Mississippi Today

Gov. Reeves claims ‘best year in state history.’ His 2023 challenger says he’s moved state in ‘wrong direction’

Published

2 months ago

January 31, 2023

Staff Editor

Gov. Reeves claims ‘best year in state history.' His 2023 challenger says he's moved state in ‘wrong direction'

by Bobby Harrison, Geoff Pender and Adam Ganucheau, Mississippi Today
January 30, 2023

The opening salvos of the 2023 governor's race were fired on Monday as Gov. Tate Reeves delivered his annual State of the State address and his opponent Brandon Presley offered the Democratic Party's response.

“2022 was perhaps the best year in Mississippi history,” Reeves declared on the south steps of the Mississippi State Capitol on Monday evening. “… Today, it's a cold-hard-fact that really, really good things are happening in Mississippi. And it's my honor to stand before you today and announce that the state of our state is stronger than ever.”

Reeves, the first-term Republican governor, focused much of his speech on economic development and touted state government's nearly $4 billion budget surplus as an example of good times under his watch.

“Our conservative reforms and sound budget management have laid the foundation for this economic boom,” Reeves said. “It's the policies of yesterday that have paved the pathway to today's prosperity.”

Presley, a Democratic public service commissioner who announced a 2023 challenge of Reeves earlier this month, delivered a response to the State of the State. He blasted the governor's leadership over the past four years, saying the state is “moving in the wrong direction” under Reeves' leadership.

“While he brags about a budget surplus, family budgets are running out,” Presley said. “And while you're careful with your money, he's throwing your tax dollars away. He's been caught in the middle of the largest public corruption scandal in our state's history. $77 million dollars of taxpayer money that should have gone to working families that are struggling instead went to help build a volleyball court… a volleyball court! … Some was even given to Tate Reeves' own personal trainer. And you should tune in because we are only just now learning how bad and possibly illegal all of this activity was.”

Standing for a recorded video in an abandoned hospital in Newton County, Presley also panned Reeves for refusing to address the state's hospital crisis.

“We have a solution. By extending Medicaid to the working people of our state, we can keep hospitals across Mississippi from experiencing the same fate as this one,” Presley said. “All Tate Reeves has to do is lift his hand, take an ink pen, and sign on a line. Instead, he lacks the backbone and he will sit on his hands while people lose their jobs, some lose their lives and our hospitals suffer. When Tate Reeves finally wakes up and asks why hospitals are closing, he should look in the mirror.”

Reeves, though, said in his speech that his plan to solve the state's health care crisis and pending hospital closures is to encourage competition in health care, innovation and technology. He urged lawmakers to “think outside the box” on improving health care and to not expand Medicaid coverage to the working poor.

“Don't simply cave under the pressure of Democrats and their allies in the media who are pushing for the expansion of Obamacare, welfare, and socialized medicine,” Reeves said. “Instead, seek innovative free market solutions that disrupt traditional healthcare delivery models, increase competition, and lead to better health outcomes for Mississippians. Do not settle for something that won't solve the problem because it could potentially and only temporarily remove the liberal media's target on your back. You have my word that if you stand up to the left's push for endless government-run healthcare, I will stand with you.”

The candidates' contrast in outlook on state of the state sets up what is expected to be among the most expensive and bitter governor's races in state history. Reeves will continue boasting what he says are accomplishments and gains the state has made under his leadership, while Presley will continue critiquing the governor's positions on major issues facing the state.

In a 45-minute speech on Monday, Reeves laid out the accomplishments he said had been achieved.

He said the state set a record economic pace during his governorship, including a $2.5 billion aluminum plant announced near Columbus, for which lawmakers at Reeves' behest pledged $247 million in incentives.

The favorable economic conditions, Reeves said, “led to investing a historic amount in jobs training, and … resulted in a record $6 billion in new capital investment in 2022, which is more than seven times the previous average of approximately $900 million a year before I became governor.”

Reeves said that wages in Mississippi are rising, by more than $7,000 or 18% per capita since 2019 and the state is seeing “the lowest unemployment rate in our state's history.”

But despite Reeves' rosy portrait of the state's economy, he omitted several key statistics about the state's economy. Mississippi had the lowest per capita income for 2021 at $45,881, according to the St. Louis office of the Federal Reserve. The average of Mississippi's four contiguous states, was $52,780.

And, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the third quarter of 2022, Mississippi's personal income increased by 3.8%. Eight states saw their personal income increase less than Mississippi's during the period.

And, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data, Mississippi added only 500 net jobs between December 2021 and 2022, meaning its job growth for the year was essentially flat, or statistically 0%. All other states had jobs growth of at least 1%, with some exceeding 6%.

Presley, in his response, highlighted some other economic problems the state has faced.

“Mississippi is at the bottom of the nation for economic growth,” Presley said. “We're one of only three states that lost population, and the numbers recently released by the bureau of labor statistics show zero job growth in Mississippi. We are one of only seven states that taxes groceries.”

Reeves reiterated his vow to eliminate the state's personal income tax — a proposal lawmakers debated at length last year but defeated, although they did pass the largest income tax cut in state history, which is still being implemented. He did not mention eliminating the grocery tax.

Reeves also said the state has seen historic improvement in education in recent years. He said reforms he helped pass as lieutenant governor about a decade ago have brought much success in public education.

“A little over a week ago we announced – for the third time since I've been governor – that Mississippi's high school graduation rate hit an all-time high and continues to be better than the national average,” Reeves said.

The governor also focused heavily on red-meat conservative issues — in response to what Reeves called “the radical left's war on our values.”

Reeves reiterated his support for a “Parents Bill of Rights,” similar to legislation being passed or debated in many other GOP-led states that would force public school teachers to share lesson plans and administrators to adhere to the will of parents on things like names, pronouns and other health matters.

Reeves also lamented “a dangerous and radical movement that is now being pushed upon America's kids” regarding treatment of transgender people and vowed to fight such movements. Legislation is pending this year in Mississippi and other states to ban gender affirming procedures and drugs for anyone 18 or under.

“Across the country, activists are advancing untested experiments and persuading kids that they can live as a girl if they're a boy, and that they can live as a boy if they're a girl,” Reeves said. “And they're telling them to pursue expensive, radical medical procedures to advance that lie.”

To deal with an expected increase in child deliveries from the overturning of Roe v. Wade abortion rights, Reeves said the state should cut red tape and make adoption easier, create child care tax credits and allow parents to write off child care supplies on tax returns and increase support for pregnancy resource centers. He said the state should strengthen its child support laws and force more fathers to support children.

Reeves vowed to help fight crime in the capital city of Jackson and statewide. He also vowed to go after government corruption, such as the state's massive welfare scandal.”

“That's why this session, I'm calling on the legislature to make further investment into our Capitol Police by giving them the 150 officers and equipment they need to continue fulfilling their mission and continue pushing back on lawlessness in Jackson,” Reeves said.

And in a statement that directly addresses one of Presley's points about Reeves involvement in the welfare scandal, the governor vowed that “my administration will go after all crime within our jurisdiction.”

“Regardless of the crime committed, regardless of who did it, regardless if it happened on the street or in an office building, my administration is and will continue to hold criminals accountable,” Reeves said. “That's why my administration remains committed to delivering justice and recouping every dollar possible from those who stole from Mississippians through the theft of TANF (welfare) dollars.”

Throughout both speeches, the contrast in perspectives between Reeves and Presley were on full display.

“Mississippi is winning, and our state is on the rise,” Reeves said. “I urge all of you here today to stand with me and call out the lies when they are thrown at all of us. We can never give into the cynics who seek to tear down our great state. We can never give into Joe Biden and the national Democrats who seek to force feed us an unhealthy dose of progressivism because they view Mississippians as neanderthals. And we can never give into those who want us to live in a perpetual state of self-condemnation.”

Presley, though critical of Reeves and his leadership, did present a positive outlook on the state's future.

“Together, we can build a Mississippi that focuses on the future, not the past,” Presley said. “We can build an economy that works for everybody… We should fund the police, increase healthcare, and invest in education. Together, we are going to end the insane grocery tax. We're going to make sure folks from Walnut on the Tennessee line to Waveland on the Gulf Coast can walk with pride because they have a job and hope for their children's future.”

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Transcript: Gov. Tate Reeves delivers 2023 State of the State address

Mississippi Today

On this day in 1958

Published

2 hours ago

March 30, 2023

Staff Editor

On this day in 1958

by Jerry Mitchell, Mississippi Today
March 30, 2023

MARCH 30, 1958

When Alvin Ailey and other young, modern Black dancers performed at New York City's 92^nd Street Y, it was meant to be a one-night event. Instead, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater company introduced the world to the discovery of what Black dancing could be, performing for audiences in 71 countries, including kings and queens.

