New guidelines for professional-service firms

After heated debate last month over how professional-service firms are selected for economic development projects, the Jackson Redevelopment Authority will institute a new set of guidelines for how they’re chosen.

The board Wednesday unanimously approved what it hopes is a more transparent method of selecting engineers, architects, attorneys and consultants for projects.

“It’s basically best business practices that most (private) companies would use,” said JRA board member John Reeves, who pushed for the changes.

Under the new guidelines, professional-service firms will first need to present qualifications, malpractice or liability coverage and a scope of services to JRA’s executive director.

If that person is found to be qualified for a project, the authority’s finance committee and then the full board would vote on whether to hire that firm.

If a company unexpectedly runs up extra billing hours, it would have to notify the executive director and JRA would have to approve that extra money, Reeves said.

In December, he and fellow board member Mat Thomas verbally sparred over Thomas’ attempt to bring in AJA Inc. to serve as construction monitor on a since-collapsed deal between the city and Transcontinental Realty Investors of Dallas to build a hotel to serve the Jackson Convention Complex.

Reeves said the board didn’t have the chance to thoroughly review the company’s qualifications, and that it wasn’t part of a list of firms already slated to be engaged for the hotel project.

Other members of the board said the company has a strong track record in various development projects in the state.

Thomas voted for the new system Wednesday but added he feels he acted properly in trying to have JRA include AJA in the project, since a the time there was no rule then barring his actions.

“I’m satisfied with the (new) process, as long as we follow the process,” he said.

All professional-services firms that currently do regular work for JRA will have to resubmit their qualifications.

That includes the handful of attorneys who serve as the agency’s general counsel.

Zachary Taylor, one of those attorneys, said he and his colleagues are fine with Wednesday’s decision.

Written by Jeff Ayres | Clarion Ledger

Constitution’s provision to be only issue

A judge on Monday postponed ruling whether some of former Gov. Haley Barbour’s pardons are invalid, including the reprieves for mansion trusties who served during his second term.

But Hinds County Circuit Judge Tomie Green denied motions to disqualify the attorney general’s office from arguing the case and to transfer it to another judge.

Green said former trusties – David Gatlin, Charles Hooker, Anthony McCray and Joseph Ozment, who were convicted of murder, and Nathan Kern, who was convicted of robbery – should continue to report daily to the Mississippi Department of Corrections. All but Ozment have been located since her initial order Jan. 11 and were in court on Monday.

Also, five pardoned criminals still incarcerated will remain there until the next hearing on the temporary restraining order, scheduled for 1 p.m. Feb. 3.

Hood said his office got what it hoped for in that the original order was extended, and that his office has more time to continue its review of the former governor’s pardons. He said he plans to ask for a summary judgment, a decision by the judge without a trial.

“It’s a straight up and down constitutional issue – whether it was complied with or not,” Hood said. “This is just dry law.”

Green stressed the only point argued would be the constitutionality of the pardons. But there has been debate over interpretation of the constitutional publication requirement – to publish a newspaper notice for 30 days announcing a request for a pardon. Some of those pardoned published a notice 30 days before their pardon was granted, but did not publish every day for 30 days. In the case of a weekly newspaper, Hood has said five weeks is necessary, not four, to cover 30 days.

Tom Fortner, a former Hinds County public defender representing four of the former Governor’s Mansion trusties, has said only the governor has the authority to interpret the constitutional provision.

Hood’s challenge of the pardons came after victims’ families, lawmakers and the public expressed outrage over Barbour’s decisions, which he made during his last days in office.

Barbour, a Republican, has said the challenge is political, given that he and Hood, a Democrat, were at odds throughout the former governor’s two terms. He granted more than 200 pardons, of which Hood’s office said its review showed as of Friday 25 sufficiently published, 51 had no publication, 117 had insufficient publication and 10 were still being reviewed.

In addition to Fortner, lawyers for the five pardoned inmates in prison have filed court papers in recent days seeking their release.

The five prisoners are Aaron Brown, convicted of murder; Joshua L. Howard, convicted of statutory rape; Azikiwe Kambule, convicted of armed carjacking and accessory to a murder after the fact; Katherine Robertson, convicted of aggravated assault; and Kirby Glenn Tate, convicted of delivery of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana.

