Mayor Rebukes Jackson Water Takeover Bill As ‘An Effort to Seize Control of A Black City’
Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba called renewed efforts for a state takeover of Jackson’s water system an “effort to seize control of a Black city.”
Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba called renewed efforts for a state takeover of Jackson’s water system an “effort to seize control of a Black city.”
Special Chancery Court Judge Larry E. Roberts ruled on July 8, 2022, that Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba cannot veto a no-vote of the city council. The ruling is the latest in the ongoing face-off between the mayor and the city council regarding setting up a garbage-disposal contract for the City.
The Jackson City Council repeatedly voted down awarding a contract to Louisiana-based Richard’s Disposal after the mayor presented it following the request-for-proposal process and again for a one-year emergency contract at an emergency meeting on April 1, 2022.
In a recent lawsuit, Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba asked the Hinds County Chancery Court to declare that the council cannot negotiate a contract nor amend his order for a local emergency, and that he has the prerogative to negotiate emergency contracts and present the same to the council.
On March 9, 2022, Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba asked the Hinds County Chancery Court to define the limits of the powers of the Jackson City Council with regards to his declaration of a garbage-disposal emergency.
Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba chided the Jackson City Council on Feb. 24, 2022, for removing Richard’s Disposal’s name when approving a garbage-disposal emergency contract.
State senators from Jackson are asking the Mississippi Legislature for millions of dollars to help fund additional police and misdemeanor jail beds to keep those charged with low-level crimes who cannot afford bail locked up as a strategy to prevent violence as it rises in the capital city, they say. They are not asking for funds to support earlier interventions that a BOTEC Analysis study of Jackson crime recommended in 2016—which the Legislature authorized for $500,000 in taxpayer dollars. Kayode Crown reports.
City of Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba said he spoke with New Orleans and Baton Rouge, La., mayors, where Richard’s Disposal operates, who gave the company positive reviews. However, on Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022, the city council rejected the company as a garbage-disposal contractor.
City of Jackson Ward 6 Councilman Aaron Banks says Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba will have to present yet another garbage-disposal option and lamented the council’s limited time to review Richard’s Disposal bid before the vote on Jan. 18.
Mississippi Journalism and Education Group is a a 501(c)(3) nonprofit media organization (EIN 85-1403937) for the state, devoted to going beyond partisanship and publishing solutions journalism for the Magnolia State and all of its people.
125 S. Congress Street #1324
Jackson, MS 39201
info@mississippifreepress.org
tips@mississippifreepress.org
events@mississippifreepress.org
601-362-6121