Jackson Free Press

For more than two weeks, city lobbyist Marcus Ward effectively ducked council members seeking to question him on his plan to attain $29 million from Washington.

Ward 1 City Councilman Ben Allen said last month that he had serious questions regarding Ward's legislative proposal.

"First of all, the thing was only three pages long," Allen said. "The (previous lobbyists) would submit a (more detailed) packet outlining what the city needed and how they were going to tackle it. This information (Ward) gave us didn't even have any real numbers in it."

Council President Marshand Crisler had similar complaints.

"Ward didn't even show up at the meeting where he was going to discuss his plan with us," Crisler said. "My bet is that he didn't want to show his face because this thing is ridiculous."

Ward, 28, replaced Washington lobbying firm Winston & Strawn last year, when Mayor Frank Melton refused to renew the company's $74,000 annual contract despite outcry from council members. Ward now makes $70,000 a year.

"The mayor has decided to work in-house to meet the city's lobbying needs," City Chief Administrator Robert Walker told council members last year in response to their withering looks.

Months later, Ward's title was quietly changed from city lobbyist to chief of staff, according to information submitted with the revised city budget in March 2006.

"The firm we had was working well for us," Allen ranted when first hit with news of the dismissal. "They made us more than $111 million over the last 10 years. What exactly did Melton want them to do? Because you can't tell me they didn't exceed expectations."

Ward outlined in his document the steps he was taking to curry favor with legislators, such as sending "floral bouquets to Mississippi's U.S. Senators welcoming them back to Washington," and submitting a thinner, less-detailed request package, which Ward described as "targeted" and "slimmed down."

"Some (Mississippi delegates) explicitly expressed their relief in the more 'focused' and 'easier to understand' request package," Ward wrote. "We also have received praise for not only delivering the document to them in hard copy, but also electronically in an effort to 'make their job easier.'"

"I've heard from one of our delegates that we'll be lucky if we get anything," Crisler declared recently. "I just don't think he knows what he's doing."

Winston & Strawn is a 150-year-old lobbying firm on Washington's famous K Street, whose only tie to Jackson was Mississippi native and Winston & Strawn employee John Waits. Waits favored the city and encouraged the firm to represent Jackson at cut-rate prices.

The firm helped net grant money for extensive road re-surfacing, the Metro Parkway, Union Station, police training, the Linder/Maple Study and the JPD Mobile Command Center, which Melton usually parks on his personal property in North Jackson.

The firm, seated firmly in Washington, was fully capable of keeping a presence on Capitol Hill and of wielding great influence among both Republicans and Democrats. Ward, on the other hand, boasts that he snagged 15 whole minutes with U.S. Sen. Trent Lott during a recent trip with council members to Washington in March.

Waits said recently that he hoped that Ward's package met with the standards legislators are accustomed to. He said competition in Washington right now is intense, with bigger, richer cities able to invest bigger bucks in their quest at grabbing federal money.

"It used to be a lot easier 10 years ago, but as more and more cities realize the value of representation in Washington, you're getting more and more city lobbyists fighting over dollars. It has gotten to where lobbying needs to be a full-time job in order to get anything done," Waits said.

Ward informed Jackson City Council members that the city's new, simpler package asks for $4 million more than the appropriation request that was submitted by Winston & Strawn last year, but he warned that money was going to be tighter this year.

"There is intense scrutiny of all federal congressional earmarks this year as a result of scandals, indictments and convictions of certain federal lawmakers," Ward predicted. "We are fully prepared and engaged with staff for the uncertainty that this issue presents."

Crisler's expectations were equally bleak.

"Well, I'll tell you, I haven't got my hopes up," he said.

Previous Commentsshow

Roosters and roosts. It was clear back when he was appointed that Ward was being placed out of his league. It is clear now that it may be even worse than we thought. And did I understand this right? His position was changed from lobbyist to "chief of staff"? So now the city of Jackson doesn't even have a lobbyist by title and position?

