Jackson Free Press

The Ledger gives one last smooch to Governor Barbour, "political genius."

You ought to know you're in trouble when the folks who should be your biggest cheerleaders come and do a dance on your head and slap you around a bit.

Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has been a player in the Republican Party for decades. As a matter of fact, he was one of the big conservative brains (along with Lee Atwater) that came up with the Southern Strategy, a political mindset that has kept Southern politics stuck on the battlefield of black versus white since the days of Ronald Reagan. Barbour served as Reagan's political director and as chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Some might say that Mr. Barbour had a hand in stirring up the witch's brew that created right-wingers like the Tea Party—and I'd agree. But if he stirred the pot, he sure has no control over its content.

Now, Barbour is blasting conservatives, especially those on the ultra-shaggy edges of the right-wing fringe. The Washington Post calls them—the roughly 45 Republicans in Congress who refuse to bend at all, ever, under any circumstances—cast-iron conservatives .

“When you control the House, the Democrats control the Senate and the White House, you can’t exactly cram your stuff down their throat,” Barbour said in a Post TV "In Play" interview yesterday. “Some of our friends sometimes forget that.”

“The guys that wanted to make Obamacare the trip wire for closing down the government and making Obama cave in … that’s not going to happen; that was never going to happen,” he added.

Barbour goes on to blame the conservative troubles on—wait for it—outside agitators. The problem is, they're skunks of the same stripes:

Barbour went on to note that his bigger concern for the party moving forward was the number of outside conservative groups — he mentioned the Senate Conservatives Fund and the Club For Growth by name — who seek to vilify Republican Members of Congress for allegedly breaking with party orthodoxy.

“Some of these same people go out and raise money for outside organizations that attack the other Republicans not over principle, not over policy … over tactics,” said Barbour. “There is no excuse for making people think a conservative Congressman who has a 98 percent conservative voting record is a bad person because you disagree with his tactics.”

See the WaPo's The Fix blog for the entire interview.

So the old-school Republican strategist Haley Barbour has stuck his foot in his mouth again, perhaps purposefully. He went on CNN to defend New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's administration, which is under fire for various corruption allegations, including a serious accusation by Hoboken, N.J., Mayor Dawn Zimmer. When Barbour appeared on camera to downplay the allegations, he just looked and sounded like a garden-variety sexist grandpa when he called Zimmer a "lady mayor." As in, what the hell does her gender have to do with anything?!? And why would a man supposedly as smart as Barbour make such an error?

It could have been purposeful, of course, considering that the base of Barbour's party hasn't realized that we have moved into the 21st century and that blatant sexism ain't cool or attractive, and it sure won't attract the kinds of younger voters the GOP will desperately need to survive.

So how exactly does this help Christie get into the White House? The national GOP might think seriously before letting such an old-school political strategist speak for their candidates. Don't forget, after all, that he was the one who tried to pretend that the Citizens Council had good intentions in his hometown.

Most frustrating, this ignorance on a national stage once again makes Mississippi look bad.

Blech.

Glad we got that straight.

In a segment on MSNBC's Morning Joe, Haley Barbour (looking disturbingly like he'd swung by a mortician's office on his way to the broadcast) opined—in the dulcet tones of that version of his accent that he uses for national TV—that he's not particularly offended by the Mississippi flag ("or the Confederate flag for that matter"), but he'll be happy to let "the people" decide.

He also pitched his apology to the freedom riders and the civil rights museum that "we're" building as evidence of the progress under his administration.

Also... is it me, or is it super interesting that they all just call him "Haley."

I almost wonder if he pitched this segment while they were all sitting around his bar last night.

After that exchange, stick around for a little whitewashing of his "leadership" after Katrina and a pitch of his new book.

Lord have mercy.

In the GOP's continued saga of internecine warfare, there's another front opening in the Battle of Mississippi with a shot coming from... Missouri?

The chairman of the Missouri GOP wants the campaign investigated by the Republican National Committee, according to the Washington Post. The Missouri GOP chair wants the RNC to investigate racially-charged robocalls and ads that appear to have been placed in Canton, Miss., and elsewhere in support of Cochran's run-off bid.

