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State Rep. DeKeither Stamps, a week after Election Day, was declared winner on Tuesday by the Associated Press of the Central District Public Service Commission seat.

In unofficial results, with AP reporting that 97% of precincts are in, Democratic challenger Stamps won with 131,727 votes, or 50.4% to incumbent Republican PSC Commissioner Bailey’s 129,593 votes, or 49.6%.

The three-member Public Service Commission, which regulates public utilities and the rates they charge customers in Mississippi, will have three new people starting in January — two Republicans and one Democrat (Stamps).

The other two PSC seats were decided in the August primary, with Republican state Rep. Chris Brown winning the Northern District and Republican challenger Wayne Carr winning the Southern District seat.

Current Northern District Commissioner Brandon Presley ran unsuccessfully for governor this year, and Carr defeated current Southern District Commissioner Dane Maxwell in the Republican primary in August.

The post Stamps declared winner of Central District PSC seat appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Legislation passed by voters would have enacted runoff elections for the first time in Mississippi history if a candidate for any of the eight statewide offices had failed to garner a majority vote last week.

At least one key legislator wants to extend runoffs to all offices – both local and districtwide, such as elections for legislative seats or county positions. Senate Elections Chair Jeff Tate, R-Meridian, says he will file a bill in the upcoming 2024 session to create runoffs for all offices in Mississippi.

“I don’t want to see people elected with a small percentage of the vote,” said Tate. “We want to see people elected with support from a majority of the electorate. I do not know what the appetite of the (Elections) Committee is to consider that. But I will file that bill.”

Tate is in position to have input on the runoff issue as chair of the Senate Elections Committee. There is no guarantee Lt. Gov Delbert Hosemann will reappoint Tate as Elections Committee chair for the new four-year term starting in January, though it would be unusual for him not to be reappointed.

A runoff can occur in statewide offices between the top two vote-getters when no candidate obtains a majority of the vote, or 50% plus one. A runoff was enacted for the office of governor and the other seven statewide elections in 2020 when the Mississippi Constitution was changed to remove an antiquated provision that mandated the state House select a winner from the top two vote-getters for any statewide office where no candidate obtained a majority of the popular vote and won the most votes in a majority of the House districts.

During the recently completed 2023 November general election, there was a candidate receiving a majority vote in each of the eight statewide elections, thus eliminating the need for a runoff. Incumbent Republican Gov. Tate Reeves came the closest to not capturing the majority vote in his reelection bid against Democrat Brandon Presley. With votes still being counted, Reeves is winning win 52% of the vote and avoiding a runoff by about 25,110 votes.

The publicity surrounding the possibility of a runoff for the eight statewide posts confused many people into thinking there would be runoffs possible in all general elections. At one point after the Nov. 7 election, some counties in southwest Mississippi believed there would be runoffs in supervisors elections where no candidate garnered a majority vote.

But that was not the case, though Tate would like it to be.

The original 1890 Constitution mandated runoffs if no candidate obtained a majority vote in party primary elections, but not general elections. Instead, the constitution contained the language sending the eight statewide offices to the House to be decided.

There have been many instances in Mississippi history of candidates winning general elections with less than a majority vote. For instance, in 1987 Margaret “Wootsie” Tate won the state Senate District 47 post on the Gulf Coast with 42% of the vote in a three-way race.

Perhaps the most notable instance of a Mississippi politician winning an important seat without garnering a majority vote came in the 1978 race for the open U.S. Senate seat when Republican Thad Cochran won the three-way race with 45% of the vote. Cochran went on to win six more contests for the U.S. Senate – most by comfortable margins or with no opposition. There was not in 1978 and still is no requirement for a runoff in a general election for a federal office in Mississippi.

Under the state constitution, if a non-statewide general election is a tie, its outcome is to be determined by a game of chance. Mississippi has over the years seen some races determined by drawing of straws or some other game of chance.

Mississippi, Louisiana and Georgia are the only states with general election runoff provisions. And the dynamics are different in Louisiana since there are no party primaries. In Louisiana candidates from all parties run together and if a candidate does not obtain a majority vote the top two vote-getters advance to a runoff.

Some states are beginning to enact what is known as ranked-choice voting.  The system allows voters to select a top choice for an office and then a second choice, third choice and so on.

If a candidate wins a majority of the vote, the ranked-choice voting is not a factor. But if no candidate wins a majority, the losing candidate is eliminated and the votes of that candidate go to other candidates based on the rankings voters gave to the losing candidate.

The post Key legislator wants runoff provision for all Mississippi elections appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Two organizations have dropped their challenges over Hinds County running out of ballots on election day. 

Numerous Hinds County voting precincts ran out of ballots during Mississippi’s statewide election on Nov. 7, leaving some voters waiting in line for hours and causing others to give up and go home. 

