Jackson Free Press

[Verbatim statement] December 31, 2008, Jackson, Mississippi - John Horhn will announce his candidacy for Mayor of Jackson on Friday, January 2, 2009, at 12:00 noon at the corner of Raymond Road and McDowell Road in Jackson. Horhn's campaign will focus on economic development, housing and community development, education, crime, and replenishing the city's infrastructure. He plans to conduct a series of town-hall-style meetings for the purpose of listening directly to citizens' concerns and desires for Jackson's future.

Horhn plans to serve Mississippi's Capitol City with the same dedication and leadership he has demonstrated as a State Senator. He is currently serving his fifth term representing District 26, which includes parts of Hinds and Madison Counties. In that time, Senator Horhn has distinguished himself with a strong record on economic development. He has sponsored legislation authorizing nearly $300 million in bond projects. These include loans for small businesses and first-time home-owners, a grant program for properties with historic and cultural value as well as loans for businesses owned by minorities and women.

Senator Horhn has sponsored the following projects directly benefiting the City of Jackson:
$20 million for the JSU Metro Parkway
$17.5 million for the Mississippi Telcom Center
$6 million for the Farish Street Loan Program
$500,000 for the National Civil Rights Museum feasibility study

He was also instrumental in bringing McDade's Supermarket to Westland Plaza and Food Depot to Northeast Jackson.

John has consistently made it his mission to see that black-owned businesses are given an opportunity to compete for business in the State. When Nissan established a manufacturing facility in Mississippi, John led the effort to ensure that black-owned businesses were at the table. The result is that Mississippi now has two black-owned tier-one suppliers that service Nissan as well as two major service providers that operate inside the Nissan facility itself. Three out of four of these companies are Jackson-based and they employ more than 500 people. Five years ago, Senator Horhn began an initiative with the gaming industry to encourage it to do more business with black-owned companies in Mississippi. At the end of 2004, black-owned businesses, most of which were based in Jackson, had racked up more than $20 million in sales of goods and services to casinos.

In 1994 Senator Horhn was named one of the Top 40 Under 40 Leaders in Mississippi by the Mississippi Business Journal. The following year he was named an outstanding graduate of the Jackson Public Schools, and, in 1997, he was one of five black Mississippians selected to receive an Award of Distinction from the University of Mississippi. Senator Horhn received the "Alumnus of the Year Award" in 1999 at his alma mater, Centre College of Kentucky, where he has served as a member of the Board of Trustees. He has also done further study in leadership development and strategic planning at both Jackson State and Duke University and is a Henry S. Toll fellow with the Council of State Governments.

Before being elected to the Senate, John served in a variety of positions. Fresh out of college he worked as a job developer for high school drop-outs and ran a cultural arts coalition from which arose the Farish Street Festival. In 1981, John began a12-year tenure with Mississippi State Government, first as a program manager for the Mississippi Arts Commission, then, in 1985, as the State Film Commissioner. In 1988 he was tapped by Governor Ray Mabus to head the Governor's Office of Federal/State programs overseeing a staff of 250 with an annual budget exceeding $150 million. Following that, John served for three-and- a-half years as State Tourism Director.

In private life, John works as a business development consultant. He is an accomplished actor, story-teller, and motivational speaker who often visits schools to read and perform for students. A member of the Screen Actors' Guild, he has appeared in several feature films and made-for-tv movies.
Senator Horhn is a member of numerous boards and organizations, including the ACLU Board of Directors, the Board of New Stage Theatre, the
Mississippi Museum of Art Board of Trustees, the Advisory Board of the Mississippi Blues Foundation, the Advisory Board of the Mississippi Technology Alliance, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, M. W. Stringer Grand Lodge, and 100 Black Men. He is a life member of the NAACP.
He is married to the former Lydia Gail Cole, and they are the proud parents of two children.

John Horhn's career and accomplishments make it clear that he is the best candidate for Mayor of Jackson.

Previous Comments

ID

142626

Comment

Take a good close look at his whole record. This man does not have skeletons in his closet. He has a whole cemetery in there. We do not need a local Blagojevich as Jackson's mayor.

