and had not cast a vote in any mayoral election in Jackson prior to his own campaign, according to Hinds County records.

The incumbent, who delighted in revealing Melton's dishonesty, also called into question Melton's political alignment.

"I call myself 'the real Democrat' in this race because I believe that my values are more politically aligned with the Democratic Party," then-Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr., said at a 2005 press conference.

Melton had announced to a troupe of conservative women at a 2005 North Jackson campaign fund raiser at Bravo! Restaurant that he was running as a Democrat in Jackson only because a Republican can't get elected in the overwhelmingly Democratic city. Politicos characterize Jackson as one of the last bastions of liberalism in the South, with a larger proportion of residents favoring gun restrictions and social policies like affirmative action and universal health care.

Many of Melton's more conservative supporters believed that a vote for Melton was the closest thing to voting Republican in the primary, and put their vote behind Melton rather than Republican Rick Whitlow, who ran against Melton in the general election.

"Much of my support has gone over to Melton," Whitlow told the JFP in June 2005. Many registered Republicans, who were open about their willingness to cross over and drop a vote for Melton in the Democratic primaries, backed up his assessment. Their faith may have been warranted. A photograph in Council President Marshand Crisler's office depicts him posing with National Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean. Melton's reception office, on the other side of the building, features a photograph of him posing with Sen. Trent Lott, Mississippi's junior senator and a right-wing Republican.

At that same breakfast with the conservative women, Melton said that he was going to pay for all his big ideas about housing and solving crime with "federal grants." He had already talked to Sens. Lott and Thad Cochran, he said. Both men's offices said that he had not been in touch.

Please Disregard the Truth

As the Melton campaign progressed, it was soon apparent that telling the Jackson Municipal Democratic Executive Committee that he was a Democrat was not the only dubious information Melton had dropped on them.

Committee chairman Claude McInnis asked Melton specifically on March 9 if he had filed his homestead exemption in Jackson. Filing in Jackson is not the sole requirement for running in a local election—which only fuels the question as to why Melton bothered to lie when he told McInnis that he had, while pointing at his briefcase where he said he had the proof of his local exemption.

In truth, Melton had last filed his homestead exemption in Tyler, Texas. The lie was a potentially embarrassing gamble on the part of Melton. Had McInnis or any member of the eight-member board asked Melton to hand over the documents, there's no telling what Melton would have dropped on the table. But they didn't.

In any case, McInnis, who says he is a friend of Melton, was taken aback like the other board members when Johnson supporter James Rice brought proof to the committee weeks later showing Melton's homestead exempt status in Texas.

"I've seen some remarkable things in my career, but nothing like this," McInnis exclaimed then.

Members of Melton's campaign staff were in the chambers at the time of the tattle. Under different circumstances, the staffers might have defended the Melton misinformation, perhaps even apologized for it. What the committee got, however, was the middle-aged equivalent of "nyah, nyah, we lied, and now you can't do anything about it."

"We expect this board to treat this information as they would treat any issue which has passed its statute of limitations date. We expect this board to disregard it," said Melton's campaign attorney Sarah O'Reilly-Evans, who is now the attorney for the city of Jackson.

Johnson supporters had waited until the expiration date for filing homestead exemption status in Mississippi to tattle on Melton's status, to make sure that he didn't have time to file in Mississippi. The problem there, as O'Reilly-Evans pointed out, was that waiting that long went beyond the 10-day expiration date for reporting the deception, which was March 19.

Board member David Blount, who also works in the Mississippi Secretary of State's office, was furious at the board's emasculation.

"When we ask for this information, we expect answers to be delivered in good faith," Blount chided, though there was little more he could do.

