JACKSON, Miss.—James Hopkins, founder of the grassroots organization Reset Jackson, officially launched his campaign for mayor of Mississippi’s capital, joining a slate of candidates running against an embattled incumbent.
Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba is running for a third term despite facing federal felony charges related to an ongoing FBI bribery investigation in the capital city.
Hopkins typically spends his time with Reset Jackson, which organizes community-outreach activities including community cleanups and violence-prevention rallies aimed at young people.
“We try to rebuild the city by resetting the mind,” he told a group of about 15 people who gathered inside a meeting room at the John & Vera Mae Perkins Foundation on Robinson Street in Jackson on the night of Thursday, Nov. 14, to hear his “One City, One Community” vision for the city.
“The first step is you have to change people’s mindset. You have to make people believe that there’s positivity in Jackson. Regardless of what the state says about us, regardless of what the country says about us, we’re a great city,” Hopkins continued.
On Thursday, Hopkins shared that he will prioritize crime-prevention efforts, increasing the city’s tax base and selling off the dilapidated properties plaguing the city’s neighborhoods.
“I want to turn Jackson back into a homeowners community. They talk about the One Lake Project and Lake Hico, turning them into these nice, expensive homes,” Hopkins said.
“And all that is fine. But we have too many low-income apartments. We have to have affordable housing where people can come out of these apartment complexes,” he continued.
He also reiterated his plan for ridding Jackson of City-owned dilapidated properties.
“People say I’m crazy, but my plan is to sell every last one of those properties to Jacksonians for one dollar. Why? Because it’s going to save us $10,000 on tearing a house down and $20,000 on tearing a building down,” he said.
A decline in homeowners in some areas of the capital city and a lack of funding to demolish structures have left many neighborhoods within its borders plagued with abandoned, blighted properties—particularly in West and South Jackson.
When asked by an audience member about financial integrity and a perceived lack of credibility in the City, Hopkins said he wanted to avoid the conversation but added that he wants “an oversight committee to monitor every single dollar that comes into this city.”
That oversight includes looking at how funds for development and infrastructure projects are distributed across the city, he said, adding that the City has stalled for years on plans to fix a derelict bridge in South Jackson’s Swan Lake community, where he resides.
“This bridge is 12 feet long. I’ve seen a bike trail go up in Meadowbrook, it’s beautiful. I’ve seen one go up on Old Canton Road. We’ve seen renovations on Mill Street. All of this stuff in the midst of Swan Lake getting this bridge,” he continued.
During a Jackson City Council meeting on Nov. 6, the council voted overwhelmingly in favor of a bid from Hemphill Construction to replace the bridge. Ward 3 City Councilman Kenneth Stokes abstained from voting but said that it was a worthwhile project.
It is unclear when the company will start the bridge replacement.
One resident asked Hopkins how he would work with state leaders. In recent years, the City of Jackson has staved off a flurry of state-sponsored efforts to take control of assets like Smith-Wills Stadium and the Jackson Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport.
Lumumba has repeatedly criticized these attempts to drain the majority-Black city’s assets, labeling the efforts as both “paternalistic and racist.”
Hopkins said that he does not support state-sponsored takeovers of city assets and would like to see more investment in the capital city across party lines.
“I want them to understand that this is about the betterment of Jackson. If Jackson looks good, the state looks good,” he said. “They laugh at Jackson but then the country laughs at Mississippi.”
The qualifying period for municipal positions, including mayoral positions, begins on Jan. 2, 2025. Municipal primaries across Mississippi will be on April 1, 2025, with the general election following on June 3, 2025.