Ailey grew up in Texas, “glued to my mother's hip. Sloshing through the terrain. Branches slashing against a child's body. Going from one place to another. Looking for a place to be. My mother off working in the fields. I used to pick cotton.”

In 1960, Ailey debuted Revelations, regarded as a masterpiece. Through his dances, he sought to show “dark deep things, beautiful things inside me that I'd always been trying to get out.” And when his friend, fellow choreographer Joyce Trisler died, he created a dance to honor her —a dance that illustrated both loneliness and celebration.

“I couldn't cry,” he later confessed, “until I saw this piece.”

In 1988, he received Kennedy Center Honors, with legendary broadcaster Walter Cronkite introducing him as “a choreographer who helped free Blacks from the cage of tap-dancing.”

Dying of AIDS, Ailey passed on his company to Judith Jamison, who said, “Alvin breathed in and never breathed out.” She continued: “We are his breath out.”

A 2021 documentary details his journey, and the Ailey school remains the largest place in New York City dedicated to training dancers.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

Mississippi lawmakers resolve impasse over K-12 spending, hope to end session Thursday

Published

12 hours ago

March 29, 2023

Staff Editor

Mississippi lawmakers resolve impasse over K-12 spending, hope to end session Thursday

by Bobby Harrison and Geoff Pender, Mississippi Today
March 29, 2023

The Mississippi Legislature, finally reaching a budget accord, worked late Wednesday night to pass that agreement with hopes of ending its 2023 session on Thursday.

A key peg in that deal is an agreement between House and Senate leaders to provide an additional $100 million for local school districts. The agreement will be divvied out to schools based on student enrollment with the understanding the money cannot be used to provide pay raises for administrators.

A key obstacle in the prolonged budget stalemate that began before last weekend was the desire of the Senate to place an additional $181 million in the funding formula in state law that provides for the basic needs of local school districts.

The Senate plan was to make minor adjustments in the Mississippi Adequate Education Program formula, and fully fund it for an additional $181 million for the first time since the 2007-08 school year.

But House Speaker Philip Gunn and other members of his leadership team opposed placing additional money in MAEP. They have been advocates in the past of scrapping or overhauling the program.

Gunn stressed late Wednesday the additional $100 million will not go into the formula. But it will be provided to the schools, like the MAEP is, based on student enrollment. And while school districts will not have as much discretion as with MAEP in how the funds are spent, they still will have significant leeway in expending the funds.

Overall, Gunn said he is pleased with the agreement.

“We are going to make significant progress tonight and probably finish up on Thursday,” he said. “We are grateful to the Senate for working with us.”

The agreement also will include additional funds to deal with the devastation caused by last week's tornadoes that ripped through the Delta and north Mississippi killing at least 21. Final details of the amount of money that will be set aside for storm relief was still undecided late Wednesday.

Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said the amount of funding “will be a significant amount of money.”

The agreement will take shape in multiple appropriations bills that must be passed by both chambers. Additionally, a handful of general bills — some controversial — still are pending to be taken up.

House Bill 1020 is perhaps the most controversial. In its original form it created a separate judicial district in the white and more affluent areas of Jackson where the judges would be appointed instead of elected by the Black majority population of the city.

A version of that proposal is still alive and expected to be taken up on Thursday.

Another measure, Senate Bill 2343, would give Capitol Police, under direction of the state Department of Public Safety, jurisdiction to patrol within the entire city of Jackson.

But efforts to restore the state's initiative process where citizens can gather signatures to place issues on the ballot for voters to decide was not part of any agreement. That proposal is dead for the session unless an additional agreement is reached overnight. The state had an initiative process until May 2021 when the state Supreme Court ruled it invalid because of a technical flaw. At the time, legislative leaders vowed to fix the concerns of the Supreme Court and restore the process. But for the past two sessions, legislative leaders have been unable to agree on a fix to restore the process.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

Senate rejects Robert Taylor’s nomination for state superintendent of education

Published

14 hours ago

March 29, 2023

Staff Editor

Senate rejects Robert Taylor's nomination for state superintendent of education

by Julia James and Geoff Pender, Mississippi Today
March 29, 2023

The Senate rejected the nomination of Robert Taylor for state superintendent of education on Wednesday.