So far, the most remarkable lie that has darkened Melton's term is one he made in a legal pleading before winning the 2005 Democratic mayoral primary. Soon after he was inaugurated, the Jackson Free Press broke the news that Melton had lied in a civil lawsuit against him for actions while he was head of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, and the lie has popped up time and again as events in the suit proceed. Former MBN pilots sued Melton for defamation after he leaked a memo to The Clarion-ledger in 2003 alleging misconduct by the pilots. When state auditor Phil Bryant found the memo had no basis, and that the source in the memo recanted the information, the pilots went after both Melton and The Clarion-Ledger with a civil suit.

For months, Melton managed to stave off the lawsuit, which could cost him a painful percentage of his personal wealth, by denying that he was the source of the leak to the newspaper.

This was not a statement he tossed off at a press conference. This was a denial he made multiple times in writing in court depositions.

Melton was safe in anonymity until a Supreme Court judge ordered Clarion-Ledger Washington bureau reporter Ana Radelat to reveal her source for the memo. Before Radelat could comply, Melton stepped forth with an admission and a second, shorter court deposition revealing that he had faxed the memo to Radelat after all.

Melton, a former television executive, tried to cower behind the obligation of reporters to protect their sources in defense of his denial, later telling reporters that he was "protecting a source" without mentioning that the source was himself.

Melton's lie infuriated Lauderdale County Circuit Court Judge Robert Bailey, who backhanded the new mayor by awarding the plaintiff's argument to strike Melton's defense from the record, essentially handing Melton an instant loss. The next phase of the case involves a jury deciding how much Melton will have to pay later this year. Over the last few months, though, Melton's lawyers have moved to make the state responsible for the damages incurred (which didn't work), and to appeal Bailey's decision to strike his defense (which took a higher court a mere afternoon to toss out). Melton also sued The Clarion-Ledger for breach of contract saying that it was Radelat's responsibility to confirm the "facts" that he had provided to her. The court ruled against that argument Monday.

Action Melton

Soon after Melton walked into the mayor's office, the press was on its toes. A new, brash personality had taken up residence. Melton enjoyed donning police-issue bullet-resistant vests, brandishing weapons, and wearing a gold badge and the distinctive backward cap that became a trademark for early nighttime news footage of him leading "raids" for the cameras.

There was no denying it: Melton wanted to be a cop, and he hired a nice, doe-eyed police chief from the MBN who allowed him free rein over nightly police activities. Melton spent his first night in office joining police checkpoints and "knock and talks" at hotels along Hwy. 80. The press treated this as spectacle, with cameras trailing the new mayor as he strutted about like a law enforcement officer. While some individuals grew concerned about separation of powers, many Jackson residents were thrilled with the new attention, and cheered Melton for his hands-on behavior.

"We've always had a problem with hookers around here," said Jackson resident Robert Kenny, who owns a hot rod outfitting shop along Hwy. 80 that suffers frequent theft. "We got a big problem with (transients) walking the area, and I think some more police presence in this area would be great."

Other business owners were not so tickled. One of Melton's first acts when he took office in July was to take down the Terry Road Bookstore, a business near the corner of Terry Road and Hwy. 80.

Melton closed the bookstore and told WLBT that police had witnessed illegal sex in the back of the store. In a July 28, 2005, report, WLBT quoted Mayor Frank Melton saying, "I came in with two detectives, and there were two men in a sex act."

Sgt. William Gladney of the JPD vice crimes unit said he was unsure whether the two men had been arrested.

"I don't know what happened before I got there. We arrested (cashier) Debra Washington, but I don't know about the two men," Gladney told the JFP, and then played it safe by referring any further questions regarding fornication back to the mayor's office.

The mayor's spokeswoman at the time (and his sister-in-law from Texas), Carolyn Redd, said later that no arrests for public sex had been made on that date.

The out-of-town owners of the bookstore didn't put up a fight in Melton's morality crusade, and the bookstore sat empty after the raids. It was not long before vagrants took over the building and eventually set fire to it, burning it to the ground. The former bookstore is now a boarded-up husk across the street from Battlefield Park.

