Two weeks ago, the Jackson Free Press endorsed Dorsey Carson, whose character, love of Jackson and work ethic we know and appreciate, over a field of Ward 1 City Council candidates.
Carson is the kind of long-haul leader Jackson needs—an expert on construction contracts, a supporter of healthy public schools, a participant in the city on just about every level from serious to social, and a level-headed businessman. He likes to point out that he paid cash to open his business, a law firm that shares a floor with this newspaper and the Associated Press in Capital Towers downtown (and does legal work for this company, which gives us even more insight into him and how he does business).
Now, he is facing Ashby Foote in the runoff for the Ward 1 seat. Because Carson is a Democrat, if a moderate one, many voters in the city’s most Republican ward could automatically gravitate to Foote, who received money from some big GOP names in the area and repeats the popular promise to reduce taxes. But we urge voters to think carefully about this election.
In his campaign, Foote has presented himself as an expert in finances, and his company is called Vector Money Management. In his interview with the JFP, he even pulled out a calculator to show us that property taxes are way too high and should be cut and said that his expertise “as a proven financial watchdog” can help the city solve its financial woes.
“The needs can exceed your ability to meet those needs,” he said. “At the end of the day, a lot of those issues boil down to either being able to prioritize them and then be able to finance them. I’ve worked in the area of finance for the last 34 years, and I’ve learned a lot. I didn’t start out as an expert in finance.”
Foote’s emphasis on his financial acumen is ironic considering that he has had five federal and state tax liens against him and his wife for not paying taxes starting back in 1996 and as recently as two years ago. The amounts of the liens range from $1,318 to the most recent, $75,673 in 2012, and totaled $164,587. He says he chose not to pay his taxes on his reported personal income so he wouldn’t have to lay off employees, but he only had three staffers, including himself—and at least the bulk of the taxes he owed were for money that he and his wife reported on their personal tax returns, including unpaid 1040 taxes of $46,642 in 2008 and $75,673 in 2012.
He currently owes about $60,000 on the 2012 personal lien and told us he is on a payment plan to catch it up.
It’s not that a business hits a rough patch and gets behind on taxes that concerns us; that happens, especially with entrepreneurs who are new to business. The concern we have here is with the pattern that has spanned nearly 20 years. Both business owners and elected officials must be willing to make tough decisions to manage the books and to, ultimately, recover from those rough patches. Most vitally, a businessperson needs to learn lessons from those mistakes and not make the same ones repeatedly. And in Foote’s case, he clearly made enough income those years to owe a huge amount of taxes on it, and he drives a red Hummer. Hinds County records indicate that his property taxes on his $362,830 home are up-to-date, however.
We are confident that Dorsey Carson is a smart businessman and is willing to make the tough, studied decisions that will help keep the City of Jackson out of trouble over the long haul. We urge Ward 1 residents to turn out to vote for him on Tuesday, Dec. 16.
Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