As ballots ran short, two groups filed separate lawsuits to try to give people more time to vote on election night. One was filed by the nonpartisan Mississippi Votes. The other was filed by the Mississippi Democratic Party.

In the Democratic Party’s lawsuit, a chancery judge ordered all Hinds County polling places to remain open an extra hour, until 8 p.m. The state Republican Party filed an emergency appeal to the Mississippi Supreme Court and asked the state’s highest court to overturn the order.

But the state Supreme Court did not rule on the GOP’s motion before the Democratic Party on Nov. 8 filed a motion to dismiss the case. 

READ MORE: Hinds County ballot shortages cause legal mess on Election Day

In the Mississippi Votes lawsuit, a special judge appointed by the state Supreme Court’s chief justice said specific precincts, could  remain open until every voter in line at 7 p.m. had a chance to cast a ballot. But this is what state law already requires at precincts.

Mississippi Votes appealed this ruling to the Mississippi Supreme Court. But the organization on Nov. 13 filed a motion to dismiss its appeal, which Presiding Justice Jim Kitchens granted that same day. 

The respective dismissals essentially end all pending lawsuits related to the Hinds County ballot shortages. However, individual candidates could bring their own election challenges over the results and petition courts for relief over the ballot issues. 

The Election Day issues in the state’s most populous county is highly unlikely to impact statewide elections such as the governor’s race where Republican Gov. Tate Reeves defeated Democratic challenger Brandon Presley. 

But it could make a difference in other elections such as the Central District Public Service Commission race, which remained neck-and-neck with the DeKeither Stamps, the Democratic nominee, having a slight lead over Brent Bailey, the Republican incumbent. 

State law requires counties certify election results by Friday, Nov. 17. 

The post Lawsuits dropped over Hinds County ballot shortages appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The post Marshall Ramsey: State of State appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Grace Shelby-Wells darts about her south Jackson boutique of fashion, jewelry and hand-crafted items multi-tasking with a smile, and well, with grace. 

She stops, looks around, lights a few candles to set a warm, welcoming mood, then begins arranging a display of colorful Fall hues. 

“For about 20 years, I was a marketing executive assistant for a wonderful company,” said Shelby-Wells. “But you know, I’ve always had an artist’s mentality.”

” And this,” she says, with a sweep of her hand, “has been my dream. I’ve always loved being creative and this dream here just kept being put on the back burner. It was in the background, but never far from my mind, always.”

“Truth be told, there was that part of me that honestly felt being an artist, creating and decorating wouldn’t get me paid. So, you do grown-up things. Get a good job, get married, have kids. And life does get in the way. And still…,” she trails into silence. 

But the smile comes back full force.

“So, fast forward. After many, many years, I decided at the top of this year to push forward no matter what. Fear, no matter. Anxiety, no matter, I would push forward and follow my dream. It empowered me. Like an elephant, strong; a determined, regal creature and that’s how I felt inside. It was time for me to move forward. Remember, an elephant never forgets. Thus, you know… The Elephant’s Trunk.”

Shelby-Wells’ boutique offers an array of fashion, jewelry and hand-crafted, decorative items. The business is located at 2570 N. Siwell Road in south Jackson.

The post The Elephant’s Trunk appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The post Marshall Ramsey: Chopped appeared first on Mississippi Today.

College football’s crazy season – the one in which we watch as our institutions of higher learning play an expensive game of musical coaches – is off and running. Already, the 2023 crazy season has gone slap-dab insane.

On Saturday night, Texas A & M pummeled Mississippi State 51-10 with its third string quarterback accounting for four touchdowns.

Nevertheless, on Sunday, Texas A & M fired football coach Jimbo Fisher, which means the Aggies must pay off the $76 million remaining on his contract. A & M’s football program, fueled by Texas oil money, will pay Fisher more than $200,000 a day over the next few years not to coach. How insane is that?

Monday morning began with the news Mississippi State has fired its coach Zach Arnett 10 games into his first season. The Bulldogs are 4-6 and have lost three straight. Arnett’s buyout is a reported $4 million.

The two buyouts, so drastically different in enormity, are also different in another important aspect. Fisher will be paid in full no matter whether he takes another coaching job. However, if Arnett takes another job, his new salary will be subtracted from his MSU buyout. In other words, in today’s world of NCAA Power Five conference football, State’s buyout of Arnett is chump change. Not so with Texas A & M, no matter how many oil wells Aggie alumni own.

So, what happens next?

Today is Nov. 13. The NCAA transfer portal will open on Dec. 4. Schools can begin signing recruits on Dec. 20.  

There will be an urge to hire quickly with those two dates in mind. But, as Lee Corso says so often, “Not so fast my friend…” If we’ve learned anything in the Jimbo Fisher and Zach Arnett sagas, it is this: There is an age-old proverb that goes “haste makes waste.” It applies in college football.