The mayor tried to use the same "caught 'em knee-knockinҔ strategy at another adult book and film store in South Jackson. Unlike the Terry Road Bookstore, however, the owner of the McDowell Road Adult Bookstore is a local owner with ties to the sex industry in downtown Jackson.

The mayor stormed into Charles Hobby's bookstore in November 2005 and walked back out with armfuls of little rubbery goodies. Then, within the week, Melton was angrily proclaiming that he'd caught more people in a sex act during that night's visit.

Hobby's business is prone to theft, however, and cameras record the store's every corner. According to Hobby, the same cameras that recorded Melton's raid captured no footage of anybody doing something indecent at the time of Melton's arrival. Hobby accused Melton of lying to the media and says he was willing to hand over film footage to back up his accusation if Melton continued to plague his business.

"Melton confessed that he perjured himself at MBN and told a bald-faced lie, and then he did the same thing on TV the other night when he hit this place here," Hobby told the JFP in November. "He said he caught two guys having indecent acts, or something like that, but we got film footage of everything Melton did. This store is under 100 percent surveillance, and we got tape of the time he walked in the store to the time he walked out. There was not even a customer in the store during the time he was here."

Melton said he planned to close the store, but Hobby—who gave money to Melton's campaign—said he'll back off a lawsuit against the mayor if Melton stays out of his store. Today, the store is open, but sells no merchandise that remotely resembles human anatomy, and Melton has made no further move to close it down.

"If he … drops the charges against me and agrees to leave me alone, we'll forget it, but if he doesn't, we're going (to court) with all guns blazing," Hobby said.

Little Bitty Lies

A series of additional untruths has chipped away at the mayor's credibility so far in 2006.

Tension between the mayor and District Attorney Faye Peterson peaked during the county's murder trial of members of an alleged drug-dealing ring from the 1990s, the Wood Street Players.

In early April, Hinds County Circuit Court jurors required less than three hours to render a not-guilty verdict for defendants James Benton, Terrell Donelson and Albert "Batman" Donelson. The three men had faced charges in the 2001 execution-style killing of Aaron Crockett.

Peterson's team had rested the case upon the statements of witnesses, but many witnesses in Jackson's gang cases from the 1990s were proffered sketchy details and proved unreliable witnesses. Peterson's failure to convict the men based on an overheard conversation in the county jail sent Melton over the edge May 2, and he went on the attack.

Melton hurled multiple allegations at Peterson's office, charging her with incompetence and "possibly corruption," telling the Jackson Free Press that she had close ties with the Wood Street Players. He said he was investigating her office for corruption.

But the mayor of Jackson has no authority to investigate the county office of the district attorney—information Melton pointedly left out of the press conference.

"Bring it on," Peterson said in response to Melton's claim that he would investigate her. "I hope he does try to investigate me, just so we all can see the results."

Calls made to Attorney General Jim Hood also revealed no investigation into Peterson's department from his office.

Peterson continued her response by packing up and shipping off material for an attorney general investigation into allegations of Melton's misdeeds during his brief reign, including allegations of parading around the city with an unlicensed weapon and uncertified police badge, and performing illegal searches of residents' homes.

Melton told both The Clarion-Ledger and the Jackson Free Press that he is a certified police officer, though no records in Mississippi back up his claim—and it has no merit, according to state Attorney General Jim Hood.

The mayor also regularly told the press that he is certified to carry his firearms, which he enjoys wearing to City Hall and countless other places, including locations where guns are prohibited by state law—despite no record indicating that this certification exists. He did quietly file an application for a concealed weapons permit when nobody was looking, though the effort further undermines any argument that he was previously certified in the first place. He provided a copy of a 1974 document from a small town in Texas saying he was a reserve deputy sheriff there once, but that does not give him the authority to carry guns in Mississippi, Hood said.

When the press caught wind of Peterson filing an investigation request with Hood, Melton responded that Hood had told him the investigation was already "over." In fact, he had not yet spoken to Hood about it.

