Jackson is a city in distress. No doubt about it. It has a mayor. And it has a city council. It has an army of law enforcement officials and policy makers. Jackson is the responsibility of those folks who are duly authorized under the charter of the city of Jackson to be responsible for it.
None of those people are state officials or candidates for state office. I'm almost certain that the only people in the capitol who are in any way responsible for Jackson are the elected representatives and senators of that area. Just a hunch.
In 2003 Gov. Barbour's campaign sent out a direct mail piece claiming that the deterioration of Jackson was Gov. Musgrove's fault.
In 2007 John Arthur Eaves' campaign claimed that the deterioration of Jackson was Gov. Barbour's fault. And Charlie Ross has a three page crime white paper and a line about Jackson tarnishing the state's image in the stump speech.
There's nothing that the state should or could be doing. There's nothing in the Republican 'limited government' argument that makes it good campaigning. There's nothing in the Democrat 'financially responsible" argument that makes it good campaigning for them either. And again, if they're elected, there's nothing they could do about it except throw money at it through the various state agencies. And that would still be dispersed across the state.
You want to know why you're hearing so much about it? 2 reasons.
1. Mayor Melton dominates the news in the Jackson metro. It's an easy piggy back in a newspaper article. "Mayor Melton says, and earlier this week Harvard Charlie said too."
2. Rankin and Hinds Counties are up for grabs. Both highly persuadable. I'd bet a plugged nickel that "crime" or "my family's safety" poll in the top 3 in both counties.
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