Jackson Mayor Can’t Override Council On Garbage Contracts, Mississippi Supreme Court Rules
Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba cannot veto the Jackson City Council when it votes down a motion, the Mississippi Supreme Court declared in a ruling today.
Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba cannot veto the Jackson City Council when it votes down a motion, the Mississippi Supreme Court declared in a ruling today.
Efforts to expand Capitol Police’s jurisdiction over the City of Jackson and to reintroduce a more limited citizen-led ballot initiative process remain alive in the Mississippi Legislature.
The Jackson City Council passed a resolution calling House Bill 1020 an “unconstitutional” effort that “would deprive the citizens of Jackson of their right to elect judges according to the Mississippi Constitution.”
Both federal manager Ted Henifin and the Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba are warning that state politicians are attempting to take over Jackson’s water system, along with hundreds of millions in federal funds meant for repairing it.
Calandra Davis honors Dr. Mutulu Shakur—Black Liberation Army member whom the U.S. government captured and held as a POW for over 36 years.
Jackson’s troubled water system has suffered multiple system-wide failures since 2021, including in late December 2022 that continued into this month amid a winter freeze.
Ted Henifin’s years of public utilities expertise made him the U.S. DOJ’s pick for leadership as Jackson’s new “interim third party manager,” a role with unique autonomy from both the City of Jackson and the State of Mississippi. He spoke to the Mississippi Free Press just ahead of a windfall of federal funds-and a dangerous winter storm.
Jackson’s newly established interim third-party management team will soon enjoy a massive war chest to fund their revitalization of the water system, a project previously estimated to have a total cost of $1 billion dollars.
The City of Jackson is on the cusp of receiving an unprecedented $600 million in federal funds to alleviate the water crisis and rebuild significant portions of the drinking water system. U.S. House Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., andU.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., announced that the congressional year-end funding omnibus bill will include the enormous grant exclusively for the City of Jackson.
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