‘Tate Reeves will not tackle corruption’: Brandon Presley unveils ethics package, slams governor for welfare scandal
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Brandon Presley unveiled his proposed ethics reforms Tuesday on the south steps of the state Capitol, where the heat and humidity were nearly as blistering as his attack on incumbent Republican Gov. Tate Reeves.
Presley, the northern district public service commissioner, said revelations of $77 million in misspent welfare funds have “exposed a deeper infection of corruption in state government.” He laid out what he called a corrupt system where lobbyists and people close to politicians are rewarded, and average Mississippians have no recourse.
And the Democratic candidate said the welfare scandal occurred during his opponent’s lieutenant governorship, when Reeves presided over the Senate that had oversight responsibilities of state spending.
Presley laid out several ethics changes he’d work to implement on his first day as governor if elected, adding that he would call a special session to propose the reforms. Specific ideas Presley pitched on Tuesday include:
- Limiting the gifts that politicians could receive from lobbyists.
- More timely reporting of lobbyists’ expenditures on politicians.
- Preventing politicians from receiving campaign contributions while the Legislature is in session.
- Requiring a politician to wait one year after leaving office before becoming a lobbyist.
- Prohibiting corporations from making campaign contributions and limiting the size of contributions from others.
- Ensuring the Legislature is covered by open meetings laws.
- Increasing penalties for violations of lobbying and campaign finance laws.
TRANSCRIPT: Read Brandon Presley’s full May 16, 2023, speech
During his speech, Presley dwelled several times on Reeves’ role in the welfare scandal.
Presley retold the story of his upbringing, saying his late single mother had to have the water cut off to pay the family’s bill. He used the anecdote to underscore how millions in welfare funds that were supposed to help struggling Mississippians were instead squandered by state government officials. He pointed out that the funds were instead used to help former NFL legend Brett Favre build a volleyball court at the University of Southern Mississippi and to reward Paul Lacoste, who Presley called Reeves’ personal trainer who taught Reeves “to do jumping jacks.”
He said the state is now trying to recoup welfare funds that Favre and Lacoste received.
“Millions of taxpayer dollars were stolen from programs to support people just like my momma, and mommas and daddies and grandparents all across Mississippi,” Presley said. “And they went to celebrities, a volleyball court, the governor’s personal trainer and all sorts of pet projects … This type of corruption and this good ole boy network makes me sick at my stomach.”
Reeves has maintained he did not know about the welfare scandal when he was lieutenant governor and played no part in the diversion of welfare funds for the volleyball court, for Lacoste or for other expenditures that state and federal prosecutors have questioned.
READ MORE: Gov. Tate Reeves inspired welfare payment targeted in civil suit, texts show
Presley pointed out that while most other states limit the size of campaign contributions, Mississippi only does so for corporations, which are limited to giving candidates $1,000 per year. When it was pointed out that he had received large donations, including a $250,000 contribution from the political action committee of the Mississippi Hospital Association, Presley said those were current “rules of the road,” but that he believes they should be changed.
While Reeves has out-raised Presley in terms of campaign contributions thanks to multiple large donors, Presley said the $146,399 in campaign contributions of less than $200 each that he received in the first four months of the year is a record amount and an indication of the broad support he has across the state.
During the same time period, Reeves received $25,371 in contributions of less than $200 each.
“Tate Reeves will not tackle corruption. Let me say that again, he will not tackle corruption,” Presley said. “He doesn’t have the guts to do it. It will make too many of his buddies mad and it will upset the system that he has benefited from for the entire time he’s been in state service.”
When asked how hard it would be to convince the Legislature to enact his ethics package, Presley said he believes lawmakers would cooperate. He said the special session would place a spotlight on the issue and make it more difficult for legislators to reject the package.
The Presley campaign documented almost $22,000 in gifts from lobbyists that Reeves has received during his political career. The campaign also pointed out that Reeves committed in the past to lobbying reform but did not make any effort to change lobbying laws as governor.
READ MORE: Reeves far outpaces Presley in total campaign cash, but recent fundraising is competitive
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USM names Lance Nail provost despite concerns on campus
President Joe Paul announced at a meeting of select faculty and students on Tuesday that he had picked a new provost at University of Southern Mississippi: Lance Nail, the candidate whose checkered past sparked student protests, more than 1,000 signatures on a change.org petition and letters from faculty opposing his hiring.
The selection is now pending approval from the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees, which meets later this week, a university spokesperson confirmed to Mississippi Today.
If approved, Nail will have significant power at USM as the provost oversees a large swath of the university from educational programs, admissions and health services. Prior to the announcement, students and faculty questioned Nail’s status as one of four finalists due to media reports of his time as a dean at Texas Tech University.