Hood first released a statement on May 2, one day after Melton pronounced the investigation over, that the inquiry hadn't yet begun. "I do not make decisions without all the facts. I am looking into it and do not wish to comment any further at this time."

The attorney general later shook his head with a wan smile when confronted with Melton's inside knowledge on the own investigation, saying simply: "We'll have some information for the press when we have something to deliver."

Pretty Darn Wrong

One month later, Melton unleashed another whopper on the press, though the press did not know it was a whopper at the time.

The press had hounded the administration of former Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr., constantly during his first term, demanding the mayor release regular crime statistical data to the media. Proponents of the public release of ComStat numbers argued that a community made aware of what crimes were plaguing what section of their neighborhood was a community better armed to deal with it. Eventually, Johnson agreed to release the information weekly, and then-Chief Robert Moore capitalized on it by encouraging neighborhood associations to use the information in local watch programs and community policing.

Melton, however, came into the mayor's office with a heavy hand on public information, particularly ComStat. Melton ran a frenzied campaign based heavily on crime control by building more jails and putting JPD paper pushers on street patrols. The city budget quickly showed him that there would be no new jail space in the city budget, though, and his other crime-fighting methods seemed to entail riding along with police on checkpoints and interdictions—methods quickly criticized as non-effective, especially as it became clear that crime was rising, not falling, on Melton's watch.

"There has to be more to crime fighting than searching vehicles in West Jackson," said Jackson NAACP head Gus McCoy. "I don't think the mayor's method can be very effective if its going to be that limited, because you have to go after crime on a lot of different levels, and I'm just not seeing that."

All the while Melton touted his improved ComStat figures, though for months, he ignored public records requests from the Jackson Free Press that the numbers be released. Even as he hid them from view, he boasted that he would be happy to release them because they would prove that his go-getter style was paying off.

"I'm kind of pleased to release (the ComStats). … Because, again, the media is going to get slapped in the face because the numbers are pretty darn good," Melton told JFP Editor Donna Ladd in an early April interview.

Melton's statement went out in an April 19 story.

The Jackson Free Press got its hands on the city ComStat Overview Report from April 17 through April 23 the following month, however, and the numbers contrasted sharply with what Melton said previously.

City figures for the exact week Melton bragged on showed that major crime had jumped 16.4 percent compared to that same week in 2005, under a different administration. Carjacking, in particular, exploded 123.5 percent, compared to 2005.

By mid-May, Melton's administration was treating the ComStat Report release to the JFP as a backstab, with Melton describing the report as being "leaked" to the press, despite tax money bankrolling the creation of the report—which is clearly considered public information under state law.

The growing chill between Melton and the press eventually led to Melton ripping up an information request from The Clarion-Ledger.

The Clarion-Ledger reported that "Jackson Mayor Frank Melton responded earlier today to requests made by The Clarion-Ledger for public documents from City Hall by shredding them and telling the newspaper to 'go to hell,' a city official said."

Melton vehemently denied shredding the documents, despite the fact that four members of the clerk's office witnessed him. He stuck to his guns for days, denying the shredding, until he told WLBT reporters that he instead "tore them up with my hands."

Strangely, this statement, after all the other lies, backtracks and corrections, seemed to do the most to raise concerns among citizens.

"When I heard that out of him, I knew then and there that this guy was a fraud," said Jackson resident Kym Richards. "I have never felt worse about voting in my life until I heard that. I only hope (Melton) can turn things around before his first year is over."

Worse yet, Melton kept piling more fertilizer on the compost heap with each new statement regarding the matter, telling reporters that he deliberately lied to plant bait in a sting operation to reveal the source of recent leaks at City Hall. It was Council President Marshand Crisler who told The Clarion-Ledger that City Hall clerks had informed him of the shred—er—tearing, and Melton painted the whole ordeal as an elaborate plan to smoke out a councilman rat.

