Jackson Free Press

Mississippi Sen. John Horhn officially announced his candidacy for Jackson mayor at a press conference on the morning of Wednesday, March 12, 2014, at Cade's Courtyard on Mayes Street. Horhn ran for mayor once before in 2009.

Horhn grew up in Jackson and has served in the state Senate since 1993.

In an interview with the JFP editorial board, Horhn elaborated on how his experience as a senator will translate into an executive position, such as mayor.

"I'm not just a legislator. I'm in business. I do business development consulting and affordable housing as well as health care, but I also have a wealth of experience that I came into the Legislature with," he said.

Horhn said that his previous work experience before Senate has helped prepare him to work in an executive position. A few of his jobs included working as a developer for high-school dropouts, running a cultural arts coalition, putting together cultural programs for African American Mississippians, working as a program manager for the Mississippi Arts Commission, working as the film commissioner for the state, and working as executive director of the Governor's Office of Federal and State Programs.

The senator also talked about the recent attention he has been getting for being a victim of armed robbery in his neighborhood and his arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol. The armed robbery has strengthened Horhn's drive to combat the city's crime, while the arrest taught him a valuable lesson.

"It's a regrettable situation," said Horhn of his arrest. "... I've found it to be transformative. Number one, the response to it was eye-opening in a lot of ways. ... In the course of it all, this has a been a blessing to me. ... I have a better sense of who my friends are and a sense that in the blink of an eye life can change for you."

During his interview, Horhn said that although he didn't agree with all late Mayor Lumumba's appointments, he wants to continue to keep things moving forward for Jackson through "finding the best possible person" to run city programs. Horhn also talked about how he wanted to emphasize better customer service in various agencies that operate the city as well as the need for the development of a master spending plan for repairing city streets.

"I think we have to change the culture of the city to the extent that we are more responsive to the customer in a timely, accurate and efficient fashion," Horhn said. "My attitude is to get things done and get them done now."

Horhn said that he wants to be Jackson's next mayor because he sees the position of mayor as a way for him to contribute to moving Jackson forward to being a place where people want to come to live, play and work.

"Some people see it as a demotion in some ways ... but this is the capital city, and that makes it different," Horhn said. "It's the largest city. It's the most urban, nice area of the state that we have. So, for me, I view it as a promotion, and the reason I'm doing it is because I love this city."