In one instance, a Title IX investigation found Nail reportedly mishandled a report of sexual misconduct at Texas Tech; he later resigned after a panel determined he had broken its grading policies.
That revelation touched a nerve on campus where students had called on the university to adopt a zero-tolerance policy toward sexual assault a year and a half ago.
“It’s just bad optics,” said Jeremy Scott, a faculty senator and the president of USM’s American Association of University Professors chapter, which wrote Paul a letter urging him not to hire Nail.
But at the 10 a.m. meeting at the Thad Cochran Center, multiple attendees said Paul told the audience of roughly 40 high-level administrators, faculty and students that he spent three weeks checking Nail’s references and learned there was more to the story.
After Nail resigned from Texas Tech, Paul said Nail filed a complaint which led the university to offer him a settlement while he was negotiating for a position as dean at San Diego State University, Denis Wiesenburg, the outgoing president of the faculty senate, told Mississippi Today.
“And so the San Diego State people had full access to all the information surrounding the events at Texas Tech, more than what was reported in the media,” said Wiesenburg, who added he worked with Nail when he was dean of USM’s College of Business. “He was able to secure another position at a great university when all the information was available to those making the decision.”
As for the time that Nail changed students’ grades, Scott said that Paul told attendees Nail did so because “it was gonna have a devastating impact on the future of the students” if they did not pass.
Paul’s “point was that (Nail) was student-centered and that was one of the main things of why they liked the guy,” Scott said.
Wiesenburg said when Paul met with the faculty senate executive committee in early May, they recommended that if Paul wanted to hire Nail, he hold a meeting with the faculty senate.
Scott said it seemed like Paul wanted to get ahead of the news. Many people had already left for vacation as Tuesday is the last work day before summer break, which made Scott feel like “they’re sneaking it in.”
“I asked if he was prepared for the scandal, cause it’s, you know, there’s going to be some,” Scott said. “He said, yeah, that he was following shared governance and that’s what the search committee recommended.”
Paul also said he planned to meet with Emily Goldsmith, a graduate student who helped organize a protest against Nail, last week and plans to speak with them further about this decision.
After Goldsmith was quoted in a student newspaper article about the protest, they received an email from Chuck Scianna, a powerful USM donor and a “lifelong friend” of Paul’s who had collaborated with Nail on the construction of the building for the College of Business, which is called “Scianna Hall.”
“If you are going to protest the interviewing of Dr. Nail, should you not protest Dr. Paul and the search committee, the search firm and everyone else involved in the selection process,” Scianna wrote to Goldsmith on April 12. “Should we just turn the university over to you and your group to hire the provost and run the university?”
At the time, Scianna’s $6-million donation was the USM Foundation’s largest one-time gift from an alumnus. Nail lists the project as one of his significant professional accomplishments on the first page of his resume.
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Chris McDaniel’s reports deny accurate public accounting of campaign money
After six campaign finance filings — including amended, amended-amended, termination-amended, and even one the-computer-temporarily-ate-it reports — it’s still unclear exactly how much money longtime state Sen. Chris McDaniel has raised or now has for his lieutenant governor campaign.
McDaniel’s reports for his campaign and a PAC he created last year have been confusing and confounding, at times leaving voters in the dark on the sources of hundreds of thousands of dollars and continuing to contain double-reported donations and amounts and dates that don’t add up.
His opponent, incumbent Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, claims McDaniel has violated state campaign finance reporting laws and has a complaint pending with the attorney general’s office. But Mississippi’s campaign finance laws are seldom enforced.
Hosemann’s camp claims McDaniel since his first report in January has been trying to pad his numbers and make it appear he has raised far more than he has. McDaniel, who has served 16 years in the state Legislature, has provided little explanation, but last week claimed vindication after Secretary of State Michael Watson said a computer glitch appeared to cause part of McDaniel’s latest filing not to post last week.
But his latest filing continues to double-report donations, count legally questionable money McDaniel says he has returned in its bottom line, is filed for a campaign committee Watson says hasn’t been legally registered with the state, and generally defies an accurate public accounting of his finances.
Here are some highlights of McDaniel’s filings to date for his campaign, and his Hold the Line PAC:
Amended-amended report
In McDaniel’s first finance report for Hold the Line, it showed a cash balance for the end of 2021 of $473,962, with no accounting of where the money came from as required by law. But McDaniel didn’t register the PAC as required by law with the state until summer of 2022.
After questions from Mississippi Today on how a PAC raised hundreds of thousands before it was created, McDaniel said the PAC made a “clerical error” and filed an amended report. But the amended report still showed an unexplained cash balance for 2021 of $236,981, as did a third “amended-amended” report the PAC filed later the same day.