Crisler scoffed at the mayor's claim. "Man, I hope (Melton) does try to send some police over here to arrest me for telling the truth," Crisler snorted. "He wouldn't believe the kind of trouble he would start if he tried that. It wasn't even me who dropped this (ComStat report), but if it had been me, do you think I would bother to be nervous about releasing the public's information to the public?"

Bizarrely, earlier this week, Melton told JFP Editor Donna Ladd that he had told the person who provided the coveted ComStat report to the JFP to give it to us.

"You did not," Ladd responded.

"I told the person myself to give you the crime stats," Melton returned.

"Who was it?" Ladd asked.

"The person who gave it to you," Melton said.

"You don't know who gave it to us," Ladd said.

Melton then changed the subject.

Here a Lie, There A Lie

Sometimes, though, it isn't just the big whoppers that melt away a politician's credibility. Often, it's the little lies casually tossed off that tend to stick in people's minds.

In April, Melton shut reporters from The Clarion-Ledger and WAPT out of a news conference in his office. When Clarion-Ledger Managing Editor Don Hudson saw a news crew setting up their cameras in the room and asked the mayor if this was a news conference, the mayor said "no." That is what we call a lie.

When Melton assured the council that the city was making room to relocate employees from the Crime Prevention Unit to other departments, telling angry council members that "yes, ma'am, we are going to deal with that," and the only worker out of eight with a successful relocation happens to be the one that supported him in his campaign, that is an untruth.

When candidate Melton told The Clarion-Ledger, "There are 32,000 students in the school system and 10,000 are not going to school," he was misleading the public. In fact, Jackson Public Schools daily attendance is over 90 percent.

When Melton promised elderly Jacksonian Mary Johnson that he would build her a new house and then didn't, his dishonesty put a woman out of her home.

When Melton told the JFP that he planned to sign an executive order that very night outlawing gun shows in Jackson, he was telling fish stories.

When Frank Melton says he is not a politician, well, decide for yourself what that is.

Previous Comments

ID

80110

Comment

Adam, ...such a beautiful flow of events. I thought that I was on the 4th chapter of one of my favorite fiction novels. No, these events are true and names have not been changed to protect the guilty. At the end, you said "When FM says he is not a politician, well, decide for yourself what that is." Melton plays "POLITRICKS" and my best assessment is that he is the biggest liar that God put a gut in. (KE)

Author

justjess

Date

2006-06-28T15:49:04-06:00

ID

80111

Comment

Another STUNNING Article.............A 'must read' for any caring voter or potential supporter for the next campaign.

Author

ChrisCavanaugh

Date

2006-06-29T08:26:37-06:00

ID

80112

Comment

We must pray for this man, now and for ever. a liar will not enter into God heaven. Pray, Pray

Author

eastwood

Date

2006-06-29T09:18:33-06:00

ID

80113

Comment

Gosh, and thats without all the strip club stuff. And the mayoral parades involving swat command vans and multiple police cars, like the one that went past my house the other day. Lord love a duck.

Author

Michele

Date

2006-06-29T22:46:12-06:00

ID

80114

Comment

I for one have been very disapointed with Melton and he really appears to be a nut. Its unfortunite for Jackson who really needed someone to lead it out of its troubles. Melton certainly has bad character and the JFP should look into all the people his campaign still owes and will not pay. It will not suprise anyone but its one more straw for the camels back.

Author

burton

Date

2006-06-30T11:56:37-06:00

ID

80115

Comment

Excellent article, Adam! With the irrefutable facts you've presented, I find it unfathomable that diehard Meltonites still cannot see through Melton's smoke and mirrors and his "y'all-elected-me-to-fight-crime-and-that's-what-I'm-doing" facade. Even though you, Donna, Brian and the whole JFP gang continually expose the lies, evasions, shortcomings, and chicanery of Frank Melton, the masses seem unable (or unwilling) to accept the truth and call him out on it. All I can say is that you're doing this community one helluva service, though it might seem unfruitful right now. Keep the 'fact-based' heat on, and I know that we will see--finally, before it's too late--that this man is a charlatan who is determined to destroy our beloved city. Hang in there, JFP. Your 'rewards' are coming sooner than you think!

