The replacement for former Ward 1 Councilman Ben Allen has large shoes to fill. While he made mistakes as councilman (especially back in the petty skirmishes with Councilman Kenneth Stokes), Allen undoubtedly cared—and cares—about Jackson. And during the Melton administration, he often worked hard to find ways to compromise in order to keep the city moving forward—or, at least, not backward—and to avert crisis.

Allen’s desire for compromise—and progress amid conflict—left him in the uncomfortable position of being the “swing vote” between Melton’s rock-solid bloc, and the three Council people who do care about such things.

Whoever is elected in the special election on Aug. 15 to fill his Ward 1 councilman slot is going to face the same dilemma, like it or not. That person is going to need to be strong-willed and independent—Melton’s powers of persuasion are vast and unpredictable—and willing to be lambasted, even with untruths, if he does not follow everything the Melton bloc wants.

Ward 1’s representative needs to care about Jackson beyond all else when he shows up in City Hall. He needs to be willing to fight tooth and nail for smart development, government accountability, and against schemes that may seem illegal or unwise. He also needs a deep institutional knowledge about the city, its politics and pitfalls, both past and present. He needs to understand how we got to this point, even if he talks mostly about how we create a brighter future.

Looking at the candidates, and especially listening to the rather superficial answers the JFP received to our questions, there is, unfortunately, not one among them who stands out as the perfect person to replace Ben Allen. But when we consider all of the men, one seems somewhat better suited to the task: John Ditto.

Ditto’s devotion to Jackson and Ward 1’s development seems clear to us. As the son of a former mayor who witnessed city politics—particularly the genesis of some of what we’re living through today—he has access to vital institutional knowledge. We’re not positive about his willingness to stand up to Melton, but we can’t see any more of it in the other candidates, and we do not find the same vigor for Jackson’s economic development in the other three.

Candidate Jeff Weill is too focused on being a prosecutor and never, ever, never raising taxes—in contrast to Allen, who knew it costs money to run a city. Candidate David Archie worked on Melton’s campaign and hasn’t shown a clear devotion to Ward 1 development. Candidate Lenard Jenkins is a charming and sincere man of faith, but we don’t see the drive and fight in him that we believe will be needed for this position at this pivotal point.

We endorse John Ditto, and urge him to do whatever it takes to protect both the interests of Ward 1 and the city as a whole.

Previous Comments

ID
94485
Comment

Bump. As it were.

Author
DonnaLadd
Date
2007-08-08T17:44:14-06:00
ID
94486
Comment

Ditto did take it the Chief in the Ledge. I liked hearing that.

Author
pikersam
Date
2007-08-08T18:34:38-06:00
ID
94487
Comment

Good. I didn’t see it. Link if you have it.

I just can’t believe the pass this chief gets. Remember the Ledger’s treatment of Moore, a real chief???

Right, that was because he was “arrogant.”

Author
DonnaLadd
Date
2007-08-08T18:39:06-06:00
ID
94488
Comment

Can someone help me? I live near McLeod school. We vote tomorrow. My girlfriend at work sent me an IM to look at this video about John Ditto. She said everyone in her office is watching it. I watched it but wanted to see what the regulars here knew about what is going on. Thanks.

Author
pokeyb
Date
2007-08-13T12:02:45-06:00
ID
94489
Comment

I heard about that video. I would be very skeptical. My guess is that it’s done by Melton supporters—it’s very similar to scary PSAs he ran on WLBT about crime in the past. The footage doesn’t seem to be Jackson, and the “sources” they list don’t actually say what they say they do—like the Clarion-Ledger doesn’t say specifically that crime was worse during the Ditto years.

Of course, what the video doesn’t tell you is that crime everywhere in the U.S. was at its worse during those years—due to the crack epidemic. Any dumba$$ knows that.

This thing seems to be politics at its worse. I can guess where it comes from. I’m also going to delink it, considering that it’s on the blog of someone who has been suspended here for violating the User Agreement.

