OPINION: Which mayoral candidates discuss the real truths behind Jackson’s issues?

Whether it is on the agenda of the public forums, the media campaign ads, or on the candidates’ websites, there is a lot of talk about the city’s infrastructure, crime, and the need for economic development. There is also discussion about the state’s willingness to supplant or overrun what has traditionally been municipal services. 

The question is: “What are mayoral candidates saying about these issues? Are any of them looking at treating the causes or simply riding the wave of what is popular or being bantered about? 

It is unfortunate that much of the discussion we hear is based upon uninformed opinions, propaganda, and outright lies, which will continue to do us a disservice if that is what we rely on in choosing our leaders and solving the city’s problems. For that reason, we decided to examine five of the key issues here today, paying especial attention to the roots of each.

The matter of Jackson’s massive infrastructure problem is something that did not just happen overnight. It is the result of many years of neglect. For decades, city leaders allowed things to gradually deteriorate. The further truth is that it did not just happen in Jackson. 

The Black Scholar magazine lamented in the 1970s that newly-elected Black mayors around the country were inheriting poor and declining cities. Like so many other cities, Jackson’s current population finds itself too fiscally strapped to solve the problem anytime soon. Because we are talking about so many streets, water lines, and sewage lines, it would take years to complete the job, even if the money was available. 

Rather than admit and talk about it from that standpoint, many mayoral candidates choose to point fingers at others and offer a quick fix that is sure to be inadequate. Which ones have you heard offer real solutions when it comes to the problem? 

A second issue about which not as much is said is the outward migration of middle to upper-income Black and white residents. This is a major issue because it weakens the city’s tax base, rendering the city less able to care for its infrastructure and other municipal services. As long as the outward migration continues, this economic issue will persist. 

What many candidates decline to seriously discuss is the fact that most of the white migration, which we use to call “White Flight,” is based on the reality that many white citizens refuse to remain in areas run by Black officials. Furthermore, the manifestations of white supremacy have caused many Black residents to join the trek out of these areas. When was the last time you heard a candidate discuss this issue which so seriously hampers Jackson?

Perhaps even more than the infrastructure or falling city revenue, there has been talk about crime. Of course, they all want to rid the city of crime. To their credit, several have advocated working directly with young people who are either past or potential offenders. Several have advocated more mental health and anger management treatments. Several have also advocated the expansion of economic opportunities for those who are without. 

On the other side of the ledger, not enough has been said about or proposed for changing the “gun culture” plaguing America. Not enough has been said about the growing discrepancy between the “haves” and “have nots” and the policies and justifications used to maintain the divisions. Finally, there is not much said about the manner in which the crime issue is overblown in Jackson compared to areas that are not as Black populated or Black administered.

Fourthly, there is the issue of economic development. An underlying truth is that large companies producing or distributing goods and services and providing major economic development are generally attracted by governmental entities. When considering central Mississippi, the Nissan plant is located in Madison County, not Jackson; the Continental Tire plant is near Clinton, not Jackson; Costco decided to settle in Madison County; and it is no coincidence the Outlet Malls of Mississippi were built in Rankin County. 

As has been the case in many other urban areas with large Black populations and/or Black administrations, white officials have generally promoted economic development close to but not inside the cities themselves. This has helped improve the public schools and local services in those white communities, while the city, which is left to Black people, falls by the wayside. 

Mayoral candidates must admit, discuss, and come up with strategies to change that narrative if we are to ever have true economic development for the city of Jackson. When have you heard such proposals or discussions by the candidates?

This brings us to our fifth and final issue, although there are others that can be explored. The fifth is the aggressive, systematic manner in which state leaders have sought to take control of facilities and services proper to the city of Jackson. This matter involves, but is more than the relationship established between city government and state leaders. Individuals keeping abreast of the news realize there is an ongoing battle by the state to take control of Jackson’s airport and water and sewage systems. The legislature has already passed the laws. It is now a matter of the courts reaching a decision. 

Those in the know realize the state has already moved the state tax commission, the bureau of vital statistics, the state crime laboratory, the highway safety patrol, and who knows what else. It is clear and fairly common knowledge that all of this stems from the fact that Jackson has become an overwhelmingly Black city, and that many like the MAGA (Make America Great Again) Republicans, cannot stand that reality. 

The question, therefore, becomes not whether the next mayor should fight but how? The choices are do we elect a mayor who understands the fight and is willing to engage, or elect one who is willing to give up even more, thinking that there will be an end to the demands if they concede one more time?

We as citizens need to be discerning and decisive as we listen to the mayoral candidates. We must understand the issues and our interests in each one. Listen carefully and decide wisely. Once we do so, we must then be willing to help the new mayor in the struggle to resolve the issues.