The head of the Missouri Republican Party on Tuesday asked Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus to appoint a task force to investigate what he called “racially divisive ads and robocalls” critical of state Sen. Chris McDaniel in the Republican runoff for U.S. Senate in Mississippi.

Ed Martin, the GOP chair in Missouri, is apparently concerned that Henry Barbour, nephew of former Governor Haley Barbour, may be behind a radio ad that was reported by Britain's Daily Mail.

The Daily Mail story, which offers an in-depth investigation to determine who placed the ads and how, notes that the ads were tagged "paid for by Citizens for Progress," a group that isn't registered with the FEC.

According to the Daily Mail, this same group name had been used previously by Mitzi Bickers, an Atlanta pastor, who, coincidentally, was being paid by Mississippi Conservatives -- a "super PAC" created by Haley Barbour and run by his nephew, Henry Barbour.

The younger Barbour told the Daily Mail he didn't know about the radio ads, although he acknowledged hiring Bickers to run a robocall campaign in the Cochran-McDaniel runoff.

In the radio ad, McDaniel is linked to an "ally" of the KKK, and listeners are warned that a McDaniel victory could mean a loss of government benefits such as food stamps, lunch programs and disaster assistance.

According to NewsMax (ugh) our esteemed former lobbyist/former governor/current lobbyist Haley Barbour was on Fox News this weekend complaining that President Obama isn't paying enough attention to the debt.

Operation Shoestring just announced the panelists for its annual "Conversation About Community" luncheon: Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba, former Gov. Haley Barbour and Wells Church pastor Rev. Keith Tonkel.

The event, which highlights and raises funds for Operation Shoestring's work with children and families in central Jackson, is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 14, at the Jackson Convention Complex (105 E. Pascagoula St., 601-969-0114), from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m.

The featured panelists "will make public a conversation that’s been happening in living rooms and around kitchen tables across Jackson for a long time now," states a release about the luncheon. "Our capital city faces a declining tax base, a growing urban-suburban divide, struggling schools, crime and poverty. If Jackson, or Mississippi, for that matter, is going to rise, the solution will require our collective buy-in."

This year's "Conversation About Community" will be a frank, open talk about solutions.

“The potential of this event is enormous. Mayor Lumumba and Gov. Barbour bring vastly different perspectives to the task of moving our city and state forward. Providing a safe space for open dialogue between these two, with a faith-based voice of ‘what’s right’ coming from long-time central Jackson pastor Rev. Tonkel, has the potential to impact the trajectory of our city’s future in a profound way,” said Robert Langford, Operation Shoestring's executive director, in the release.

The organization's signature annual fundraiser was created as a way to put into action its mantra that “we all rise together.” The idea is to create a safe space for people and organizations from across the larger Jackson area, from all walks of life, to engage in open discussion about the critical issues that impact the children and families Shoestring serves in central Jackson and, ultimately, the larger Jackson community.

Tickets are $50, and sponsorships start at $125. Call Stacey Jordan for more information at 601-353-6336 ext. 27, or email [email protected]. Find out more at operationshoestring.org.

Christopher Epps, the long-tenured commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections has resigned effective today.

The letter of resignation he submitted to Gov. Phil Bryant did not state a reason for the unexpected departure nor has MDOC made one public.

The Clarion-Ledger cites "multiple sources" who confirm the existence of a federal probe, but the newspaper does not specify whether Epps is the subject of the investigation.

Epps had been the longest serving prison chief in state history.

Democratic Gov. Ronnie Musgrove first appointed Epps to lead the agency in 2002; two subsequent Republican governors, Haley Barbour and Phil Bryant, kept Epps in place.

MDOC is searching for an interim commissioner.

If you listen closely, you'll hear it: it's the sound of 147 Republicans who hope to replace Sen. Thad Cochran weeping.

OK, maybe it's not quite that many. But Mississippi pols have been jockeying for position for a while on the chance that Cochran, who is so old that he remembers a time when Congress did stuff, retires when his term is up.

But Jonathan Martin of the New York Times wrote on his blog, The Caucus, that Cochran, 75, is raising money like a first term representative.