Over the limit?
After initially failing to disclose the full amount, McDaniel’s Hold the Line PAC eventually reported it had received $475,000 from a Virginia dark-money nonprofit corporation, then funneled $465,000 of the money to McDaniel’s campaign. But Mississippi law prohibits corporations from donating more than $1,000 a year to a candidate or PAC.
READ MORE: Hundreds of thousands of dollars unaccounted, questionable in McDaniel’s campaign report
Returning questionable donations
McDaniel in April said his campaign returned $465,000 to his PAC, and that his PAC returned $460,000 to the dark-money nonprofit corporation and the PAC was being terminated. McDaniel hasn’t accounted for the remaining $15,000 he reported his PAC accepted from the American Exceptionalism Institute, Inc.
The American Exceptionalism Institute, Inc. is a dark money nonprofit that has contributed secretly sourced money to candidates in Nevada and Georgia, including former Sen. Kelly Loeffler and provided grants to various other groups across the country.
Double reporting
In his latest report last week for his campaign, McDaniel again listed the $465,000 donation from his PAC, despite having listed it as a donation in his report for calendar year 2022 — and despite having reported he returned the money.
In all, his campaign’s May report covering the period from January through April of 2023 included nearly $596,000 he had already listed in his report for calendar 2022. But oddly, he left some previous donations out of his double reporting. And he also included in this latest report over a dozen contributions totaling $9,800 he received in May, which are not supposed to be reported until the next report in June.
‘Termination-amended’ report
McDaniel shut down his Hold the Line PAC and filed a termination report on March 29. But on April 17, he filed a “termination-amended” report that showed it had given his campaign another $4,900.
Odd timing
Oddly, in some of his filings, McDaniel’s PAC reported it returned $460,000 to the American Exceptionalism Institute on the same day it received the second of two donations of $237,500 from AEI, in February. But McDaniel’s campaign had reported it received a total of $465,000 from his PAC in January, before the PAC would have had that much money — primarily coming from AEI — per his own reports.
The ‘Committee to Elect’
McDaniel has for his 16 years in office, including his first report as a lieutenant governor candidate, filed his state reports as a candidate, under his name. But last week, he filed a report for “The Committee to Elect Chris McDaniel.” But Secretary of State Michael Watson’s office as of Monday said, “At this time, we have not received a statement of organization from the Committee to Elect Chris McDaniel nor do our records indicate one was filed electronically …”
In a press release the True Conservatives Mississippi PAC, an anti-McDaniel PAC run by Republican operatives Josh Gregory and Quinton Dickerson, claims McDaniel violated state law by not registering the committee before taking donations. The release claims McDaniel could face hundreds of thousands in fines under state law “if the maximum of $5,000 per violation was enforced.”
Hosemann’s campaign has also questioned in its complaint to the AG the raffle of a gun by “Friends of Chris McDaniel,” which does not appear to be registered with the state as required.
The computer ate all but one page of report
Campaign finance reports for January-April were due Wednesday, May 10, and the secretary of state’s website posted them online. McDaniel’s posted report filed Tuesday, May 9, contained only a cover sheet, and no itemization of donations or spending as required. McDaniel and his campaign did not respond to questions sent Wednesday about this. On Thursday, Watson’s office said: “This is the full filing of what was received from the Committee to Elect Chris McDaniel.”
The SOS campaign finance website crashed at some point on Thursday. On Friday, Secretary of State Watson, a former lawyer for McDaniel’s failed 2014 U.S. Senate campaign when he unsuccessfully sued over results, on Friday said after investigation a “system error” appeared to be the cause of McDaniel’s itemization not showing up.
On Monday, Watson’s office said, “At this time we are only aware of it affecting one report (McDaniel’s) in this manner,” but said there have been reports from others about difficulty filing online finance reports.
READ MORE: Hosemann holds fundraiser at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago
McDaniel on social media claimed vindication over news reports about his campaign finances and in a statement to the Clarion Ledger his campaign spokeswoman said Hosemann is “trying his hardest to lie, cheat and steal his way to re-election … Now, can we get back to talking about the real issues?”
But McDaniel, who has long been a vocal champion of campaign finance transparency and reform, and his campaign have not addressed numerous questions remaining about his campaign money and claims he broke state laws.
Hosemann responded: “This newest filing is still a disaster and it is incomplete … This is either intentional misinformation to Mississippi voters or gross incompetence — and either one is problematic.”
READ MORE: Coming soon to screens near you: Mississippi election ad wars
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Family members, lawmakers fought his release. Today the convicted killer of two walked free.