First, let’s go back to the crazy season of 2020-21. Fisher’s Aggies had finished 9-1 and No. 4 in the country during the Covid-ravaged season. Fisher was already making over $7 million a year, but the LSU job was open and there were reports that the Tigers wanted Fisher. So, the Aggies, in essence, panicked and signed Fisher to the 10-year, $95 million extension.

How did that work out?

Mississippi State’s rush to judgment came last December. Granted, the Bulldogs were in a bind because of Mike Leach’s death, the transfer portal, the upcoming signing day and bowl preparations. Four days after Leach’s death, Arnett was promoted to head coach.

We could debate at length whether or not State should have moved so fast. What we can’t debate is this: Not quite 11 months after Arnett’s hiring, State saw fit to fire him.

Would State have been better suited to let Arnett serve as interim coach through the bowl season and then hired a proven head coach – say, Tulane’s Willie Fritz? I’d say, yes.

Arnett, who had never been a head coach, faced a difficult task, and he didn’t make it any easier when he decided to scrap Leach’s offense and hire new offensive coaches. Never mind that he had a senior quarterback threatening to break every passing record known to the SEC. Will Rogers, that quarterback, was steeped in Leach’s Air Raid offense and surrounded by players recruited to play in that offense. Nevertheless, Arnett switched to a more run-oriented offense. You ask me, that was the glaring error of his short tenure. It did not work. Granted, injuries to quarterback Rogers and a running back have hurt. What’s more, State’s defense regressed this season.

You could also make the argument – in fact, Lane Kiffin did make it in his weekly Monday press conference – that State rushed to judgment in firing Arnett before his first season was complete. Said Kiffin, “It’s not like it used to be. It used to be that you had time to build things. You had years to sign classes and see them develop before people make a decision. … To get let go 10 games into your first season when you get hired late, I don’t know how you do that that fast.”

Kiffin is right about that. But patience became a thing of the past when schools began paying millions and millions of dollars with the expectation of immediate results.

I have no idea what direction State will go in replacing Arnett. Whoever comes next faces a gargantuan task. Obviously, the talent level at State isn’t up to the SEC level in a league that adds Oklahoma and Texas next season. NIL and the transfer portal have virtually insured that the rich will only get richer. And that the annual crazy season will only get crazier.

We can only imagine how much Texas A & M will spend next.

The post The crazy season is already insane, witness Texas A & M, Miss. State appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Nearly every charter school saw its letter grade decline this school year, according to state test results that measure student performance.

Accountability grades are based on state test results and other metrics, given on an A-F scale. Of the seven charter schools that received grades this year, one got a grade for the first time. For three more, this was their second year in the accountability system.

Charter schools are free public schools that do not report to a school board like traditional public schools. Instead, they are governed by the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board. They have more flexibility for teachers and administrators when it comes to student instruction and are funded by local school districts based on enrollment. Charter schools can more easily apply to open in a D or F rated district under the premise they will provide another option to students in struggling public schools.  

RePublic Schools, which operates Smilow Collegiate, Smilow Prep, and Reimagine Prep in Jackson, saw the biggest declines from their 2022 performance. In a statement, the school network said it holds itself accountable for its performance and is reviewing the data to make changes in instructional practice. It also added that these scores are not representative of the schools’ dedication to their students. 

Angela Bass, executive director of the Jackson RePublic Schools, declined to elaborate further.

Leflore Legacy Executive Director Tamala Boyd Shaw said the school’s F grade was “not what we had wanted.”

The sixth through eighth grade school in the Mississippi Delta had students take the science assessment for the first time this year, something Shaw said contributed to the decline from the D they received last year. She also pointed to the fact that the sixth grade students often come to the school several years behind, and it only has one year to get them up to speed. 

“We want to definitely meet the needs of all of our scholars, and we’ll just continue to make whatever significant shifts (are necessary) … so that we not only see growth in our scholars, but proficiency,” she said.

The Charter School Authorizer Board is digging into the data to identify the school’s needs and see how it can provide support to school leaders, according to its Executive Director Lisa Karmacharya.

“Of course, I think we’re disappointed that the scores are not better than they were, but we also are encouraged by the additional infusion of monies (federal pandemic relief money) and the support that I think can come from the charter association,” she said.

While Clarksdale Collegiate, a K-8 school in the Mississippi Delta, received the same letter grade as last year, it was the only charter school that saw its accountability point value increase. Its 2023 score was two points shy of the cutoff for a C.

“(We) definitely wanted to be higher than a D but (are) pleased to see that growth, especially when you add the amount of growth that our kids made in each of the subject areas around proficiency,” said Amanda Johnson, the school’s executive director.