Martin notes of Cochran:

"He is hosting a breakfast Friday morning at a Capitol Hill restaurant, charging $500 for individuals and $1,000 for political action committees. Next month, Mr. Cochran will attend another, pricier breakfast featuring former Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi at Mr. Barbour’s namesake Washington lobbying firm. And in November, Mr. Cochran is staging what he’s billing as a “fall retreat” at a new resort in Middleburg, Va."

Earlier this year, Cochran held fundraisers in West Point, Miss., and Washington D.C., records from the Sunlight Foundation's Political Party Time site show.

It's likely a safe Republican seat, though a high-profile Democrat could creep in if the Republican primary leaves the nominee bloodied and weak.

At this point, Cochran is kind of like a dominant male lion at the watering hole. Other Republican hopefuls just have to sit back and wait for Cochran to have his fill (serving in the Senate is the water in this analogy).

If they don't, Thad will have them for lunch.

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2013/sep/20/13806/

Gov. Phil Bryant has nominated staunch pro-life activist Terri Herring for the Mississippi Board of Public Health.

Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves will make a donation to a Mississippi charity in the amount his political campaign received from indicted Rankin County businessman Cecil McCrory.

McCrory was indicted last week along with former Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Christopher Epps in an alleged bribery and kickback scheme.

A former Rankin County Republican lawmaker turned businessman specializing in corrections consulting, McCrory has donated $1,500 to Reeves over the years. Reeves will donate that amount to the Girl Scouts of Greater Mississippi, his office said today. McCrory also contributed at least $1,300 to Gov. Phil Bryant, who told the Associated Press that he would give that sum to the Salvation Army.

Several other Republican elected officials have received similar donations from McCrory, including Public Service Commissioner Lynn Posey, Transportation Commissioner Dick Hall, Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney. Former Gov. Haley Barbour and former Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck also received contributions from McCrory as well.

A search of state campaign-finance records show that Epps made two contributions totaling $225 to Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, who appointed Epps to MDOC's top post in 2003.

Voter ID would secure the integrity of elections, they said. Voter ID would prevent election fraud, they said.

Yet, in the first election where voter ID was used in Mississippi, complaints of voter fraud among Republicans have been rampant.

Incidentally, none of the the accusations spelled out in a lawsuit filed yesterday over the GOP primary runoff for U.S. Senate have anything to do with voter impersonation, which voter ID was designed to stop.

Also, interestingly, a lot of the top Republican officials hollerin about voter fraud have made nary a peep about the the allegations that have surfaced about vote buying in the race in the race between U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran and state Sen. Chris McDaniel, who also chairs the Senate Elections Committee.

Where's Delbert? Haley? Phil Bryant? (All three are Cochran supporters, by the way)

Brandon Jones of the Mississippi Democratic Trust posed a similar question in a statement sent to the press on Monday: "The citizens of this state were sold a package of voting laws by leaders who told us that their main concern was election integrity. These leaders, like Secretary of State Hosemann, now have an opportunity to show that all the talk about protecting the vote wasn't politics as usual."

I did a quick search and found these examples of GOP officials over the years talking about protecting the integrity of the elections:

"I believe that anyone who understands (like I do) that there is voter fraud occurring in our elections throughout the state and who does not support meaningful voter reforms to help clean up that system is part of the problem instead of part of the solution. … The problem is real and a strong Voter ID law is part of the solution."

—State Sen. Joey Fillingane, Y'all Politics op-ed October 2012

“This legislation is about protecting the integrity of Mississippi’s elections. This legislation is a direct result of the majority of Mississippians expressing their desire for a constitutional voter ID requirement in the state. We want everyone to participate in the election process, and we want that process to be fair and secure.”

—Gov. Phil Bryant, May 2012

"Voter ID is not about intimidation; it is simply about integrity and having a fair and honest election."

— Pete Smith, spokesman for Gov. Haley Barbour, 2004

"We need voter ID and we can't stop until we get it. … We need to continue to prosecute those who steal your vote."

— Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, Neshoba Democrat, July, 2009

The following is a verbatim statement from former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour:

Advocates of the proposed constitutional amendment known as Initiative 42 have twisted a passage in my 2007 State of the State address to mislead voters into believing I support their very harmful ballot measure. Not only am I against Initiative 42, I strongly urge all Mississippians to vote “against both” measures on the November ballot.

