Jackson Free Press

"I can't change my story. But that story again is why I am who I am, and I want to be able to help others make better choices than what I had. And there are better choices out there these days."

—Vicksburg mayoral candidate Linda Fondren speaking about her past as a Las Vegas prostitute when she was in her 20s.

Why it stinks: Far be it from us to denigrate someone for past bad behavior, especially someone who has managed to make a good life from a rough past.

Fondren, who grew up poor in Mississippi, is reportedly one of 13 children. As it happens, she had a baby at age 14, but still managed to get her GED and go to technical school. The job her credentials qualified her for barely paid more than minimum wage, though, and the "glamour" of Nevada's legal prostitution trade probably looked like a reasonable career choice at the time.

She doesn't regret her past, Fondren said eventually, after first denying the reports of her Nevada past when they surfaced in the press. Fondren and her husband built businesses together, she volunteers in the community, she has traveled and raised a family.

But the experience should serve as a cautionary tale for anyone with ambitions for public office: Use what you've got. "Public" means just that--one's past and present will become an open book should you decide to run for office. Best to come clean up front, or seriously consider remaining a private citizen.