Double murderer James Williams III walked free Tuesday from a Mississippi prison, despite pleas from family members and dozens of lawmakers to keep him behind bars.
The state Parole Board voted to release Williams, who was convicted in 2005 of fatally shooting his father, James Jr., and stepmother, Cindy Lassiter Mangum. He was 17 at the time of the killings in south Jackson.
Mangum’s son, Zeno, expressed disappointment at Williams’ release over the family’s objections. “Prayerfully,” he said, “I hope he has been reformed, and he’s not a problem for anybody else.”
About 15 state senators opposed the release of Williams and so did more than 30 state representatives, including House Speaker Philip Gunn, said state Sen. Angela Hill, R-Picayune.
“In the last two years, the Parole Board has released 78 murderers and eight rapists,” Hill said. “We’re supposed to be locking up the ones we’re afraid of.”
Parole Board Chairman Jeffrey Belk told Mississippi Today that he was limited in what he could share about Williams’ case, “but I can tell you all facts and information was considered and he received the majority number of votes required to be paroled.” He said the parole received no objection from the family or others.
Williams’ lawyer, Jake Howard, called his client “an exceptional candidate for parole. He has served over 20 years in jail and prison — more than half his life — for the tragic crimes he committed on December 28, 2002, when he was just 17 years old. Since then, he has worked tirelessly to better himself and atone for his crimes.”
Originally given two life without parole sentences, Williams, now 38, qualified for parole after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that juveniles should be eligible for parole.
A May 1 letter signed by 27 state representatives asked the Parole Board to rescind its decision as it has done in other cases.
“The very nature of his crimes shows not only his will to carry out the murders, but the premeditation stage of planning the poison first, then moving on to shooting them and finally the stage of dismemberment and disposal of their bodies to avoid detection,” they wrote. “No crime of passion can be claimed, no momentary lapse of control, and no black scenarios.”
Howard pointed to Williams’ achievements as proof of change: a GED and a bachelor’s degree in Christian ministry as well as completing numerous other educational and rehabilitation programs.
“James has devoted himself to serving God and his fellow inmates,” Howard said. “He has been affiliated with MDOC’s faith-based programs since 2008, began tutoring students in 2012, became a field minister in 2018, and served as the Minister of Music for Parchman’s Koinonia Church from 2020 until 2022.”
At that time, Williams voluntarily agreed to transfer to the Marshall County Correctional Facility as a missionary and field minister, served as pastor for the Living Waters Baptist Church, taught a “Fundamentals of the Faith” class and provided counseling services to other inmates, Howard said.
Williams has received glowing letters of support for his release from chaplains, the seminary director and the Parole Board’s own psychologist as well as dozens of others, Howard said. Upon release, Williams hopes to serve as a chaplain at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility.
Lawmakers complaining about Williams’ release are vowing to bring reform. “You either want to get violent crime under control, or you don’t,” Hill said.
State Rep. Becky Currie, R-Brookhaven, wonders why Williams served only a decade for each murder while she had to fight for two years to win the release of a local man dying of lung cancer, who had received two life sentences on drug charges. Months after his release, he died.
“My God, we have a murderer being released versus someone on his deathbed,” she said. “That’s a problem for me.”
Asked about Williams serving as a pastor now, she replied, “I pray that nothing bad happens, but we’re going to be watching.”
She said she believes those chairing the Parole Board should have law enforcement experience, because “prisoners are very cunning and will make you believe anything.”
Belk, who was appointed by Gov. Tate Reeves, worked for 24 years as a project procurement manager for Chevron. He has defended his lack of experience in law enforcement or corrections.
“I feel my corporate background helps bring structure to the facilitation and structuring meetings, working through legal and audit issues, and building a team environment,” he said. “Having a board with diverse backgrounds allows myself and others to bring a unique perspective to the table when making tough decisions.”
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Welfare department removes burdensome requirement from child care program
Mississippi no longer requires mothers to sue their child’s father for support in order to qualify for child care assistance, Mississippi Department of Human Services announced Monday.
The requirement served as one of the biggest barriers to parents attempting to secure the child care voucher, which helps working parents place their kids at one of hundreds of participating providers.
“Accessibility of quality child care strengthens families, enriches learning, and undergirds our workforce. This policy change is a step towards allowing parents to fully participate in the workforce and is an investment in families, communities, and the economy,” MDHS Director Bob Anderson said in a statement.
A group of governor-appointed early childhood administrators recommended that Gov. Tate Reeves change the rule over a year ago. Mississippi was one of only 13 states that imposed the requirement, which forced custodial parents to participate in the state’s troubled Child Support Enforcement program.