When I spoke to the Legislature in January 2007, our state had turned the corner in the Katrina recovery: The federal government had been extremely generous with disaster assistance legislation; state tax revenue had exploded as tens of thousands of homes had been rebuilt or repaired; casinos that year would have an all-time record gaming haul; all of which produced the highest state tax revenue in our 188-year history. Further, our country was in the sixth year of consistent economic growth and low unemployment.

Based on those facts I proposed record funding for our K-12 schools, a funding level that met the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP), as well as increased state funding for higher education. The money was there to spend at those levels, and everyone expected state revenue to increase in the coming years.

Yet the country began a deep recession in late 2007, which lasted nationally until mid-2009.
During the Great Recession, Mississippi’s general fund revenue came in $197.1 million or 1.67% below estimates in FY 2009 and a whopping $452 million or nearly 9.5% below estimates in FY 2010.

As Governor I had to reduce spending across the board in FY 2010 by 9.4% in order to meet our requirement of having a balanced budget. Consider the consequences if Initiative 42 had been the law at that time: Instead of all departments and agencies sharing in the 9.4% cut, K-12 (which absorbs about 40% of our state’s general fund budget) would have been exempt from cuts, and every other function of government – universities and community colleges, mental health facilities, and public safety – would have had to be cut nearly double, or approximately 18%.

As this recent history shows, Initiative 42 is terrible as a practical matter because it ties the Legislature’s hands and jeopardizes funding for other critical areas of state government.

It is also awful public policy because it totally eviscerates the constitutional system of separation of powers that has been fundamental to American government since 1789.

Initiative 42 would usurp the setting of K-12 education policy and budget, taking it away from the Legislature and Governor – elected by all Mississippi voters – and give it to the judicial branch; indeed, to one chancery judge, elected by one-fourth of the voters in Hinds County.

While advocates of judicial policymaking and budget setting say that one judge’s decisions would be appealable to the State Supreme Court, how is it a good idea to allow judges – elected for their judicial temperament, legal knowledge and ability to apply law to facts – …

There were some high-dollar contributors at a private meeting Speaker Philip Gunn had in his office last night. An unusual amount of activity at the Capitol yesterday evening led a TV news crew and a print reporter to investigate, but the journalists were turned away by Capitol security, wrote Clarion-Ledger political editor Geoff Pender today.

According to Pender's report, Gunn's policy director Nathan Wells called the meeting small and consisting of Gunn supporters who hadn't had a chance to visit the speaker's office.

Attendees included oilmen Billy Powell and Billy Mounger as well as Wirt Yerger and their spouses. All the men are high-rollers when it comes to political donations.

Mounger, who has worked in oil and gas development, gave more than $100,000 in both 2007 and 2011, but a quick review of those disclosure filings reveal that Gunn was not a recipient from Mounger in those two cycles.

Mounger has also given handsomely to federal campaigns, including former Gov. Haley Barbour's political action committee and to Republican members of Mississippi's congressional delegation. Powell of Powell Petroleum has also given while Yerger, president of Cavalier Wireless, gave $3,500 to candidates in 2011, including $1,000 to Gunn.

Wells insisted that the meeting was not a fundraiser. He told Pender: "We have food brought in for meetings all the time. This was completely paid for by (Gunn). There were no contributions, and none asked for. It’s not an event. We eat food here at meetings all the time.”

Gov. Phil Bryant has filled both Mississippi Supreme Court vacancies, following the departure of Justices Randy Pierce and David Chandler. Former District 1 Court of Appeals Judge James Maxwell and tenth district chancellor Dawn Beam will join the state's highest court in the new year.

Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. said in statement that Judge Maxwell's "energy and experience will serve the court and the citizens of the state well.” Waller expressed enthusiasm at Beam's arrival to the court. In a statement, he said Judge Beam has continued to go above standards in helping her court's district convert to an all electronic filing system. Beyond clerical duties, Waller said Beam "has tirelessly worked to resolve issues regarding placement and supervision of abused and neglected children.”

Judge Beam has been involved with her district's work to guarantee safe homes for all children and recently spoke at a community meeting in December praising the local Department of Human Services workers in Marion County for the changes they've made in their office--including upping personnel numbers. The increased personnel led to 160 children being removed from their homes due to court orders that cited deplorable living conditions or drug abuse at home.

