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Terry P. Johnson - District 5

Terry P. Johnson has lived his entire life in the Fifth Supervisors District of Hinds County. He has the experience necessary to conduct the general and special elections in an honest, timely, impartial manner and to keep the lists of registered voters of up-to-date and available. His educational degrees include a B. M. degree (music education) from William Carey College in Hattiesburg, an M. M. degree (organ performance) from Mississippi College in Clinton, and an M. E. degree (secondary education with emphasis on English) from Mississippi College. Additional training has been completed at Jackson State University in Jackson. In elections, he worked for twenty years as a poll manager. For the past seven years, he has been hired by the Democratic Party to coordinate its primary elections. For these elections, he has hired qulified the candidates, approximately five-hundred poll managers and additional staff, designed the ballots, corresponded with the hosts of the polling places, organized the supplies, and certified the results. As the chairperson of the municipal election commissioner for the past twelve years, he has also completed the above tasks and, in addition, has been responsible for the voter rolls and the purging of the roles. Three years ago, he was elected by the Mississippi Democratic Executive Committee as the co-chairperson of the Elections Sub-committee. Acting in that capacity, he has conducted training sessions for poll managers in Hinds, Holmes, and Scott Counties. He has been elected to represent the Fifth District on the Hinds County Democratic Executive Committee for four consecutive terms. He has previously served as the co-chairperson of its Affimative Action Sub-committee. He has also served as a special advisor to the Young Democrats of Mississippi - Hinds County chapter. He is a member of ECAM (Election Commissioners Association of Mississippi), Galloway Memorial United Methodist Church, and the Jackson chapter of the NAACP. He is presently the organist for the (Episcopal) Church of the Good Shepherd in Terry and the First Presbyterian Church in Hazlehurst. He previously served as the organist at the Terry United Methodist Church, where he was the church treasurer and Sunday School superintendent. He is an adjunct instructor of Belhaven College in Jackson and the interim librarian of the Power Academic and Performing Arts Center in Jackson. A former dean of the Jackson Chapter of the American Guild of Organists (AGO), he has performed concerts in Hinds, Copiah, Forrest, Simpson Counties and Tangipahoa Parrish, Louisiana. He has also performed in two operas and numerous dramatic productions, a number of combined community services, and has composed and performed music for silent movies. His writings have appeared in a variety of Mississippi publications. He has been fortunate enough to be an active volunteer for the Radio Reading Service (since its first year of existance), International Ballet Competition, New American Freedom Summer, March of Dimes, Mississippi Museum of Art, Jubilee JAM (since its first year of existance), Terry High School, Perryman Elementary School, Mississippi Education Television, Friends of Terry, Carey Children's Street Theatre, Playhouse North, the Jackson-Hinds Library System, Glories of Baroque Dresden exhibit, Mississippi Department of Health, Multiple Sclerosis Society of America, and other organizations.

Of 'Rednecks' and 'Shoe-Shine Boys'

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Today at 4 p.m. Mayor Harvey Johnson called for the State Fair Commission to speak out against the views of white supremacist Richard Barrett, while stopping short of calling for a boycott of the Mississippi State Fair in October. "I would like the commission to go on record saying that they are against the views of the Nationalist Movement and urge the attorney general to re-open this case," Johnson said at a press conference at his office.

Poll: Americans Uninformed About Bush, Kerry

AP reports: "If matching presidential candidates to their positions on basic issues were like a 'Jeopardy!' category, most Americans wouldn't earn a single dollar. More than half of those polled by the National Annenberg Election Survey didn't know President Bush alone favors allowing private investments of some Social Security money. Nearly as many didn't know that only Democratic candidate John Kerry proposes getting rid of tax breaks for the overseas profits of U.S. companies. Importing drugs from Canada? That's a Kerry issue, but nearly half either didn't know or thought Bush also supported changing federal law to allow for drug imports from Canada."

Admission o' the Year

The Indianapolis Star reports: Norman Ornstein, a congressional analyst at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said the issue (gay marriage ban) is being pushed by Republicans to energize their conservative base. "The upside potential in convincing the Christian conservative community that Armageddon will come if John Kerry and Democrats are elected is greater than losing Log Cabin Republicans and some socially moderate Republicans," Ornstein said.

Jackson Convention Center: The $65 Million Question

Update: On Thursday morning, Jeff Good and Dan Blumenthal, owners of BRAVO! and Broad Street restaurants, announced that they were pledging 1% of their sales between now and the election to the Capital City Convention fund. Good and Blumenthal both expressed support for the convention center, saying it would be good for business and downtown Jackson. Good says they chose the 1% approach "to validate how inconsequential 1% is to a restaurant transaction, when compared to the great good it can serve." Good estimated that his company's total donation could be $5000 or more, based on the prior year's sales. by Todd Stauffer

It's About the Issues, Stupid!