Author

wellington

Date

2009-01-01T13:24:55-06:00

ID

142627

Comment

I don't know of which you speak, and please don't post specific accusations here anonymously. That kind of thing needs to be sent to us directly with sources for confirmation before posting. I do suspect we're going to dodge a lot of skeletons in this race, which I'm not thrilled about. The more skeletons, the more compromisable and untrustworthy. But skeletons aside for the moment, I predict Sen. Horhn will be a formidable candidate. I really like that he plans a series of listening town-hall meetings. I've been calling for that for a while now. Smart. He should start them asap. We need a leader who will listen carefully—especially after what the city has been through under Melton—and then respond without a bunch of B.S. and swagger. Will that be Horhn? Time will tell.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2009-01-01T14:50:01-06:00

ID

142628

Comment

I've crossed paths with Horhn many times in the state legislature and at social events, and have a huge amount of respect for the guy. He has moral convictions and his positions are all consistent with those moral convictions, which is a rare thing for a politician. He's probably the closest thing we have to our own version of Russ Feingold. My gut has favored Horhn all along, but really looking at this, it's hard to think of a better candidate for mayor: Before being elected to the Senate, John served in a variety of positions. Fresh out of college he worked as a job developer for high school drop-outs and ran a cultural arts coalition from which arose the Farish Street Festival. In 1981, John began a12-year tenure with Mississippi State Government, first as a program manager for the Mississippi Arts Commission, then, in 1985, as the State Film Commissioner. In 1988 he was tapped by Governor Ray Mabus to head the Governor’s Office of Federal/State programs overseeing a staff of 250 with an annual budget exceeding $150 million. Following that, John served for three-and- a-half years as State Tourism Director. Even if that was his entire resumé--and it's not even close--I'd have to see him as the most qualified candidate for the job.

Author

Tom Head

Date

2009-01-01T18:41:10-06:00

ID

142631

Comment

i suppose you mean he is the best candidate as of now...

Author

jrt

Date

2009-01-02T00:19:50-06:00

ID

142632

Comment

Agreed. But my gut tells me that everybody who really wants to run has already either announced or been widely rumored, since any candidate who really wants to run would need to build up a base of support soon.

Author

Tom Head

Date

2009-01-02T00:32:48-06:00

ID

142633

Comment

It is an impressive resume. And all of my friends think he's a great guy.

Author

Jennifer2

Date

2009-01-02T08:36:59-06:00

ID

142635

Comment

There are two or three people who post on this web site who make character assasination type accusations about people, but do not cite any specific examples or they cite information that is factually inaccurate. At best they exaggerate. That is very suspicious. If you will go so far as to say a person has a lot to hide, then why don't you go ahead and post all the factual information at the same time to support your accusations? You shouldn't continue to be a co-conspirator right? Why do you all tempt us with offerings of secret delights, but keep them to yourselves?

Author

FreeClif

Date

2009-01-02T09:07:06-06:00

ID

142636

Comment

Remember that wellington was the same guy who claimed that if we supported anyone other than Crisler or Johnson, we'd be somehow shut out of the next administration--and Horhn happens to be polling a close third. This sort of garbage always seems to happen right before an election.

Author

Tom Head

Date

2009-01-02T09:29:56-06:00

ID

142638

Comment

It always happens around elections. I dread the nasty people (presumably supporters of a particular candidate) who come out of the woodwork. And Lord help us if the candidate is a black woman. I've never seen it uglier than the DA's race. Let me make it clear now: I will delete any accusations about the candidates that I do not know to be true without comment. If it's important enough to post about anonymously, it's important enough to call a reporter here and give us information on how to prove it. Otherwise, put the trash in your own garbage can and keep it off this site. THAT is my last warning.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2009-01-02T09:56:17-06:00

ID

142639

Comment

If he's a fifth-term Senator, wouldn't the skeletons be out of the closet by now?

Author

Jennifer2

Date

2009-01-02T10:29:12-06:00

ID

142647

Comment

Ladd, it is often a fact that often enough the rumor are based on facts. I believe that Horhn as well as other candidates should be investigate throughly by JPF as soon as the candidate announces their intention to run for public office. After this last mayor campaign had their been a detailed investigation of Frank Melton before the campaign got into full swing then maybe he would not have won in the first place. I do agree that if a person make a statement attacking the reputation of a person then the JFP should at least look into the reasons behid the statements and either prove or disprove the statements made against that person. I have seen in the past were the JFP writers printed stories on individuals without getting both sides of the story from everyone involved. The JFP is doing a great job and I appreciate you allowing us to post our point of view on your site but as far as skeletons in the closet then who don't have skeletons. The difference between a leader and a opportunist is the leader admitts his/her mistakes and don't tried to cover them up while the opportunist has no intend to tell the truth but uses any means at thei disposal to get all they can get for themselves. This is often done by using people and fillng them with false promises and lies such as Melton and other on the Jackson City Council. The JFP should do all in it's power to investigate all the candidates and find out if there are facts supporting the rumors on the candidates.