Rex

May 25 2006

Yes, Rex, you're hearing it right. I'm seeing no evidence that the Melton administration wants to bring more money into the city. It starts to give credence to the people who say he was funded by non-Jacksonians to dismantle the city. I'm not saying that's true -- but this evidence is alarming.

DonnaLadd

May 25 2006

Dismantle the City? I'm sorry, I don't know what that means. It sounds like they (the proverbial they) know it's hopeless and they want to join the county. That's the rumor I have been told but, is there a precedence for that? I have heard about combined county city offices as a means of eliminating duplications. This does not sound like a dismantle effort though.

ATLExile

May 25 2006

Would have been nice if someone with experience could have been appointed to the position, I wish Mr. Ward good luck but you have to be connected in Washington to get anything did these days, top it off with the creation of the K-Street Project and the Republican Controlled everything. When it was announced that someone with no lobbying experience was being considered and hired for this position anybody that has heard about K-Street knows unless this youngman presented himself as a loyal republican he was not going to get much done lobbying for a Predominantly Black City like Jackson... I'm also getting the notion that there is an effort to sabotage the City of Jackson, from those outside and inside of the city.

JAC

May 25 2006

"It starts to give credence to the people who say he was funded by non-Jacksonians to dismantle the city." I've had this though a million times. The one thing that keeps coming back to me, though, is that I can't imagine a person with an ego the size of this man's would purposely go down as the worst mayor in the city's history. Obviously, though, y'all have forgotten about the BILLION dollars worth of development that FM has brought to Jackson....singlehandedly. ;-)

millhouse

May 25 2006

We are now begining to feel the effects of Melton's attempt to re-invent the wheel. My biggest regret is that if Marcus Ward has a promising future, it could be severely decimated by Melton. So far, as I can see things, Melton's "accomplishments" are a result of Johnson's administration and their accomplishments. Ward is clearly in over his head. This position needs someone in there with the clout to continue bringing in monies that this city so desparately needs. Melton is too pigheaded to accept that EVERYTHING that Johnson did was not wrong. His sole mission appears to be to tear this city down and rebuild it in four years. I hope that Ward realizes that right now his arms are too short to box with the big boys.

lance

May 25 2006

My biggest regret is that if Marcus Ward has a promising future, it could be severely decimated by Melton. I've said that from the beginning of Ward's appointment. If he's in over his head, it hurts him as much as anybody else. Of course, the city suffers mightily as well.

DonnaLadd

May 25 2006

I wonder what Bluntson, Stokes, and Tillman had to say since, as I recall, they all extolled Ward's youth, intelligence and promise in voting to hire him as a lobbyist. Are these the same councilmen who repeatedly ask for infrastructure and public works improvements that cannot be absorbed by the city's already busted budget? Their silence is deafening!

Kacy

May 25 2006

Bluntson, Tillman and Stokes are continuing to show us what it means to have your nose in someones rear. They continue to back FM no matter what. I was always told a friend will not let you hurt yourself even if it means losing their friendship. Well what can you call these 3 stoogies?? I really feel sorry for Marcus he is so young and I don't think he realizes that his actions now will follow him forever. He needs to get away from FM now before he is futher damaged. In politics and business your reputation needs to be above reproach and not tied to a person like FM. Birds of a feather flock together.

jada

May 25 2006

The Three Meltoneers won't even question what Ward has done or not done as a lobbyist because THEY DON'T CARE. As long as Kenny can get a federal grant to maintain his dilapidated ward he doesn't give a care about the money that we are losing due to the shortsighted decision to fire a qualified lobbying firm. And they aren't going to question this mayor on anything. Thankfully they aren't the majority of the council, but their silence should be noticed by their constituents.

