Jackson Free Press

In the summer of 2013, Delbert Hosemann, the state's conservative Republican secretary of state, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Kenny Stokes, a Democratic then-county supervisor with a reputation for being brash, to cut the ribbon on a walking trail in the Georgetown neighborhood. Despite the differences between the two leaders, Henry Fuller—Stokes' district-office assistant at the time who helped shepherd the project—never doubted that it would be completed.

After all, he'd already brought Stokes' office into the 20th century. "When I got to the office, (I was told), 'We don't use email because that's the devil.' In the first month, I gained their trust for them to allow me to start taking emails" from constituents, Fuller said. Now, Fuller, 30, wants the position his former boss held, as the District 5 representative on the Hinds County Board of Supervisors. Fuller, who is single and lives in Belhaven Heights, recently talked to the Jackson Free Press about stepping out from the behind the scenes to serve on the board.

We're always talking about tense relationships between the city of Jackson, the county and the state. Once you become the supervisor, how would you overcome that?

Staff is always key. Supervisor Stokes was always viewed as being controversial, combative and unapproachable. Me being staff, I was able to go sit down with the sheriff and the judges. It just went smoother because oftentimes people are intimidated by the personalities.

I also taught in Jackson Public Schools, so I have a mixture of working with different groups of people.

As supervisor, my experience in working with the community is going to help whereby the community can access the office. Often times, you can get caught up on the politics of the things, and when (there's) talk about the tension between the City of Jackson and Hinds County, you have to think about the territorial boundaries.

In graduate school, I interned with (Central Mississippi Planning and Development District), and we would have to work with all of the mayors in the (metro statistical area). We would have to work with all of the members of the board of supervisors in the area. We had these federal dollars to do XYZ, and a lot things could not get done because it was so territorial.

Although Supervisor Stokes is an attorney, I would say to him that we must first remember we are a creature of the state. So we can't get on TV and be combative with the state of Mississippi.

To build relationships, we have to still talk to people we may not like, but you should at least give respect to 
the office.

What is the supervisor's role in economic development?

The supervisor's role is to make sure that the county as a whole is stable. So we don't just want economic development, we want sustainable economic development.

And when you think about the Metrocenter Mall and its demise over the years and initially how when the Hinds County Board of Supervisors was very active in economic development along that corridor—things were progressing because they're working hand in hand with the local city government saying, 'I know you're from Clinton or Terry, but this is our hub.'

If you have all these dilapidated houses and there's a shortfall of new development, you're going to have a problem. If you think about the school system, it's funded through property taxes. If you have more renters than owners, that's a whole other story. I'm not anti-renter, but it has to be a balance.

For example, I know a lot of friends who are young professionals who say, 'We would love to stay in Jackson or Hinds County,' but they don't have new housing that are not fixed income where I can get a starter home. They don't have what a Flowood has or what a Madison has.

What do you think about the county and city's level of cooperation?

There were several opportunities where we could have entered into interlocal agreements so that we could address a lot of crime issues, poverty and a large array of issues. But one must have a keen understanding of government and its structure. What I saw over there was a lot of divisiveness, but it was based solely on a lot of personal politics, and that's why we have not been as progressive as we've needed to be as a county or a city.

The No. 1 thing I heard, especially with the crime piece from local authorities, was, first, we don't have the level of support we need from the county.

What I did see when Tyrone Lewis became sheriff, I saw some of those overlapping to address crime. I saw more task forces. I saw a better working relationship between the municipalities within the county and the sheriff's department.

What strategy do you prefer to deal with issues facing the jail?

I personally would be for a regional agreement. The argument is the fees to house inmates. You have smaller communities saying Jackson should pay the biggest portion because they have the most crime and the most criminals that are being taken into the system.

So what I'm saying is more (about) regional boards where you have local officials that have equal buy in. That's not the current situation. I have neighbors who said '(The county has) the money, why don't they just fix it?' But the courthouse is a historic building, so when you start making adjustments to the structure, to the exterior, you're going to have to deal with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

The Byram-Clinton parkway: Supervisor Stokes wasn't a fan. Do you share his concerns about it?

There have been a lot of economic-development projects to take resources out of the city of Jackson. I remember when I was a city planner and we asked for a commuter tax and the state legislature said no. We wanted a toll road, they said no. Can we charge an impact fee? They said no.

Although District 5 is involved, Jackson is the hub, and we have to support the hub. So when we start talking about the parkway, I would not be against that if it's going to serve the better good. With that new traffic, it's going to create economic development along the parkway. 
 If you think about the metro parkway at Jackson State (University), it looks like very few people use it, but you have new economic development projects coming on board.

So I'm not a planner that says build it, and they will come, but what you're doing is building infrastructure. I'm not against the parkway, but some of the aspects of funding were very peculiar to me. I would really have to conduct a true assessment to conclude where I would stand on that issue.

What do you think about the suggestion that the state should take over the county's emergency communications system?

Again, assessment would have to be conducted. I wouldn't just say the state is trying to take something from us, and I'm not for it. What you would need is a cost-impact assessment to see (if) it would be more cost effective for the state to take over or would it not.

Free spin—Anything you want to add?

Our whole motto is progressive change that makes a difference because not all change is good. We want progressive, sustainable change. The truth of the matter is I'm the only candidate that has experience running the District 5 office. The key is, I'm a young professional, and this is a grassroots effort.

Comment and see more candidate interviews at www.jfp.ms/2015elections.