Author

Kacy

Date

2006-07-01T15:41:07-06:00

ID

80116

Comment

Great article Adam! I still wonder if the reason that Jackson PD is having a "reserve officer" class starting in Aug is so that FM can be the star pupil...

Author

Missy

Date

2006-07-01T19:18:19-06:00

ID

80117

Comment

This article cements the fact that Adam Lynch is number 1. This is the most in-your-face, to-the-point chronology of Melton that has ever been written. You could let anyone read this article that has never even heard of Frank Melton and I would be willing to bet that they could see straight through him. Melton is just a paper tiger that is in a position to throw his weight aroound. I hope that he remembers that he will pass the same people on the way down as he passed by on the way up.

Author

lance

Date

2006-07-02T18:49:39-06:00

ID

80118

Comment

It is a shame that all of the attention on Melton's great plan of action hasn't really done the general public a bit of good. I live in an old part of south Jackson, my dad grew up here. This morning (Sunday July 2), the old man who lives across the street from me was beaten and robbed. We're talking about 11:00 on a Sunday morning. What is even scarier is that at 10:30, just 30 minutes prior, someone was knocking on my door and I just didn't get up to answer it. So sure, impose a curfew, bring in the national guard, do something to fix this, or let us know what, aside from blowing someone away, young women can do to protect themselves.

Author

Angela

Date

2006-07-02T21:01:58-06:00

ID

80119

Comment

And FYI I have asked any and every if they came by this a.m. and no takers. All I'm told by jpd is to be on the look-out for 3 young black guys. Are you kidding me?

Author

Angela

Date

2006-07-02T21:06:55-06:00

ID

80120

Comment

Adam is No. 1. Remember, he won first place in the country for newswriting this month. ;-)

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-07-03T10:31:13-06:00

ID

80121

Comment

After I set aside my outrage with the lack of true protection in this city, heck, in my own front yard, I reread Adam's article. It is amazing that all of this crap has happened and, yet, Melton is still in office. Didn't we, as the U.S, try to impeach a man for receiving "oral pleasure" and saying that it wasn't sex? It would be futile to argue which is worse, because a lie is a lie, but who is being hurt because of the lies? Personally, if the guy's wife stood by him, it ceases to be a matter of public opinion. With Melton, he seems to be on a mission to spit in the face of Jackson. His antics are widely publicized, entertainment for those outside the city limits, but for those of us here, we are fed up. So who will ride in on the valliant steed to stand up for the city and protect us from Melton's mouth?

Author

Angela

Date

2006-07-03T13:22:40-06:00

ID

80122

Comment

Your right angela, that is a lot of crap that has happened! And, he even left out several other crappy things too! I like the way he leaves town and still keeps us under the *state of emergency* If crime was soooo bad why would the general abandon the troops?

Author

pikersam

Date

2006-07-03T13:36:20-06:00

ID

80123

Comment

If crime was soooo bad why would the general abandon the troops? - Pikersam Probably because he dosen't want to be a part of a REAL situation. Melton is a paper tiger that is quickly losing his stripes. Mayby he is trying to re-establish himself in Tyler Texas just in case he has to go back there.

Author

lance

Date

2006-07-03T13:41:41-06:00

ID

80124

Comment

**...With Melton, he seems to be on a mission to spit in the face of Jackson. His antics are widely publicized, entertainment for those outside the city limits, but for those of us here, we are fed up. So who will ride in on the valliant steed to stand up for the city and protect us from Melton's mouth?** <-- Angela What would happen if Melton called a press 'conference' and no one from the press showed up? It seems to me that many of the media are simply dancing to his music, printing and airing his lies and empty promises without questioning or calling him out on it. It's ironic that he can't find the time to sit through a City Council meeting--if he attends at all--but he calls these eleventh-hour propaganda sessions almost every other day. Something's *bad* wrong with this picture!