Jeff Lucas

May 26 2006

I'm most impressed with the fact that the Mr. Ward is actually costing more than the lobbyists. Did anyone consider that for 70k a year we pay Social Security, Medicare, Insurance, and retirment benfeits? Which of course is in addition to his salary. Then if he ever goes back to Washington that costs money. And the floral arrangments.... I'm going to have to mark this one as a failure. The proof will be in one year when we get to see how much money we got from the federalis!

guywithanidea

May 27 2006

Donna, I'd heard the same rumors about Johnson when he ran; the "backed to dismantle Jackson" scheme. Since absolutley zip has happened to move Jackson forward in, oh, 10 years or so now, I'd give them some serious consideration. That is, if I could recall who Dad was talking to when they said it.

Ironghost

May 29 2006

Mmm, I'd be suspicious if that were said about Johnson. He worked pretty hard for this city, and did some really good stuff in terms of inner-city development. And to be honest, I don't really buy it re: Melton, either. I think the man's out of his tree, but he might surprise us all and become a pretty good mayor if folks can keep him in check. Cheers,

Tom Head

May 29 2006

I don't think your statement is true, Iron, that nothing has happened in 10 years to move us forward. I've seen remarkable things happen in four to five years, both under and with help of the Johnson administration, and not directly connected to them. I'm not saying I believe it about Melton, either; however, his lack of interest in running the city may have that effect, regardless of whether he intends it to. His latest media shenanigans are patently absurd. It depends on the what the meaning of 'shred' is, you know. He's reminding me of Pig-pen, creating a mess wherever he turns. It's going to require more than keeping him "in check." And I don't know that there is anyone close to him who have any desire to do that. I haven't seen evidence of it, and I've been close to him of late.

DonnaLadd

May 29 2006

Back on the whole Lobbying thing... I think we're past the "Is Melton that dense?" part and into "How has he functioned successfully in society all these years without someone catching him?"

Ironghost

May 30 2006

I believe just the opposite about Melton. I believe the old money types in Jackson hand-picked Melton to run precisely because they want to rebuild Jackson in their image, but first they had to have someone in power who would give them access to City Hall. Melton appeared to be a smart businessman who would likely govern as a fiscal conservative, enjoyed a certain amount of local celebrity from years of tough talking "Bottom Line" commentaries, and had a personal connection to many inner city youth that allowed him to put his finger on the pulse of crime. They knew that a white would never win in a 70% black city, and they also knew that a black Republican would be viewed with skepticism from the largely Democrat black community. So Melton declared himself a Democrat, with the understanding that if elected he would govern as a conservative. What the NE Jackson Old Money-types underestimated about Melton was his personal agenda. And all of us underestimated how having power would make this guy act like an paranoid egomaniac with an almost pathological need for self-aggrandizement and penchant for lying to cover his tracks.

Jeff Lucas

May 30 2006

As far as Ward's appointment, I think that it was just another part of Melton's obsession to eliminate and dismantle anything started under or connected to the Johnson administration. It was a short-sighted, vengeful move that has backfired to the city's detriment, and I hate that the City Council allowed him to get away with it in the first place.

Jeff Lucas

May 30 2006

....JAC wrote-"Would have been nice if someone with experience could have been appointed to the position" Not according to some. Some people think just by giving a young black man a chance in Washington is enough reason to support the novice.

JSU

May 30 2006

AMEN and AMEN ejeff!!! You hit the nail right on the head! The old-white power structure did support and continue to support this man, along with a sizable number of middle class black people in Jackson. He's their pawn to terrorize inner city residents, primarily poor black males. Kenny Stokes would've never allowed a white mayor to get away with such acts as illegal roadblocks, searches, illegal arrests, etc in his Ward, much less the city of Jackson. He would have called for a MARCH on city hall a long time ago. WHERE'S YOUR VOICE NOW, KENNETH STOKES?!

Joerob

May 30 2006

Joerob, Kenneth Stokes is a pawn too. much more so than Frank if you ask me.