Green was perturbed that several motions poured in over the weekend and on Monday, not allowing enough time for her to review them.

“All of you know how to practice law,” she said to the lawyers packed in the courtroom. “I’m good, but I’m not so good for you to come the day of the hearing and start throwing motions in baskets or the day before the hearing through email.”

Hood said his office also needed more time to respond to the motions.

Fortner filed motions Friday seeking to disqualify the attorney general’s office, for another judge to hear it and for a dismissal. He is arguing that Assistant Attorney General David Scott, assigned to represent MDOC, had developed an attorney-client privilege with the trusties when he agreed to help publish their pardon notices.

Fortner unsuccessfully argued that since Scott was representing MDOC, it’s a conflict of interest that his boss, Hood, be representing the state. The face-off has an appearance of impropriety, he said.

But Green, the county’s senior circuit judge, said she’s seen similar circumstances in past cases, and the fact that Scott works for Hood should not affect his allegiance to MDOC.

She also referenced Fortner’s motion about transferring the case to another judge, stressing that the case shouldn’t be about the judge but rather the constitution.

“This is not going to be about Judge Green – that seems to be a regular media hoopla from time to time,” she said. “This is going to be about the constitution.”

Fortner said he doesn’t yet know what his next step will be.

“I wasn’t thrilled or unthrilled,” Fortner said after the hearing. “The judge kind of laid some ground rules down, and we’ll be back on Feb. 3 to argue our point.”

Closely watching the proceedings also are lawyers for people whose pardons may be affected by Hood’s challenge.

“It’s a political matter, not a legal matter, ” said John Reeves, who is representing Buster Caldwell. “The Supreme Court would have to reverse over a 100 years of legal precedent for the attorney general to win. And, the Supreme Court rarely overturns prior case law.”

Caldwell is among the unnamed defendants, said Reeves, who attended the hearing. Convicted of rape and armed robbery in 1976 in Yalobusha County, he was paroled in 1985.

Tiffany Brewer, whose sister, Tammy Gatlin, was killed by David Gatlin in 1993, was one of 20 victims or victims’ families at the hearing.

Brewer said she was proud that neither her family nor other victims’ families lost their tempers in the court room. She said Gatlin glanced back several times and she tried not to catch his eyes.

“Everybody held their tongues and their manners,” she said.

Brewer said the victims in the courtroom hugged, exchanged phone numbers, and shared their mixed feelings about the hearing’s outcome.

“Today turned out good for us,” she said. “I wanted it to be all over today, but … we’ll move on in 11 days.”

“The Supreme Court would have to reverse over a 100 years of legal precedent for the attorney general to win.”

John Reeves, attorney

Written by Jessica Bakeman | Clarion Ledger

In fact, it could be months before Neely knows whether his election is settled.

Neely was declared the winner of the November general election by one vote over incumbent Bennie Warrington in the Southern District Justice Court race, but Warrington challenged the result. Ann McBride was the third candidate.

Warrington and Neely agreed last week in court to allow voters another opportunity to decide the winner.

Until the special election, Neely apparently will continue to serve.

But there is still a dispute over when the special election should take place.

Neely’s attorney, John Reeves of Jackson, said state code provides the special election should take place in November.

But Warrington’s attorney, Ronn Pierce, also of Jackson, said the special election should occur as soon as possible, suggesting March. He is hoping a special election date will be set for the spring.

Gov. Phil Bryant must set the date for the special election, secretary of state spokeswoman Pamela Weaver said.

Warrington said he left the courthouse on election night thinking he had won. He said he had a 21-vote lead based on the totals that night.

But after absentee and affidavit ballots, meaning paper ballots, were eventually added to totals, Neely ended up ahead by the one vote.

Circuit Judge Jannie Lewis and both Neely and Warrington agreed during last week’s court hearing that the will of voters couldn’t be determined in the split precinct, where both northern and southern districts Justice Court judge voters cast ballots.

Lewis didn’t put in her ruling that Neely had to vacate the office.

But Reeves said, “He will stay in office until an election in November and if he wins that he will continue in office.”