Author

Kacy

Date

2006-07-03T13:54:40-06:00

ID

80125

Comment

It was the one year mark for Melton this 4th of July. I thought I'd write a poem about it: ONE YEAR; MUCH FEAR. MORE TROUBLE TO COME? NOT CLEAR. ONE YEAR, TOO MUCH MY DEAR! THE CITY IS SINKING; WHAT A SMEAR. ONE YEAR, TOO MUCH FEAR; PLEASE mr melton, GET OUT OF HERE!!!

Author

justjess

Date

2006-07-05T10:33:32-06:00

ID

80126

Comment

Brillant, justjess. The world's greatest poets have nothing on you. I hope you copyrighted this!

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2006-07-05T10:50:59-06:00

ID

80127

Comment

amen Ray. It was almost as good as My Beotch better have my money................. always did like that poem.

Author

Kingfish

Date

2006-07-05T10:58:25-06:00

ID

80128

Comment

Well, that's the way most local press covered his campaign. That's what got us to this place. It's not like I haven't considered it, though. I get tired to chasing our tails over non-stories and things he says he's going to do, but doesn't. However, I don't think all y'all would be pleased if we weren't providing the best coverage of the mayor. So, on we go. Do note that we are not covering every little move, though. We always try to stay focused on the big picture and helping folks connect the dots (such as in this story).

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-07-05T17:39:49-06:00

ID

80129

Comment

BTW: I didn't know if you did this on purpose, but the photo by Brian on this story is reminiscence of the cover art, and the walking scene, for Resevoir Dogs Pretty cool if so! "Why do I have to be Mr. Pink?"

Author

pikersam

Date

2006-07-05T22:21:21-06:00

ID

80130

Comment

Did Melton write this story himself for WLBT about his year in review? This is worst then the Madison Journal story last week. "This hands on approach landed the mayor in hot water, once for stopping school busses on the side of the road to shake kids hands, and again with the attorney general's office for his use of weapons, and wearing clothing that said police on it." David Kenney you need to fact check and investigate a little harder if you are going to call yourself an Investigative Reporter!

Author

pikersam

Date

2006-07-05T23:38:33-06:00

ID

80131

Comment

Yeah, that's something.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-07-06T09:51:23-06:00

ID

80132

Comment

Actually, Pike, we noticed the "Reservoir Dogs" similiarity after we put the photo on the page. Caused lots of giggles around the office. "Stuck in the middle ... with you ... "

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-07-06T09:52:06-06:00

ID

80133

Comment

Now, here's an original idea from The Clarion-Ledger a couple weeks after Adam's story above appeared on our cover. It even starts out talking about Melton's misleading statements about his voting during the campaign as Adam's does! But what's remarkable is the glaring omission: They wrote a story about Melton's truthfulness and credibility, and they don't mention the Meridian lawsuit in which the mayor is in dig do-do with a judge over lying to the court?!? How does a newspaper just leave that one of this story? I mean, they can't say it's because they're trying to find different ones than ours -- look how they started the story! Or, are we back to the Ledge blackout on that story during Melton's campaign -- presumably because they were wound up in it? Sigh. Also, it's funny to watch the Boys of the Ledge try to justify their endorsement of Mr. Melton in their editorial yesterday. On the other hand, Hampton's column is decent this year. A bit day later and a dollar short, but still. If anything, maybe that newspaper is finally learning that rhetoric and loose cannons don't prevent crime.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-07-10T10:08:55-06:00

ID

80134

Comment

Read all that too yesterday. It was like reading a bad "Cliff Notes" version of of Melton History - Year I. Good luck passing a quiz if you study from their notes.

Author

pikersam

Date

2006-07-10T18:34:42-06:00