Taylor was most recently a deputy state superintendent for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction before starting his role here on Jan. 17. A native of Laurel, he earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Southern Mississippi and has worked in North Carolina schools since 1992.

The state superintendent oversees Mississippi's 870 public schools and is appointed by the State Board of Education. Once the board makes a selection, that person must be confirmed by a nominations subcommittee and the Senate Education Committee before being approved by the full chamber with a vote. Taylor's nomination passed through the first two steps before failing the Senate vote 21-31.

Senators expressed concerns during the Senate Education Committee vote on Tuesday that Taylor had worked outside of Mississippi for most of his career, citing that this was the same reason they had just rejected Gov. Tate Reeves' nomination for the State Board of Education. Taylor's predecessor Carey Wright is not a Mississippi native and took the position after working in District of Columbia Public Schools.

“This is nothing personal with me, but it's absolutely what this Capitol needs (sic) to stay consistent with your votes, and I will be staying consistent with mine,” said Sen. Michael McLendon, R-Hernando.

Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory responded to these concerns both in committee and on the Senate floor, arguing the state doesn't take this stance with many other positions as not to limit the options.

“I don't understand the notion that we only want people from Mississippi, I thought we wanted people from other states to come here,” Bryan said.

Sen. Chris Johnson, R-Hattiesburg, chaired the education nominations subcommittee and was one of five Senate Republicans who voted in favor of Taylor.

“We talk about brain drain – well here was a chance to bring someone back,” Johnson said. “In conversations I had with him, I thought he answered things well. He praised what Mississippi has done with education in the last 10 years and said he wants to continue that trend. I thought he had a great knowledge of education and what's going on here.”

Sen. Brice Wiggins, R-Pascagoula, expressed frustration with lack of transparency in the hiring process, saying on Tuesday he was “disgusted” with the way it was handled. This concern was also discussed at the March 15 hearing to interview Taylor and State Board of Education Chair Rosemary Aultman, where Aultman answered questions about the hiring process from senators.

The Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) reviewed the hiring process at the request of legislators, finding the board lacked a standard scoring method for evaluating candidates and the selection process “lacked transparency,” as finalists for the position were not shared publicly despite the consulting firm proposing to do so.

Aultman responded to these concerns, saying applicants for the position asked to remain anonymous, and the board chose to honor the request. Aultman also explained the board developed a list of attributes an ideal candidate would have and judged applications based on how well they matched the list. For finalists, while they were not scored by a rubric, Aultman said each board member did rank the four options.

Aultman reiterated this support for Taylor and the hiring process after Taylor was rejected by the Senate in a statement from the Mississippi Department of Education.

“The State Board of Education conducted a fair, competitive and rigorous application process to select the most qualified candidate to fulfill the duties of state superintendent of education,” she said. “The search firm we hired was helpful in giving the board direction, and we are confident we selected the best candidate.”

Sen. Daniel Sparks, R-Belmont, also raised concerns on the Senate floor that the school district Taylor led in North Carolina did not significantly improve under his nearly 10-year tenure. Between 2015 and 2019, the years for which data is publicly available from the North Carolina School Report Cards website, the Bladen County School District did see more schools meeting their growth targets, as well as the number of C-rated schools rising from four to seven. D-rated schools had fallen from eight to three between 2015 and 2018, before jumping back up to six in 2019. This data does not represent all of the years that Taylor led the district.

Taylor has previously said at State Board of Education meetings that assisting low-performing districts was one of his top priorities, and had visited all but one of them in his first two months on the job to learn about their needs.

“It is our duty and responsibility to be able to get in and work with those districts before they end up on the list being over by the state,” Taylor said at the March 15 committee hearing. “We don't have the capacity to take over ten or eleven districts, but we do have the ability to be able to get into those districts and help them build capacity.”

Dennis DeBar, R-Leaksville, chair of the Senate Education Committee, said he voted against Taylor for multiple reasons, but most specifically because he “wanted to see someone with a better resume on low-performing schools.”

Taylor would have also been the second Black state superintendent after Henry L. Johnson, who also came to Mississippi from North Carolina in 2002. Some have raised concerns that race placed a role in this rejection.

“Any time you put politics and partisanship and race ahead of serving the state of Mississippi, we do our citizens a great disservice,” said Sen. John Horhn, D-Jackson.

The State Board of Education said in a press release that they will schedule a special-called board meeting in the coming days to name an interim and begin a new search process.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.