Pierce said he had hoped the judge would have postponed Neely assuming the post until the outcome was completely decided.

Pierce said his client would have won the election challenge, but he didn’t want the issue to be dragged out in court challenges.

A special election in Yazoo County is expected to cost about $15,000.

Written by
Jimmie E. Gates

Jackson couple awarded $600K in case

A judge on Tuesday awarded a Jackson woman and her husband $600,435 in a lawsuit arising from an abortion the woman received in 2003.

Hinds County Circuit Judge Bill Gowan awarded the money after issuing a default judgment for Daschica Thomas and her husband, Christopher Thomas, after no one showed for the scheduled Nov. 29 trial of the lawsuit.

The medical malpractice lawsuit was filed in 2005 against Dr. Joseph Booker, the then-Jackson Women’s Health Organization abortion clinic, the National Women’s Health Organization of Jackson and others.

The lawsuit alleges that Booker stopped performing the abortion shortly after starting it and said he was unable to finish it. He recommended that Thomas come back so it could be completed by another doctor. “Booker did not recommend antibiotics to her,” according to court papers. Thomas, a diabetic, began cramping and went home, but there “she continued to spot, bleed and she felt dizzy, sick and feverish.”

The abortion led to sepsis poisoning, and Thomas was in a coma for a week and half, according to the lawsuit.

“As default judgment has been entered, all factual allegations must be taken as true and if those facts establish a legal basis for recovery, plaintiff is entitled to recover,” Gowan said. “The court does find the factual allegations establish a medical malpractice action and is therefore inclined to award damages.”

Gowan awarded $500,000 in noneconomic damages to the couple, of which $100,000 goes to the husband; $19,820.83 to Thomas for lost wages and $9,700 to her husband for lost wages; $64,914.60 for Thomas’ medical bills; and $6,000 in punitive damages.

“The court was very methodical in its ruling and very fair,” the couple’s attorney, John Reeves of Jackson, said. “Mrs. Thompson and her husband were terribly wronged, and we now have this judgment that we look forward to collecting.”

Booker, who lives in Madison, couldn’t be reached for comment.

Shannon Brewer, director of All Women’s Healthcare of Jackson, the only abortion clinic in Mississippi, has said the default judgment would have no affect on the clinic because it is under new ownership. That is, the National Women’s Health Organization no longer owns the Mississippi clinic.

Booker no longer works at the clinic in Jackson and is seeking his own default judgment against the clinic owner because of a lack of a response to his lawsuit.

In his lawsuit, Booker said he had worked at the clinic from 2002 until he was terminated July 30, 2010, by Dianne Derzis, who took over the Jackson Women’s Health Organization clinic in June 2010. He alleges that he was retaliated against for refusing to perform an abortion procedure not approved by the FDA and discriminated against after he was replaced by a white doctor who would use the procedure.

The wrongful termination lawsuit against Jackson Women’s Health Organization Inc. and All Women’s Healthcare of Jackson Inc. was amended in April after it had been filed earlier in Hinds County Circuit Court.

Derzis could not be reached for comment.

Written by The Clarion-Ledger

Sale of $90 million in bonds OK’d by Jackson board, but action not final

Jackson Redevelopment Authority members on Friday offered conditional approval to fund a long-delayed hotel project, but not without heated debate and questions concerning its legality.

Board attorneys must sign off on the board’s actions before the measure can move forward. It also must get approval from the Jackson City Council, which will discuss the matter on Monday.

Longtime general counsel Zachary Taylor on Friday recused himself from all future dealings related to issuing nearly $90 million in bonds to build a hotel across from the Jackson Convention Complex.

The board also hired several companies for personal service contracts related to the deal, which raised concerns among some members.

Taylor challenged whether last month’s decision to shorten the typical 30-day requests for proposal period to 15 days was legal.

Much of the $89.6 million in bond financing would come from Gulf Opportunity Zone bonds that have to be sold by Dec. 31. Based on the traditional process, developers would not have been able to meet that deadline.

Taylor would not comment on the issue after the meeting, citing attorney-client privilege.

“We’ve got differences in opinions from our attorneys,” JRA board chairman Ronnie Crudup Sr. said of Taylor’s actions.