Johnson attributed the school’s improved performance in part to an additional focus on literacy. She said they opened up the library two nights a week and spent additional time with third graders preparing for their reading test.

Rachel Canter, executive director of Mississippi First, an education policy organization that helped craft the state’s charter school law in 2013, said charter schools in Mississippi are primarily serving the state’s “most vulnerable” students. Canter characterized those students as more likely to need special education services and have issues with absenteeism. 

“That means that (charter schools) are going to have a harder, longer climb to recovery than many of our other school districts and the children that they’re serving,” she said. “We know that charter schools signed up to do that job – it’s a job they committed to do, and they’ve got to do that job.”

Canter said that while the causes of the declines vary at each school, schools need to focus on moving kids all the way up to proficiency, not just out of the lowest-scoring groups. She also said several schools need to focus on addressing chronic absenteeism. 

She doesn’t expect parent demand for charter schools to be immediately impacted by these results, largely because charter parents felt “left behind” by the public school system. 

“Over time, parents are going to want to see how their child improved, but I don’t think that’s going to change overnight because I think the parents that have their children in charter schools recognize what challenges they're facing,” she said.

The post Most charter schools see performance scores decline appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The Central District public service commissioner’s race remained too close to call Monday — nearly a week after the Nov. 7 Mississippi general election — although challenger DeKeither Stamps still held a slight lead over incumbent Brent Bailey.

The Associated Press had yet to call the race early Monday afternoon with 96% of votes counted, and reported Democrat Stamps with 130,887 votes, or 50.6%, to Bailey’s 127,628 votes, or 49.4%. Stamps’ lead of now over 3,200 votes has continued to grow slightly as vote tallies trickled in over the last few days.

Friday is the deadline for counties to provide certified election results to the secretary of state’s office.

Stamps said the Veteran’s Day holiday had slowed vote counting in some counties but he was hoping for resolution soon.

“We’ve got folks out at different counties,” Stamps, a Marine Corps and U.S. Army combat veteran who has been serving in the state House of Representatives, said. “We’ve got lawyers ready. We’re prepared for anything. I’m an old war guy. We kill ants with a sledgehammer.”

Stamps said it looked like “It would take a miracle” for Bailey to overcome his lead with the remaining uncounted, absentee and affidavit ballots, but “I believe that miracles can come true — it’s a miracle that 130,000 people felt so strong about us to vote for us even with all those mailouts and ads with false information.”

Bailey said some Rankin County votes were coming in Monday that should help him gain ground on Stamps but said, “At this point the numbers I’ve seen are not in our favor — at this point.”

“It’s a challenging district for a Republican to win,” said Bailey, who is finishing his first term on the three-member commission that oversees public utilities and sets the rates they charge customers.

The two fought a heated race that saw some mudslinging, leaving some hard feelings with both candidates.

Stamps said a Washington, D.C., PAC dumped $250,000 in attack ads against him late in the race.

“There are obviously folks in D.C. that don’t like us,” Stamps said. “A quarter of a million dollars — why is Washington, D.C., that interested in a Mississippi PSC race?”

Bailey said: “Politics is politics, but to be labeled corrupt and have all these allegations against you — I take that personally, when you know good and damned well it’s false.”

The other two PSC seats were decided in the August primary, with Republican state Rep. Chris Brown winning the Northern District and Republican challenger Wayne Carr winning the Southern District seat.

Tuesday’s election also determined the three seats on the Transportation Commission.

Incumbent Northern District Commissioner John Caldwell was unopposed. Incumbent Willie Simmons was reelected to a second term as Central District commissioner and longtime state House Transportation Committee Chairman Charles Busby won the Southern District transportation commissioner’s job.

Incumbent Democrat Willie Simmons defeated Republican Ricky Pennington Jr. to win a second term as the Central District transportation commissioner. With 94% of precincts reporting, Simmons won over 54% of the vote. Simmons previously served in the Mississippi Legislature.

In the Southern District transportation commissioner race, three-term state Rep. Charles Busby, a Republican, defeated independent Steven Griffin pulling in over 72% of the vote with 95% of precincts reporting. Busby has served as the House Transportation Committee chairman.

Busby will replace retiring Commissioner Tom King.

The post Stamps leads Bailey, but heated Central PSC race remains too close to call appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Nov. 13, 1999

A jury in Belzoni, Mississippi, convicted three men of manslaughter in the April 12, 1970, killing of Rainey Pool, a 54-year-old sharecropper. 

When the one-armed man, who had been drinking, happened to enter a “whites-only” bar in Midnight, Mississippi, a mob beat him unconscious and threw him into the Sunflower River, where he died. 

The killers each received the maximum of 20 years behind bars.

The post On this day in 1999 appeared first on Mississippi Today.