Samac Richardson - Position 2

"/>Originally from Neshoba County, Philadelphia, Mississippi, Samac is the son of Myrtis and the late Burdette Richardson. His parents were both school teachers; his father also served two terms as Neshoba County Circuit Clerk. Samac has one brother, Dr. C. David Richardson, an ophthalmologist in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Samac graduated from Philadelphia High School in 1965 before attending East Central Community College. He received a B.S. degree in Accounting from Mississippi State University in 1970, and a Juris Doctor degree from The Jackson School of Law (now the Mississippi College School of Law) in 1975, where he served on the Honor Council. He is also a 1993 graduate of the National Judicial College. While attending law school, he was employed by The University of Mississippi Medical Center as Project Administrator for Family Planning and Nurse Midwifery and The Central Mississippi Planning and Development District as Fiscal Officer. He has been married 34 years to the former Libby Ashley of Franklin County, Mississippi, and they have resided in Rankin County, Mississippi since 1972. They have two children, Kim and Steve. Kim has a B.A. degree in Communications from Mississippi State University and is a program manager for the Mississippi Law Enforcement Liaison Office. Steve also has a degree in Communications and is attaining a second undergraduate degree from Mississippi State University in Computer Science. Samac is a Gideon, and they are members of Pinelake Baptist Church. He is a member of the Masonic Lodge, York and Scottish Rite Masonic Bodies and Wahabi Shrine Temple. When he has free time, he enjoys fishing, particularly fly fishing, and outdoor activities, including gardening with Libby. Bio and picture taken form official Samac Richardson campaign websites

Bennie G. Thompson (Democrat, Incumbent)

"/> A native of Bolton, Mississippi, Congressman Thompson was educated in the public schools of Hinds County, Mississippi. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Tougaloo College, and a Masters of Science degree from Jackson State University. He went on to complete extensive coursework at the University of Southern Mississippi toward a doctorate degree in Public Administration.

George W. Bush & Dick Cheney (Republican, Incumbent)

/> George W. Bush is the 43rd President of the United States. He was sworn into office January 20, 2001, after a campaign in which he outlined sweeping proposals to reform America's public schools, transform our national defense, provide tax relief, modernize Social Security and Medicare, and encourage faith-based and community organizations to work with government to help Americans in need. President Bush served for six years as the 46th Governor of the State of Texas, where he earned a reputation as a compassionate conservative who shaped public policy based on the principles of limited government, personal responsibility, strong families, and local control. President Bush was born on July 6, 1946, in New Haven, Connecticut, and he grew up in Midland and Houston, Texas. He received a bachelor's degree from Yale University in 1968, then served as an F-102 fighter pilot in the Texas Air National Guard. President Bush received a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 1975. After graduating, he moved back to Midland and began a career in the energy business. After working on his father's successful 1988 presidential campaign, he assembled the group of partners that purchased the Texas Rangers baseball franchise in 1989.

John F. Kerry & John Edwards (Democrat)

"/> John Kerry has never forgotten the lessons he learned as a young man – lessons that have been strengthened in his 19 years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He has learned that America must work with other countries to achieve our goals and the world's common goals. From his ground-breaking work on the Iran-Contra scandal to his leadership on global AIDS, John Kerry has distinguished himself as one of our nation's most respected voices on national security and international affairs. As chairman of the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs, he worked closely with John McCain to learn the truth about American soldiers missing in Vietnam and to normalize relations with that country. As the ranking Democrat on the East Asian and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee, he is a leading expert on that region, including North Korea.

Kerry Goes After Cheney, Haliburton and ‘Mess in Iraq'

AP reports: "Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said Friday that the Bush administration ignored overcharging in defense contracts awarded to Halliburton, the company once headed by Vice President Dick Cheney, calling it evidence of the president's mismanagement of the war in Iraq.

Kerry to Bush: ‘You Own It'

John Kerry unleased a new campaign theme today, which paints George W. Bush as the "Excuse President" by focusing both on lost jobs and on the mounting casualties (and apparent disarray) in Iraq.

‘A Real Buzz': Young People Expected to Vote in Record Numbers

New York Times today: "After dismal turnout by young voters in 2000, surveys this year show that interest in the election among the young is near the highest level it has reached at any time since 18- to 20-year-olds were given the vote in 1972. And state election officials say registration of new young voters is coming in at levels they have not seen in years. Polls in the spring and summer from the Harvard Institute of Politics, the Pew Research Center and MTV all found that young people say they plan to vote at a rate that will far eclipse the low-water mark of four years ago. The pool of potential young voters is substantial - about 40.6 million Americans ages 18 to 29, or one in five eligible voters, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, or Circle, a nonprofit research group that has concentrated on the youth vote.

Bush Calls Kerry Campaign ‘Pathetic'

AP reports: "President Bush chided Sen. John Kerry and fellow Democrats on Monday for asserting that Republicans will undermine Social Security, calling the strategy 'the most tired, pathetic way to campaign for the presidency.' Traveling by bus through the southwest corner of this battleground state, Bush tried to improve voters' perceptions of his domestic policies by condemning Democrats for going negative—even as he held Kerry's plans up to the harshest possible light. "'I'm running against a fellow who has got a massive, complicated blueprint to have our government take over the decision making in health care,' the president said. 'Not only is his plan going to increase the power of bureaucrats in your life, but he can't pay for it unless he raises your taxes. What would you expect from a senator from Massachusetts?" Bush said, as a partisan crowd cheered the reference to Kerry's home state and its liberal leanings.

Will the GOP Try to ‘Suppress' Non-White Vote?

Columnist Bob Herbert writes in The New York Times: "More than 80 percent of the population of Detroit is black. This is very well understood by John Pappageorge, who is white and a Republican state legislator in Michigan. 'If we do not suppress the Detroit vote,' said Mr. Pappageorge, 'we're going to have a tough time in this election.' Oops! Republicans aren't supposed to actually say they want to suppress black votes. That's so retro. It's so Jim Crow. This is the 21st century, and the thing now is to do the dastardly deed, but never ever acknowledge it. That's where our friend Pappageorge went wrong. After his startling quote was published several weeks ago in The Detroit Free Press, Mr. Pappageorge, who is 73, apologized and said he certainly never meant to suggest that anything racist or illegal take place. But he reiterated to me in a phone conversation last Friday that he did indeed mean that the vote in Detroit needed to be kept down."

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