To protect the board’s interests, JRA on Friday hired the firm Balch & Bingham to review the actions related to the hotel deal and make sure they were legal.

“This particular deal is a deal that there has been a lot of disagreement in it,” Crudup said late Friday..

Jackson City Council President Frank Bluntson said a council vote could come by Dec. 19.

“It’s important. It gets us one step closer,” Lucien Bourgeois, an attorney representing the city in the deal, said of JRA’s vote.

If the GO Zone bonds are sold on time, construction could start as early as January, with the 309-room hotel opening in summer 2013, says Bob Swerdling, a Colorado-based hospitality-industry consultant involved in the deal.

But Bourgeois said there are other important steps to be finalized, including fielding other proposals to develop the hotel.

When asked Friday if other companies had submitted formal proposals, Crudup would say only, “Other people have expressed interest.”

The agency is scheduled to meet Friday to award whichever proposal it deems best.

Texas-based Transcontinental Realty Investors had been the lone company to this point working to build the hotel, taking the lead this year from a subsidiary. Company officials could not be reached for comment Friday.

However, even without a developer in place the board on Friday voted to approve several personal service contracts, including a construction manager.

JRA executive director Jason Brookins late Friday said several contracts to handle issuing the bonds had been approved by the board Friday.

He was driving and said he did not have the names or dollar amounts of the companies awarded contracts readily available.

“All of this is contingent; the bonds have to be purchased,” Brookins cautioned.

Board members John Reeves and Matthew Thomas had a heated discussion about the personal service contracts, especially Thomas’ effort to hire AJA Inc., owned by Andrew Jenkins, as construction manager.

Reeves, who serves as board vice chairman, said late Friday that he objected to an effort to hire a construction manager for $2 million before the project had been funded and without vetting the applicant. He said Jenkins’ company was hired in a 3-2 vote.

Reeves objected and then recused himself from any further dealings related to the hotel project.

Crudup, who voted for Jenkins, said Jenkins’ firm has handled jobs for the city, county and state.

“There are established percentages in terms of the way things are paid,” he said. He added the finance committee would review the contracts to make sure they are within industry standards.

The hotel was originally to open in 2009 to coincide with the launch of the convention complex. Complex officials have said the lack of a connected hotel has cost it millions of dollars in business.

Under a preliminary agreement with TCI, the city would buy the hotel property for $14.3 million and lease it back to hotel developers over a 10-year period. But the purchase amount could change, Bourgeois said. A new appraisal is being done.

That price change, plus “budgeted items” that didn’t qualify for bonds, caused the bond amount to lower from $96 million to $89.9 million, Bourgeois said.

Bluntson said council members have a better sense of how the deal will work than when the agreement-in-principle was announced in September.

“We still have some concerns … we’re not going to put the city in a (risky) position.”

Under the tentative agreement, TCI and the city would equally share responsibility for covering any debt service shortfalls.

Whatever dollar value the new appraisal puts on the hotel land, Swerdling said the value will increase as the project is developed.

Written by Jeff Ayres | Clarion Ledger

Challenger alleged voters offered alcohol

Longtime Holmes County Supervisor Norman Cobbins Jr. will begin serving another term in January after a challenger failed to prove accusations that Cobbins enticed voters with alcohol.

Cobbins, who has been District 1 supervisor for 16 years, faced that allegation and others from his Democratic primary opponent, Leonard Hampton, whom he defeated by three votes.

A special appointed judge recently ruled there was not enough evidence to back up Hampton’s allegations, clearing the way for Cobbins’ victory.

Cobbins could not be reached after multiple attempts this week.

He previously told The Clarion-Ledger: “I would say that anything (Hampton) says I did, he did the same thing.”

Hampton’s attorney, John Reeves, said his client is “very satisfied that he got a fair hearing.”

“It’s hard to make a case, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen,” he said.

Hampton had led Cobbins in the Aug. 2 primary by 17 votes, but did not secure a clear majority to avoid a runoff. The Aug. 23 runoff results showed Cobbins up 436 votes to Hampton’s 433.

Cobbins faced no Republican opponent in the Nov. 8 election.

