While it is true that in relatively recent times the position of Jackson mayor has often attracted 10 or more candidates, this time around the field is growing much faster than usual. Here we are still in the beginning of October and at least seven individuals have let it be known that they plan to challenge Chokwe Antar Lumumba for the office. Delano Funches, Tim Henderson, James Hopkins, John Horhn, Kim Wade, Marcus Wallace, and Albert Wilson have been publicly identified, others not so publicly.
We refer to this as a haste because the mayoral election is not scheduled until the spring of 2025. As a matter of fact, the deadline for qualifying is not until January 31, 2025. Some of the candidates have already been running two months. Thus, this hasting to announce and the accompanying campaigning can cause confusion or distract from the special election for the ward two city council seat and the federal election for president, senate, and house of representatives. Both of those elections are now on-going. The question is why the haste.
On the one hand, most citizens realize that Jackson’s predicament is due in large part to the fact that there has been a mass fleeing of wealthy individuals and businesses from Jackson since Black people began to dominate the political scene. The exodus affects the city’s revenue and the city’s ability to maintain itself and provide services to the residents. To pretend that something is wrong with the Black officials feeds into racist mythology and will make it difficult for any Black person to successfully govern and remain in office. The other thing that most citizens realize is that white Republican state officials have launched a war on the city in terms of diminished allocation of funds and the outright seizure of city property and facilities. To ignore these truths suggests that one is on the same page as conservative, racist proponents.
On the other hand, one is already hearing that Jackson needs different leadership. If that statement is allowed to go unchallenged, the next thing that one is likely to hear is a “superman” among the candidates, like Donald Trump, proclaiming that he has the solutions to what ails Jackson. Simultaneously, some people have made the next jump and suggested that what Jackson needs is white leadership.
When one considers the two assertions – the superman among the candidates and the white leadership – it is not likely that they will be one and the same. Because white people constitute only 15% of Jackson’s population, a white savior is not likely to emerge. Instead, some Black candidate is likely to “volunteer” as the water carrier, enabling white “remote control” of Jackson.
This is certainly a danger that may lurk in the large number of candidates who hasten to get in the race. The “shadow Republican” or compliant, professed Democrat may feel the need to get in the race early so that conservative whites know early that they have someone in the race; so that they can begin early to gin-up the media support needed to help persuade unsuspected voters join the candidate’s team. Lest one thinks that this is a far-fetched idea, he/she might check the history when former mayor Harvey Johnson revealed that one of the then Democratic candidates was actually a Republican. That same candidate, since losing the mayoral election against Chokwe Lumumba, has been quite active as a Republican. Thus, it is not difficult to imagine how he would have governed Jackson at the behest of conservative Republicans. Furthermore, if there was a plan back then, why could there not be one today.
It is a difficult task to successfully guard against candidates who are narcissistic or super egotistical, but without the needed skills and competence to successfully govern the city. It is equally difficult, but even more important to successfully guard against “shadow Republicans” and/or those who have a history of selling out to or taking bribes from conservative white Republicans. Yet, that is the task before us as voters. There are among the candidates, individuals with such reputations and candidates who are super egotistical, but shallow. We have to do the research and make the right decisions to eliminate them.
We should not allow the flood of candidates, nor the haste at which they build teams of supporters, to prevent us from making the right choice. Jackson’s citizens have the right to have leaders of their own free and informed choice. Take the time and do the right thing. The election is nearly six months away. We do not need another Dale Danks or Kane Ditto, nor do we need any Black candidate who is a cheap imitation or willing servant of theirs.
