Jackson Free Press

Ward 5
Ward 5, which covers sections of West and South Jackson, has a single-term incumbent and a history of frequent turnover in its City Council representation. At a March 23 forum sponsored by the United Communities for Jackson, four candidates for the seat argued their case.

In 2005, retired school principal Charles Tillman beat incumbent Bettye Dagner-Cook, a biology teacher at Lanier High School, for the Ward 5 seat. Charles Alexander, a substitute teacher and former health-care worker, also ran in that election. Those three 2005 competitors were joined by Milton Chambliss, an economic developer and owner of an Allstate insurance agency.

Alexander hammered away at the dearth of businesses in West Jackson and said the city should work on attracting new businesses and new residents.

"Instead of raising taxes, we need a new tax base," Alexander said.

Alexander promised to cooperate with other council members and the mayor, arguing that the city needs a unified government to attract development.

Tillman, who usually supports Mayor Frank Melton's policies, also stressed the importance of working with the mayor's office.

"My ultimate goal was to build a relationship with the administration, so when I come calling, they would respond favorably," Tillman said. "I think I have really done that."

All candidates acknowledged the frustration of Ward 5 residents who have seen downtown developments take off while their own neighborhoods remain depressed.

"We are the gateway to downtown Jackson," Dagner-Cook said. "We ought to be able to—with your husband or your boyfriend—hold hands and walk to the theater and the convention center."

Chambliss said that the city needed to reorient its development priorities and attract and nurture more small businesses.

"The problem with the conventional economic development and mindset in our city council and mayor is that their whole focus is on the recruitment of big companies from the outside," Chambliss said. "Those projects come along about as often as a Muhammad Ali or a Michael Jordan comes along."

"Lynch Street has the ability to be an international center of culture and commerce and history," added Chambliss, owner of a historic building on the street. "What we have to do is challenge Jackson State University to live up to its core mission that it was tasked with as the state of Mississippi's urban university."

Dagner-Cook said that city officials should persuade county government to help maintain infrastructure. "Once Jackson does well—we're like the trunk—then everyone else does well," she said.

One candidate, Maggie Benson-White, was unable to attend due to illness. Benson-White, who owns and operates White House Learning Center, served on the Jackson Public School board from 1984 to 1991 and again from 2003 to 2007. She did not return calls for comment on Tuesday.

Diana Barnes, a teacher and member of United Communities for Jackson, said that she was looking for a candidate who would serve with integrity and respond promptly to community concerns.

"I'm concerned about the beautification of our community, because it indicates the attention from the city," Barnes said.

"I even wonder if the council person walks through or rides through the same streets that we see," she added.

Ward 1
As City Council's lone Republican, Ward 1 incumbent Jeff Weill has developed a name in his first term for his work as chairman of the Council's Budget Committee. He oversaw the JATRAN budget cuts that freed up street resurfacing funds and helped investigate city employees' misuse of Fuelman gas cards. An attorney and trained mediator, Weill also led a successful effort to force the city's disclosure of its financial records for contractors and other non-contract employees. Weill sees a bloated city government obstructing the city's economic growth.

"For the most part, government only gets in the way of true economic development," Weill wrote in his response to a JFP candidate questionnaire. "Cut taxes and businesses will flock here."

Weill's Republican primary challenger is Jonathan Jones, an emergency medicine physician at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Jones, too, believes that high taxes impede business development in the city. He advocates a temporary property tax break for businesses moving into the city, which he says would be offset by increases in the city's sales tax revenue. Jones has not held previous public office, but he presents his outsider status as an advantage.

"I am also not mired in old Jacksonian politics," he states on his campaign Web site. "I am not ‘connected.' I don't vacation with legislators, big business or lawyers. … I only want what is best for this city's citizens."

See http://www.jfpelectionblog.com for city election coverage and interviews.

Previous Comments

ID

145736

Comment

I can't vote for Betty Dagner Cook but, I hope that she or one of the other candidates will defeat Mr.Tillman. He has been nothing but a member of melton's "amen corner." There are periods that it is evident that Tillman just doesn't get it. He is out of step and out of tune with the needs of his community. I believe that people should be able to run for office, hold jobs and to be representatives of the community just as long as they are capable and competent. Mr. Tillman is NOT and I hope that voters in that Ward will use this opportunity to unseat him. We have had too much of the melton CAKE and Mr. Tillman is one of its main ingrediants.

Author

justjess

Date

2009-04-09T12:37:21-06:00

ID

145742

Comment

Charles Tillman is nothing more than a has been that allows Melton and Blunston to lead him around like a old dog. He has done nothing but run around making up excuses for his own stupidity. My Mother lived across the street from this man for years and everyone in her neighborhood warned me about Charles Tillman being two faced and that he was scared to stand up for what was right and he has lived up to that image as a City of Jackson Council member. He need to be replaced and discarded with the rest of the trash that he associate with.

Author

Tony Davis

Date

2009-04-09T16:15:11-06:00