By Christopher Young,
Contributing Writer,
About 300 residents along with eleven candidates and some of their campaign staff and supporters gathered at Duling Hall in Fondren Saturday, February 22, 2025, from 11 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. for what was billed as a Face-Off by forum organizers – Jacksonians4Jackson. You can learn more about them at www.jacksonians4jackson.com. Coalition partners were www.reachingbeyondministries.org and John and Vera Mae Perkins Foundation www.jvmpf.org.
Due to the length of the forum and number of candidates, this article focuses on questions, and who asked them of whom. Individual interviews will be forthcoming in The Mississippi Link newspaper.
Each mayoral candidate in attendance was provided three minutes to introduce themselves and share the platform that they are running on. David Archie, Delano Funches, Socrates Garrett, Tim Henderson, James Hopkins, District 26 Senator John Horhn, Incumbent Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, Zack Servis, Kim Wade, Marcus Wallace and Albert Wilson, each used their time to connect with the in-person audience all while broadcast news stations and many others with cell phones recorded the event. Jacksonians4Jackson member Martin McGee served as emcee.
After the three-minute opening statements and a break where people could grab a bite from food trucks or other vendors, the format shifted to candidates questioning candidates. Each questioned a candidate of their choice and had a chance for follow-up.
Tim Henderson asked David Archie, “What is your experience in running for mayor, and why is this important to you?”
Kim Wade asked Senator Horhn, “What ideas do you have for making Jackson work again that doesn’t require money?”
Socrates Garrett asked Marcus Wallace, “What experience do you have in dealing with youth violence that is occurring in the streets of Jackson?”
Marcus Wallace asked Mayor Lumumba, “From mayor to mayor, will you agree that every year the Health Department comes in an inspects your water system and gives you a compliance report and if you are out of compliance, they give you a chance to get in compliance, so would you agree that is a true statement?” On follow-up, Wallace stated, “A document is available that shows the City of Jackson was out of compliance and caused the plant to run hot…and the city did not adhere to the inspection report.”
Delano Funches asked Senator Horhn, “I sit on the board in Gulfside, a United Methodist board, and when they had the BP oil spill, those people that had beachfront property had to make claims against BP to get the millions of dollars that they were allocated…when the board asked the United Methodist conference where is our money, the accountant for the United Methodist Conference said, ‘you need to ask Senator Horhn and his friend from Atlanta.’ Senator Horhn, I’m asking you to come up here and tell them what happened to that money.”
Zack Servis asked Mayor Lumumba, “Regarding the state tort fund – for the last two years the allocation has been over $7 million, and for this year, just for paying out claims is $2.17 million – that has doubled since 2022…most of these lawsuits and claims were paid out due to negligence of city employees, civil rights lawsuits, and wrongful terminations. What are you going to do to change the culture of our city so that we’re not having to allocate $7 million on lawsuits?”
Albert Wilson brought up the trash contract and the associate lawsuits… “Mayor Lumumba what were you thinking when this contract took place and you all suing each other versus actively serving the people?”
Mayor Lumumba asked Marcus Wallace, “You have said on a number of occasions, talking about balancing budgets…are you aware that it is a state requirement that every city has to end the year with a balanced budget…so it’s not an accomplishment like you have touted, it’s a requirement?”
David Archie asked Senator John Horhn, “It’s my understanding that you are running your campaign on relationships, and so my question is if your relationships are so good with the state, county, or with the city – why is Jackson in such bad shape…?”
James Hopkins asked Senator Horhn, “The state is considered the bank. You are a banker because you work for the state. Our schools have been underfunded, our water systems have been underfunded, and it shows. You want to stop being the banker to become a borrower … the second part of my question is you talk about all these accomplishments, but what have you done for the poor communities?”
After a short break, the audience had the opportunity to ask questions.
The first audience question focused on Ward 6, and went to Tim Henderson… “What would you do to ensure that minority attention for higher targets for projects within the city of Jackson and specifically in Ward 6?” The next question came from a homeowners association member in South Jackson…..”I just want to know why South Jackson has not been discussed during this entire forum…we have been dealing with no water, I did not have water over Christmas. I’m a Jackson educator, you have not said anything about Jackson schools, potholes, lack of water, lack of grocery stores, it’s a food desert. South Jackson looks nothing like North Jackson…Zack Servis, Kim Wade, Socrates Garrett, Delano Funches, and Albert Wilson all responded.
The final audience question was to Mayor Lumumba and Senator Horhn. “I’m dealing with people every day feeling the impact of schools shutting down, violence and many other issues. Mayor Lumumba at any point did you ask Senator Horhn for help with our schools? My second question is for Senator Horhn to explain to us, in 30+ years, what is the fracture between the City of Jackson and the State of Mississippi, and don’t focus on the last eight years, because the fracture has been there ever since Black leadership started.”
James Hopkins, thought to be the final word, spoke about unity and equity. “We need unity, to be on one accord…every child in the city is your child and every child is important…we have ignored for so long the people that didn’t look and act like us, and now the roosters are coming home to crow. We are putting all of our money into Eastover, downtown and Fondren – we want to keep them where they are, but South Jackson and West Jackson has no business looking the way it does.”
Marcus Wallace and David Archie petitioned for more time and spoke about what they would do for South Jackson.
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