Author

Hot Sauce

Date

2009-01-02T20:25:38-06:00

ID

142648

Comment

Hot Sauce, you clearly weren't reading the JFP in 2005. There was in fact a full investigation in the paper of Melton prior to the election (several cover stories, as I recall) and, unlike these baseless anonymous comments that keep floating around, the investigation was grounded in fairly solid data.

Author

Tom Head

Date

2009-01-02T22:40:14-06:00

ID

142649

Comment

Thanks for the investigative advice, Hot Sauce. We'll see if we live up to your high standards going forward. Meantime, be sure to post no anonymous rumors on this site as they will be deleted, and the person posting them suspended, without furthewr comment or notice. Rumors are sometimes based on facts; they are often based on rumors and personal agendas, especially when it comes to people supporting different politicians who don't have the nerve to post their rumors under their real names. And for the record, if we publish it in a story, you can trust that both the sources you're seeing, and the ones you aren't, are more than "fairly solid data." Any good reporter publishes about 10 percent of their research at a given time. We don't chase anonymous rumors. If you have a real tip, you will call up one of our reporters, give your name (not necessarily for publication) and your sources of information to pursue. If not, we assume it's a lie.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2009-01-03T01:11:33-06:00

ID

142650

Comment

(No offense intended re "fairly solid data," by the way. That was British understatement, not a criticism of the quality of the data.)

Author

Tom Head

Date

2009-01-03T01:46:59-06:00

ID

142652

Comment

Ladd, in fact I know that I plus others did contact JFP during this time with our real names and we never recieved a call back after calling several times but that was then and this is a new day. 90% of the major headlines often start with a rumor or a belief. I also agree that we have to many people intentionally destroying people reputation for their own personal gains or agendas. I do not post rumor but anything I write I have the documentation to prove that I am telling the truth! You have done an excellent job with the JFP and I repect and honor the hard work you have done but there are alot of snakes running for office and are in office. By the way Tom Head thought I was talking about Melton, I don't give a flip about that two faced liar!!! Ladd over the years I have made plenty of mistakes but one thing is that if I make a mistake or say something wrong about a person I will go to that person face and apoligize. Remember again you also know how to get in touch with me when ever you want the documentation. I have tried in the past to get this documentation to you but as I stated before I have had a hard time getting in contact with you or your reporters. Please don't think that I have issues with you or anyone else posting in the JFP but I do want the truth to come out and it will!

Author

Hot Sauce

Date

2009-01-03T09:55:03-06:00

ID

142653

Comment

Hot Sauce, now you're really spinning some yarns. If there is anything this paper adores, its documentation, and it's not exactly hard to put it in an envelope and mail it if nothing else. I'm going to break it down for you: This site is not for anonymous folks, or anyone for that matter but especially anonymous, to start posting accusations of people. IF you have a real story, with real sources and real documentation, you will get in touch with one of our reporters, which you have not done to my knowledge, or perhaps you're one of the ones with the so-called big exposes who refuse to provide real sources, or whose big expose turns out to be a big rumor that "everyone knows" to be true, so there is nothing our reporters can do with it. (Happens all the time.) Whichever it is, I don't know, but you're not going to troll on this site this way. It is election time, and that brings out this kind of crap all the time under stories about candidates, and I officially have zero tolerance for it this time. I don't have time to play games and will not with you or anyone. I've given you a lot of leeway on here, considering what you try to post anonymously about people. You have worn out your welcome.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2009-01-03T10:15:14-06:00

ID

142654

Comment

I know, Tom. We do OK for a, er, weekly entertainment rag, huh. *Smile*

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2009-01-03T10:25:53-06:00

ID

142658

Comment

You do damn well. Weekly entertainment rags don't win AAN awards every year. In fact, if a longtime reader who knows better were to go on another blog and refer to the JFP as a weekly entertainment rag, I'd have to question his sanity. Hypothetically speaking, of course. +10 for at least posting it under his own name, -50 for completely losing his sh!t.

Author

Tom Head

Date

2009-01-03T17:12:46-06:00

ID

142659

Comment

Nah, that wouldn't happen. And should I have an e-mail somewhere with someone telling me such a reader did such a thing, I would surely delete it, if I didn't already. ;-) OK, back to Horhn. ;-)

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2009-01-03T20:14:41-06:00