Jackson Free Press

In the contest for Hinds County District 2 supervisor, the Jackson Free Press endorses Darrel McQuirter—and for all the reasons we gave him our endorsement in the Democratic primary.

Mr. McQuirter is a longtime public servant, having served as fire chief in the city of Clinton before joining Hinds County, where he is now the planning and zoning director. Mr. McQuirter entered the supervisor's race at great personal risk, taking a leave of absence from his paid job that he could lose if the Tuesday, Nov. 5 election does not go his way. At every step in this election—which started out with a crowded field of hopefuls that eventually was narrowed down to Mr. McQuirter and a dark horse with big support named Willie Earl Robinson—he has remained positive and professional.

This, frankly, stands in stark contrast to Mr. McQuirter's opponent, interim District 2 Supervisor Alphonso Hunter.

In his brief time on the board, Mr. Hunter has approached the position with the dedication of a thoughtful, earnest representative of the people. Our objection to Mr. Hunter, who is running as an independent, is not even because Mr. Hunter went back on his pledge to not seek the seat when he began serving out the rest of late Supervisor Doug Anderson's term. It is the fact that as far as we can tell, he hasn't bothered to explain why he's breaking that promise. Politicians change their minds all the time, but when they do, they should explain their rationale to constituents, answer our questions and seek our understanding. Mr. Hunter has not done this, and we cannot support his bid for the District 2 position.

The choice in District 4 is less clear-cut. Tony Greer, a Republican alderman in the city of Clinton, is matched up against Democrat James "Lap" Baker. Both men reside in Clinton and know the ins and outs of local government well. Philosophically, Mr. Greer likely aligns with the district's conservative-minded residents more than Mr. Baker. We are also confident that Mr. Greer, just as previous Supervisor Phil Fisher did, would be unapologetic in, as he told the JFP this week, "shining a light" on the county's business dealings—whatever his motives. With little appetite or need to funnel county funds to his district for special projects and programs, Greer would likely devote himself to calling out the questionable moves of his Democratic counterparts.

What gives us the most pause about Mr. Greer is the support he has proudly received from state leaders, including Gov. Phil Bryant, Speaker Philip Gunn and state Rep. Andy Gipson, whose policies we do not believe have been helpful for Mississippi. If Mr. Greer is in favor of blocking Medicaid expansion, opposing full funding for public K-12 education, promoting racist immigration-reform measures while widening access to guns, we cannot give him our endorsement. We endorse Mr. Baker in the race.