Reeves said Hampton intends to seek the post again in four years.

According to the judge’s ruling, Lexington resident Reginald Kimbrough testified in Holmes County Circuit Court that Cobbins bought him a six-pack of beer and gave him about $5 or $10, then said he would like his vote. But Kimbrough was not believed to be credible.

“Due to the demeanor, the speech pattern and the general presentation of this witness, the court has significant issues as to the credibility of the testimony offered,” Judge Charles Webster wrote. “While the witness denied having anything to drink on the morning of his appearing in court, the court is not of great confidence in the witness’ denial.”

Kimbrough’s testimony ultimately was deemed “self-contradictory.”

Reeves said he understands the questions raised by Kimbrough’s testimony.

“Unfortunately, the people who are preyed on are the poor, the illiterate, the downtrodden. That’s why they are preyed on,” he said.

He said he still believes there is some validity to claims of vote buying.

“There’s no doubt in my mind,” he said.

But Webster determined the only credible issue Hampton raised was concern over how absentee ballots cast in one precinct were handled.

The judge threw out 155 ballots cast either by absentee or affidavit because they were not properly secured during the counting process and could have been accessed by nonelection officials during a lunch break.

“While there was no proof of actual tampering with these ballots, the absentee and/or affidavit ballots were available for tampering,” the ruling states.

Hampton also had claimed absentee ballots were not witnessed. As evidence, he noted one woman had witnessed several ballots , but the judge said there was nothing improper.

“Those voters whose ballots were witnessed by (her) were primarily elderly and disabled,” Webster’s order states. “In all but one instance, (she) was called by the absentee voter after the voter had voted the ballot, placed the ballot in the appropriate envelope and sealed the envelope.”

By Elizabeth Crisp | Clarion Ledger

Parties reach a deal, but GO Zone financing an issue

A final, but unsigned, agreement is in place to build a long-delayed hotel across from the Jackson Convention Complex in downtown, although developers will have a narrow timeframe to sell tax-free bonds included in the project’s financing package.

“The dust is still settling on some details. We’re moving forward with (completing) that agreement,” said Porter Bingham, an adviser to the city on the hotel project.

But JRA has yet to issue about $96 million in bonds, including Gulf Opportunity Zone bonds that must be sold by Dec. 31.

Representatives of Trans-continental Realty of Dallas, the hotel’s developer, were not at Wednesday’s meeting and could not be reached.

Lucien Bourgeois, an attorney for the city, says most of the deal’s parameters, already agreed to in principle by the city and TCI, remain in place.

JRA on Wednesday approved seeking a new appraisal of land where the hotel will be located.

Based on that information, the $14.3 million the city is set to pay in a proposed lease-purchase agreement could change.

The city would buy the land then lease it to TCI with each having equal risk from the debt service shortfalls.

City spokesman Chris Mims said he wasn’t aware the deal was nearing completion. He referred questions to City Attorney Pieter Teeuwissen, who could not be reached for comment.

Since the tentative deal was announced in October, the company has remained silent about negotiations.

Wednesday’s announcement could be another step forward for the hotel, which was to have opened along with the convention complex in January 2009 but has been delayed by the recession and other factors.

The deadline for the GO Zone bonds to be sold is shrinking.

JRA typically meets on the fourth Wednesday of each month. That means developers would have just three days to sell the bonds if the matter isn’t taken up before the next regularly scheduled meeting.

But Bourgeois said he anticipates JRA calling a special meeting earlier in December to vote on the bonds. If that happens, attorneys involved in the deal said the financing could close as soon as Dec. 29.

A term sheet spelling out the deal’s provisions also would have to be taken up by JRA.

“We’re up against the wall,” Bourgeois said. “The calendar says it’s possible. We’re going to be working 24/7. There’s still a lot of negotiating to be done between now and the end of the year.”

While TCI is in line to build the hotel, securing the GO Zone bonds requires a formal request for proposals.

JRA agreed to shorten the typical request-for-proposal timeframe from 30 days to 15 days.

JRA board member John Reeves says he doesn’t expect any other developer trying to win such a complex project.

“There’s no way around it,” he said of Transcontinental. “We’re friends with TCI, whether we want to be or not.”