Judge Maxwell was appointed to the district court by former Gov. Haley Barbour in 2009 and re-elected in 2014. He practiced civil law in Jackson and worked as an assistant U.S. attorney in the northern district of Mississippi.

Companies building a new 582-megawatt power plant near DeKalb are not holding it up as a model for plants around the nation. The Kemper County IGCC plant, now about nine months away from completion, will burn low-grade lignite coal and capture carbon emissions. Kemper is the first plant to use TRIG technology, which Atlanta-based Southern Co. developed in the 1990s.

Southern has said it hopes to sell the technology around the world as a solution to global change, but recently told Reuters that Kemper could not be replicated nationally.

"Because the unique characteristics that make the project the right choice for Mississippi cannot be consistently replicated on a national level, the Kemper County Energy Facility should not serve as a primary basis for new emissions standards impacting all new coal-fired power plants," Southern said in a statement to the wire service.

Louie Miller, who heads the anti-Kemper Mississippi Sierra Club, took aim at the report. Miller said, through a statement of his own, that the company's "confession" that Kemper is not a panacea for the nation's energy woes "should come as a shock" to its customers.

“Since day one, Mississippi Power, its parent Southern Company, and its high-profile backers like Governor Haley Barbour and United States Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu have promised that the Kemper Plant would be a shining model for new coal-fired power plants across the United States, as well as overseas," Miller said.

The Obama Administration recently announced new carbon-limiting rules on utility companies. Southern characterizes its corporate stance as climate-friendly, but told Reuters the new rules "essentially eliminate coal as a future generation option."

Who ARE you, and why would you do such a thing, Rep. Nunnelee, considering you come from state where domestic abuse is such an epidemic?

ENI, a Canton, Miss.-based political-action committee formed in late March.

But that's about all we know so far.

The statement of organization, filed with the Jackson city clerk's office April 2, indicates the committee is not authorized by any particular candidate and its purpose is "to raise money in relation to the City of Jackson Mayoral Special Election."

The form lists Alance McKinney of Jackson as ENI's president/director and Fletcher Shaw of Canton as secretary/treasurer. State records also show a south Jackson address for two dissolved companies. Reached by phone, Shaw said the PAC was set up to back a candidate in the mayor's race, but referred a Jackson Free Press reporter to attorney John P. Martin, who prepared ENI's paperwork, for particulars.

"It's a political-action committee set up and established based upon the guidelines the election commission set up — no less or no more," Shaw told JFP.

Martin, of the Canton firm of Montgomery McGraw PLLC, called the JFP back Thursday to say that his firm's role in the PAC is only to serve as its agent.

Employees of Montgomery McGraw, including partner Bob Montgomery, a former Mississippi state senator and chief of staff to former Democratic U.S. Rep. G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery, have contributed to several political candidate campaigns over the years.

Most recently, Bob Montgomery gave to Republicans Gov. Phil Bryant, transportation Commissioner Dick Hall and Lucien Smith, a 2011 state treasurer candidate who now serves as Bryant's chief-of-staff. In past elections, Montgomery also gave to Republicans former Gov. Haley Barbour, Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck and Tate Reeves when he was state treasurer.

In addition, Montgomery has contributed to former Democratic Insurance Commissioner George Dale as well as several state supreme court candidates, races that are officially nonpartisan.

Fletcher Shaw said the ENI would be in compliance with state financial disclosure rules; runoff candidates—Chokwe A. Lumumba and Tony Yarber—will be required to file reports on Tuesday, April 15.

Note: This story has been updated with a total donation figure that Lee's backers gave to federal Republican candidates since 2008. The new paragraph is bolded down below.

In the WAPT-Clarion-Ledger debate, Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. alluded to the fact that he is a real Democrat when he unloaded on opponent Jonathan Lee in his closing statement. This is clearly a continuation of some Jacksonians' belief that Lee is a "Rankin County Republican," a meme we've heard off and on for months now.

We have factchecked both parts of that allegation to the best of our ability and will address them both below.