Author
DonnaLadd
Date
2007-08-13T12:06:33-06:00
ID
94490
Comment

Thank you. Does Frank Melton not support John Ditto? My neighbor says that Mr. Melton and Kane Ditto are very good friends. That is why I should vote for his son because he will work with Frank and Mr. Bluntson to get work done. This is getting confusing and I have to decide by tomorrow. What do you think is wrong with David Archie? He has been in my neighborhood alot. Thanks again.

Author
pokeyb
Date
2007-08-13T12:24:16-06:00
ID
94491
Comment

I don’t think Melton and Kane Ditto are good friends; in fact, they were on pretty opposite sides for a while in the ’90s during the juvenile center scandal.

That said, I have no indication that John Ditto would go in at his throat; I just don’t think he’s going to be his lapdog, which is about the best we can hope for at this point.

We wrote our endorsement above with our reasons for choosing Ditto. For us, Archie just doesn’t offer enough promise. Much of what he says is empty rhetoric, and shows little knowledge of city government. I like him, but he has always struck me as a bit more interested in running for office than actually serving in one, if that makes sense.

Author
DonnaLadd
Date
2007-08-13T12:42:15-06:00
ID
94492
Comment

Makes plenty of sense, Donna. I believe that he’s run for everything but dog catcher!

Author
honey2me
Date
2007-08-13T14:18:35-06:00
ID
94493
Comment

Well Donna…..i guess all three have now spoken…..the JFP, the CL and Yallpolitics formally known as Mississippipolitics….as for me….well ditto…. 😉

hey I guess an outsider can still chip in….

Author
ATLExile
Date
2007-08-13T19:11:43-06:00
ID
94494
Comment

I’m in Crisler’s ward-I don’t have a dog in this fight – but the race affects all Jacksonians. When I listen to the media clips and read the bio’s , Ditto seems most qualified. Listen folks, we need someone with enough backbone to take a stand on the side of what’s correct and decent. Archie did run for dogcatcher…. ditto Dorothy Benford – the tax assessor’s run-off is scary…

Author
lanier77
Date
2007-08-14T07:39:47-06:00
ID
94495
Comment

UPDATE: With 100% of the precincts reporting, Jeff Weill appears to have won the Ward 1 race with 51% of the vote, with John Ditto second at 43%. David Archie and Leonard Jenkins each have 3%, though Archie is leading in raw numbers with 173 to Jenkins’ 162. If you add up the vote totals, over 5700 voted. That’s more than I thought would turn out.

Author
golden eagle
Date
2007-08-14T19:41:10-06:00
ID
94496
Comment

I wish Weill the best in his new role. He has a big pair of shoes to fill.

Author
Jeff Lucas
Date
2007-08-14T19:44:56-06:00
ID
94497
Comment

WAPT id reporting that Jeff Weill won with 51% of the vote, with 100% precincts.

Author
Cliff Cargill
Date
2007-08-14T19:50:35-06:00
ID
94498
Comment

At first, it appeared as Ditto would win, but that was during early returns. But Weill started to pull away when about 3/4 of the precincts reported. Congrats to Mr. Weill and I hope he has Jackson’s best interest at heart.

Author
golden eagle
Date
2007-08-14T19:54:30-06:00
ID
94499
Comment

Good luck.

Author
pikersam
Date
2007-08-14T19:54:38-06:00
ID
94500
Comment

God, I must be in a time warp…

I posted this thing WAY before this.

Author
Cliff Cargill
Date
2007-08-14T19:55:32-06:00
ID
94501
Comment

C-L says that Weill unofficially wins.

Author
millhouse
Date
2007-08-14T20:45:29-06:00
ID
94502
Comment

Thanks for monitoring. We’re slammed trying to put Jackpedia to bed.

I’ll post something official soon, citing the Ledge. 😉

Author
DonnaLadd
Date
2007-08-14T20:46:13-06:00