Because the welfare department is an agency under the governor’s office, Reeves had the power to make the change without action by the Legislature.
“This policy deterred many single moms from applying for many valid reasons, ranging from informal payment agreements being jeopardized by court interference to avoiding abusive interactions,” said Carol Burnett, director of the Mississippi Low Income Child Care Initiative. “The removal of this policy is a huge benefit for single moms, for their children, for providers and employers, and for all of us.”
Burnett’s organization had been advocating for this change for nearly 20 years.
“Child care is more than a critical support service for an individual family, it is a lifeline for the entire state’s economy,” said Matt Williams, Mississippi Low Income Child Care Initiative’s policy director. “Mississippi has one of the highest rates of single parent households and the highest rate of women breadwinners in the nation. The importance of access to affordable child care cannot be overstated.”
The child support cooperation requirement is still in place for parents seeking food assistance from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or cash assistance through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. When child support is collected from a parent whose child is or was ever on TANF, the state takes the child support payments to pay itself back for any cash assistance it provided to the custodial parent.
In 2021, MDHS created a “pass through” so that custodial parents could keep the first $100 in child support paid each month before the state recouped the rest.
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Judge won’t block law creating separate court district in Jackson
A Hinds County judge on Monday denied a preliminary injunction to block House Bill 1020 from becoming law.
Chancery Judge Dewayne Thomas issued an order and memorandum explaining findings of fact and conclusions of law in response to a request by three plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the appointment of temporary special judges in the Hinds County Circuit Court under HB 1020.
“As a lifelong resident of Hinds County and a faithful voter in local elections, this Chancellor is keenly aware of the Plaintiff’s expressed feelings regarding the appointment of special circuit judges and the creation of a CCID court,” he wrote in his memorandum. “However, disappointment and frustration with the legislative process does not create a judicial right to relief.”
HB 1020, which is set to go into effect July 1,creates a separate police force and court system within Jackson and directs white state officials to appoint judges instead of having them elected by residents of the majority-Black city. Residents have raised concerns and Jackson lawmakers have said they were not part of crafting the legislation.
Thomas ruled that the plaintiffs did not provide enough evidence that the appointment of temporary judges within HB 1020 and establishment of the Capitol Complex Improvement District court are unconstitutional “beyond a reasonable doubt,” according to his memorandum.
He also didn’t find that the plaintiffs proved that an injunction is needed to prevent irreparable harm, according to the memorandum, saying that the challenged provisions of HB 1020 are not unconstitutional in nature and, therefore, can’t create any constitutional rights violations.
Thomas also found that the plaintiffs didn’t give enough evidence that they would suffer harm without an injunction and that injunctive relief is consistent with public interest, according to the memorandum.
To approve a preliminary injunction, the plaintiffs must show evidence of all four factors.
The ruling came days after he heard arguments about the constitutionality of the bill.
In the order, Thomas said the lawsuit is now fully ripe for appellate review.
The plaintiffs are represented by the ACLU of Mississippi, the Mississippi Center for Justice, the MacArthur Justice Center and the Legal Defense and Educational Fund. In a Monday afternoon statement, the plaintiffs said they plan to appeal the dismissal of HB 1020 to the Mississippi Supreme Court.
HB 1020 has also been challenged in a lawsuit in federal court.
On Friday, Judge Henry Wingate issued a temporary restraining order in that lawsuit to prevent the Mississippi Supreme Court Justice from appointing judges under the law. A hearing is scheduled for May 22, and, similarly, the plaintiffs are asking the judge for a preliminary injunction.
That lawsuit argues that HB 1020 violates the U.S. Constitution for race discrimination by creating a “separate and unequal policing structure and criminal justice system by which no other residents of the state are subjected.”
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On this day in 1970
MAY 15, 1970
Mississippi law enforcement officers opened fire on the Jackson State University campus, killing two Black students, Phillip Lafayette Gibbs and James Earl Green.
Police insisted the students fired first, but no evidence was found to confirm this. The killings took place 11 days after the slayings of four students at Kent State University in Ohio.
Author Margaret Walker Alexander, a JSU professor, wrote in her journal, “Thursday night all hell broke loose. The Jackson city white police and a special unit of Highway Patrolmen (Ku Klux Klan in uniform) went out to the Jackson State campus and shot without warning into the west wing of the women’s dormitory breaking all the front windows — killing two students and wounding eleven others — four critically — cutting the telephone wires — shooting into the building where all the wounded girls were shot — splattering the place with pools of blood and leaving the bullet holes to prove where the ricocheted bullets of great magnitude had torn the walls.”
A historical marker memorializes the tragedy.
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