First, Rankin County

Lee's campaign materials make him sound like a life-long Jacksonian. His website states:

Jonathan was born, grew up and lives in Jackson. Jonathan was born and raised in Jackson into a family with deep ties throughout the community. The son of two Lanier graduates and part of a family whose roots span three generations in Jackson’s Georgetown community, Jonathan learned early what it meant to be proud of one’s city.

Jonathan called all of Jackson home – from growing up on Meadow Lane to getting picked up by his grandmother (“Big Mama”) after school who lived in Georgetown. After graduating from high school, Jonathan attended Mississippi State University, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and a Master’s in Business Administration.

The part that is left out of that description is that Lee's family moved to Rankin County in 1988 when he was 11. He later graduated from Northwest Rankin High School and did not live in Jackson again until 2009 when records show that Lee and his wife moved into Jackson from Rankin County. When asked, he does not deny that he has lived less than four years in Jackson as an adult.

Lee, who is 35 now, took over as president of his father's company when he was 24, according to his campaign materials. He told the Jackson Free Press that he stepped down from the company, which he never owned, in December 2011, meaning that he ran it for about 10 years.

Candidate Lee ran into a Rankin-related controversy last year after a commenter posted on the Jackson Free Press site that he was still driving a Maroon SUV with a Rankin County plate. In response to an Aug. 10, 2012, query about it, Lee emailed the Jackson Free Press:

This particular rumor has been shopped around various media outlets all week. The vehicle I assume that they are referring to is my company vehicle. My personal vehicle is registered in Hinds County, a fact easily verified.

MPI is owned by an entity chartered and located in Rankin County. It was where our distribution company was originally located. In fact, MPI has only been located in Jackson for 19 years. For those 19 years MPI has paid property taxes, inventory taxes, and school taxes in Jackson, Miss. The parent company is still located in Rankin county …

The Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration, which oversees the operation of state buildings, has recommended the former Worldcom Building in Clinton as the permanent home for the Department of Revenue, now housed in what's practically a shed, also in Clinton.

Downtown Jackson had been a front-runner for agency HQ, especially after a 2011 report commissioned by then-Gov. Haley Barbour said buying the Landmark Building would be the cheapest option for our cash-strapped state.

The issue has since become politically charged with Speaker Philip Gunn wanting to keep the agency close to his Clinton district.

DFA explains its rational in the following verbatim news release:

MS Department of Finance & Administration Recommends New Location for the MS Department of Revenue

Today, the MS Department of Finance & Administration has determined that, on the basis of receiving the highest evaluation score, the Mississippi Department of Revenue should execute a 20 year lease agreement with Duckworth Realty for the relocation of its offices to the South Pointe Building (the former Worldcom Building) in Clinton, MS. The initial annual cost to the State would be $2,878,000 resulting in a total cost of $41,428,492 (net present value) for the term of the lease agreement. This offer represented the lowest total cost to the State. The proposal submitted by Duckworth for the South Pointe Building includes 187,511 square feet of office space, 600 parking spaces, tenant improvements, security and janitorial services. The lease term would begin July 1, 2014.

Kevin J. Upchurch, Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Finance & Administration, stated “We are pleased to have a more permanent solution to the issue of housing the MS Department of Revenue. The selection process was thorough and comprehensive. The main objectives of this process were the cost to the taxpayers, ease of access for citizens, and securing a more permanent, functional facility for MDOR employees. I am satisfied that this location meets all of those objectives.”

On November 1, 2012, DFA issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) to obtain new offices for the Mississippi Department of Revenue (MDOR) via a long term lease. A team consisting of three DFA employees and two MDOR employees was assembled to evaluate all proposals based on pre-defined calculations and scoring criteria. The State received six proposals and three were selected for further review. The three finalists were Hertz Investment Group, LLC (The Landmark Building), Ergon (Diversified Technologies Building), and Duckworth Realty (South Pointe Building).

DFA contracted with Allred Architectural Group, P.A. of Ocean Springs, MS to perform test fit analysis, building assessments, and environmental assessments of the three proposed buildings. This review was designed to determine each building’s ability to meet the needs of the MDOR. The review was also designed to identify any deficiencies within the buildings. Based on the results of these analyses, each finalist was asked to the submit a Best and Final Offer in which they were to explain how any noted deficiencies would be addressed, as well as, make any final …