JSU

May 30 2006

Everyone needs to read ejeff's comments again, they are right on target. I have to comment on the statement that FM wouldn't want or shouldn't want to go down as the worst mayor. Everyone has to remember that he was and is not concerned about being a mayor---only police chief! This man has no ties to Mississippi or the citizens of Jackson. He can packup tomorrow, go back to to Texas or wherever and never look back. He continues to target Black people and communities and as long as he does that Northeast Jackson will not be concerned. Let him cross I55 and that's another story!!

maad

May 30 2006

In response to ejeff, I must say that I agree that anyone who allows Mr. Melton to get away with hurting this city and its residents are just as responsible -- especially members of the City Council. Their legacies are at stake as well.

DonnaLadd

May 30 2006

....ejeff wrote-"And all of us underestimated how having power would make this guy act like an paranoid egomaniac with an almost pathological need for self-aggrandizement and penchant for lying to cover his tracks." Not me. I know Melton all too well and I warned a sh!tload of voters about him to no avail...So this city deserves what ever silliness Melton dishes out. maybe next time at the polls people will vote based on the candidates track record instead of his/her "black" record.

JSU

May 30 2006

JSU, I wouldn’t say that I was completely fooled by Melton, but I was hopeful that he would be a good leader in spite of my misgivings. I predicted when he was fired as MBN Director that he would potentially run for mayor. I knew the image of him stopping traffic on West Street with his MBN gear would resonate with those wanting a mayor who would champion a full scale war on crime in Jackson. I saw shades of his Perot-like eccentrics during the campaign, and my B.S. detector went off loudly enough to turn me off to voting for him. But I was also hopeful that the coalitions he had built meant that he could strike the right balance between the opposing interests in this city. I believed that he would try to assemble an administration of competent, effective managers (especially a police chief) that would offset his political inexperience. I hoped he had enough business acumen and political skill to attract economic development and housing to the city. And most importantly, I prayed he would work with the Hinds DA, the county, and neighboring counties to develop a strategy for addressing the short and long term needs for jail space and justice reform. It never surprised me that he would spend his first month in office on the streets patroling with the police, in fact I was initially impressed by it. But I never guessed he’d still be doing it 11 months later! This man has wasted so much well-earned political capital thru his lies and bizarre agendas that it makes me sick.

Jeff Lucas

May 30 2006

"Obviously, though, y'all have forgotten about the BILLION dollars worth of development that FM has brought to Jackson....singlehandedly. ;-)" FM has not siglehandedly brought in a BILLION dollars worth of development. I know that is the spin that is being played but all of the projects that are on the drawing board were either being planned prior to election of FM or would have happend irregardless of who was the Mayor. I challenge you to name one siongle project that FM is responsible for. I can tell you the following projects were being planned prior to his election: Old Capitol Green, Federal Courthouse and FBI building, development of parking lot behind Hood Building, Duling School project, new apartments in Fondren, Mill Street outdoor market (just to name a few). If you want to accurate in your assesment of who gets credit, you should realize that the GOZone legislation and the State Statute than allows the schools to enter into a joint venture with private developers was the catalyst that took most of these projects which have been talked about for several years from the drawing board to negotiations. Because most projects of this nature take several years from planning to finalization, it is normal for more than one mayor to be involved. Many of the projects that Harvey Johnson got credit for were initiated by Mayor Ditto. The real issue at stake here is whether or not the community will be served for the long term by the twin lakes plan. It really shouldn't be left up to one mayor or set of politicians to decide. There should be a venue where the fact are presented to the public and they decide.

realtime

May 31 2006

"I challenge you to name one siongle project that FM is responsible for. " Does ;-) mean nothing to you? To me, it typically denotes humor or sarcasm.

millhouse

May 31 2006

Sorry Millhouse. I did not pick up on your remark as being sarcasm. I have heard similar statements made by Melton proponents and my point is that JM can't really take credit for anything yet. He just happened to be in office when some of this is coming together.

realtime

May 31 2006

Looks like the council has rehired Winston and Strawn. Good move.

millhouse

Nov 14 2006

Glad to hear it.

LatashaWillis

Nov 14 2006