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election
Introducing Ward 2 Candidates: Special Election Nov. 17 by Kayode Crown
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he special election to fill the Ward 2 Jackson City Council seat of Melvin Priester Jr., who stepped down to focus on his law career, is on Nov. 17, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Six candidates are vying for the post: Angelique Lee, Tyrone Lewis, James Paige, Thomas Warren Powell, Funmilayo Bannerman Tilden and Melinda Greenfield Todd. The Jackson Free Press asked all of them the same questions in interviews. The answers are edited for space here with more at jfp.ms/Ward2election. Absentee voting for the special election is underway at city hall, ending at 5 p.m. on Nov. 14.
Angelique Lee
November 11 - 24, 2020 • jfp.ms
What prepared you for this position? My childhood of watching my parents, watching everybody around my parents, my teachers that embraced me through the years, my community, the churches that I attended were involved in this whole process. The motivation came James Paige from all of those combined together and wanting to give back to those that have prepared me and given to me to get me into a position to come back and serve them in their elder ages because right now they are not in the capacity to move out of the city of Jackson. So they need those people that they helped mold to come back and help them, and that’s my purpose. What are the top three problems facing Jackson and your ward? I have seen crime reach an all-time high. Today as we speak, we are probably at 112 murders or homicides. I’ve never seen anything like that before. So people are scared. They are afraid, along with the pandemic that they are afraid of, they are afraid to come out of their houses. They are afraid to sit on their pouches. They are afraid to go to the grocery store. We need to address that. Number two is economic development. We have businesses that want to open in Jackson, but because of the crime issues that we have, they are afraid that they won’t be successful in opening up a business courtesy Tyrone Lewis
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What motivates you to serve? I consider myself a public servant. I am a native of Jackson. I was born here. All my life has been in Jackson; all of my education from elementary school to Headstart to college has been right here in the city of Jackson. I am not one of those ones that left to go to college elsewhere. I am a graduate of Jackson State University. I went to Lanier High School, 833 West Maple Street.
in the city of Jackson. In order for that to happen, we have to reduce the crime element in order to attract businesses to our community. With that being said, if we can attract businesses in our community when we reduce crime, we can have a supporting tax base, and with that supporting tax base, not only can we take care of our men and women of the Jackson Police Department and our city services, we can deal with our infrastructure, which is number three. We have a crumbling and a failing infrastructure that is in bad shape because we don’t have the revenue or the tax base to support it because we’ve had businesses moving out for several reasons. courtesy James Paige
courtesy Angelique Lee
same issues, the city of Jackson and our ward. The number-one issue will be crime. What motivates you to serve? We need safe spaces for our citizens and Well, I’ve been a servant all of my constituents to live in. We need safe spaces life. Ever since I grew up, for our businesses to move I’ve always been in Ward into. We can’t expect eco2, my family has a businomic development to ness on Farish Street, and grow without a safe space. I’ve always given to those I would like to have neighborhood kids. I’ve policing in hotspots ... and always been surrounded bring some targeted preby children. vention programs with our youth in conjunction with I went into teachour community leaders, ing—a ministry of service school leaders, and church because you generally don’t leaders and youth, and get go into teaching for the Angelique Lee targeted programming to money. Then, when my prevent them from going daughter became of school age, I started serving on her PTO board and into the life of crime. moved my way up to PTO president and Not only do we need safe roads and raised $100,000 for her school by knocking bridges for our constituents to travel on, on doors in the community and businesses our school buses to travel on, ambulances and giving back in that capacity. Then, I’ve and fire trucks, but infrastructure also inrun after-school, STEM programs. I have cludes broadband access. Especially with always been in the area of service. COVID-19 and our children learning Now that my dad is in his 80s—and virtually, we need access to wifi and broadhe also lived in the ward, and my children band and also for our seniors doing health all live in the ward, I have a 4-year-old and screening. a 12-year-old—it is important for someone Infrastructure also that has a voice and resources and the ca- includes some areas in our pacity to get things done to run for office. . ward that have a lot of issues with flooding. I will What prepared you for this position? say the key area of focus I have been lobbying for almost a de- and issue that we have that cade with the Mississippi Legislature for intersect with the city and public education, higher education and our ward is economic deteachers. ... I have the resources, the con- velopment. As our wards nections, and I have built strong relation- experienced white flight, a Tyrone Lewis ships with the community to be able to get lot of our businesses went things done. I have managed a lot of politi- away, and now we have a cal campaigns to get pro-public education lot of debilitated buildings, plots, homes; candidates elected; I ran Jennifer Riley-Col- they are just sitting there vacant. lins’ campaign (for attorney general) with I would like to initiate a buy-the-block her. That was statewide. And Willie Sim- program in our ward ... and give businesses mons’ (campaign) in the central district. the opportunity to come in, especially around the Lake Hico area, now that we see What are the top three problems that some of those industries are moving facing Jackson and your ward? out, and focus on Highway 49 and bring They intersect. We both have the economic development over in that area.
Tyrone Lewis
James Paige What motivates you to serve? I am a very passionate man about Jackson, I truly believe in Jackson, I’ve been in Jackson all my life, I am a product of Jackson public-school system, I am a product of Jackson State, I am a product of Jackson Police Department. For me to see these institutions operating at the level they are operating in, I feel like, with my experience, business experience, and my law enforcement experience, that I could really take something to the council, to bring a different look to it. We can bring a businessman to the table and an experienced law enforcement officer to the table. I think that what I have to say and my input, and my ability to negotiate with people will make a difference. What prepared you for this position? My passion for Jackson, number one, and my experience as a businessman, my experience as a law enforcement officer and my desire to serve. I think you’ve got to have the knowledge of what regular, everyday people are going through before you can help them, and I have both of these. I know the needs of the neighborhoods. I do believe that I have some plans, that I can address some of those needs. What are the top three problems facing Jackson and your ward? Crime, youths and develop-
