Jackson Free Press

This week's City Council agenda contained an order confirming Mayor Frank Melton's appointment of Millsaps professor Bill Brister to the Jackson Public School Board of Trustees. If confirmed, Brister will replace board member Jonathan Larkin.

Council President Leslie McLemore grabbed the item and stuffed it quickly under the rug, calling it "a personnel matter," and recommending the issue be debated in a closed session.

He's got good reason. In 2006, Melton nominated Larkin for re-appointment to the board, but then Larkin seemingly crossed him—something that Melton does not expect people to do.

Council members told the Jackson Free Press in April that Melton's chief of staff, Marcus Ward, told Larkin the mayor would pull his nomination if he didn't vote in favor of IMS Inc. as program manager for a $150 million JPS bond project.

To his credit, Larkin disregarded Melton's threat and became the deciding vote favoring IMS competitor Jacobs Engineering. The very next month, Melton issued a letter to city council members, requesting that they withdraw Larkin's name for re-appointment—a useless gesture, considering the council does not have the power to do so.

"It's not up to the council to withdraw Larkin's name," then- Council President Ben Allen said in April. "That's up to the mayor's administration ... ." And now the mayor doesn't even hide that he believes he has enough votes to get Larkin canned from the board.

Of course, now Larkin has a record of Melton's initial support of him, as well as published stories surrounding Ward's alleged threat, followed up by Melton's timely letter recalling his nomination, in addition to this latest public attack—which, along with his sudden public criticism of JPS Superintendent Earl Watkins, seems suspiciously like another attempt to deflect negative attention from himself to others. It's an old Melton saw.

Reputedly, the FBI is still investigating Melton. With so many federal investigations already swirling around the mayor, Melton risks spoon-feeding a case for extortion to watchful authorities by following through with the board confirmation.

The issue of expired board appointments needs to be addressed, but Melton has fouled this one, and should leave the decision to his unlucky successor.

Previous Comments

ID

75743

Comment

he will never learn. melton continues to do things that put the Council at risk. There is an old proverb that goes: "He who sitteth on a red hot stove, shall rise again." melton keeps sitting on that hot stove. The FBI will have to turn up the heat.

Author

justjess

Date

2007-12-21T13:37:42-06:00