The authority also didn’t vote on two previous bond proposals for other projects.

JRA and Farish Street Group are finalizing an agreement in which developers would receive $8 million in GO Zone funds to finish buildout on the first block of the Farish Street Entertainment District, which is to open by next summer.

Jason Goree, a Farish Street Group partner, said he hopes something can be finalized in the first week of December to allow time to sell those bonds. If not, he said developers will turn to urban renewal bonds that don’t carry such tight deadlines.

GO Zone bonds were created to spur economic development in areas affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

There was no discussion Wednesday of a $3.5 million bond issue to go toward a new headquarters and welcome center for the Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau at Jefferson and Pascagoula streets.

Wanda Wilson, the bureau’s president and CEO, said that effort is “still in the research phase.”

City Council members last week approved measures that would allow JRA to issue bonds for the projects.

By Jeff Ayres | Clarion Ledger

Raymond resident Leon Jones’ residency prevents him from running for Hinds County District 4 constable, a circuit judge ruled Wednesday.

Jones, a Democrat, appealed the Hinds County Election Commission’s Sept. 15 decision to remove him from the November ballot after Republican incumbent Constable Jon Lewis challenged Jones’ residency.

“The law requires that a constable must live in the district that he purports to represent,” said Lewis’ attorney, John Reeves. “The undisputed evidence is that Jones’ house is approximately 200 yards inside of District 2.”

That evidence includes a map each from Central Mississippi Planning and Development District and another from the tax assessor’s office, Reeves said. Both were presented at the hearing before Circuit Judge Breland Hilburn.

Hilburn also heard statements from Jones, his attorney Bryan Guy, Lewis and District 4 Election Commissioner Connie Cochran.

“We’re working on that,” Jones said of the possibility of a further appeal to the Mississippi Supreme Court. “They are giving us five days to make a decision.”

Lewis, a constable since 1995, faces independent Earl Young in the general election. Both men are from Raymond.

Jones said he votes in District 4 and ran for office four years ago in District 4, and that no one questioned his residency until this year.

Jones said he doesn’t have “a bad taste in my mouth” following the loss of his appeal.

“I’m the only one who will be left out in the cold, but no matter which way it goes, everything will be fine,” he said. “If I stay in District 2, I don’t have a problem with that.”

Developers are directed to account for ‘slow progress’

The Jackson Redevelopment Authority wants developers of the Farish Street Entertainment District to give it a specific update on the oft-delayed development’s progress.

A week after the Jackson City Council passed a resolution slamming what it described as the project’s slow progress, JRA voted Wednesday to set up a public meeting with Farish Street Group, led by David Watkins, so developers can spell out where they stand.

A date hasn’t been set.

“That way, everybody will know. This is publicly owned land,” said JRA board member John Reeves.

Watkins said he welcomes the chance to show the highly-scrutinized development is moving forward. “We go before the JRA (practically) every other month. It’s routine for us. We want them to know what we’re doing.”

Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. and the council have been invited to attend. Johnson said whether he’ll be able to make it depends on his schedule, but said the meeting is a good idea. “I’m fairly comfortable with how the process is moving. The public does have an interest in what’s going on.”

Last week, the council voted 4-2 for an internal audit of the development, but the city’s oversight remains in question. Ward 1 Councilman Quentin Whitwell, an attorney for Watkins, abstained.

Watkins last week blasted the vote as “ludicrous.” JRA owns the land he is leasing for the entertainment district.

JRA executive director Jason Brookins said the city has not formally requested an audit. The agency has asked developers to bring any documentation related to tenant signings, while allowing for any information that’s potentially proprietary to be taken up in executive session.

JRA voted earlier this year to temporarily delay rent payments due from developers in exchange for a list of signed tenants and how much has been spent on the district.

Brookins said he’s received a lease execution sheet between Farish Street Group and B.B. King’s Blues Club but not a full contract between the parties.

“The city council wants to see where that project is,” he said. “They’re frustrated … just like we all are.”

Watkins says he’s sent other leasing documents to JRA attorneys for review.

Fourteen music clubs are slated to be open on Farish Street, once the center of African-American life in Jackson, by next summer as part of the first block of the roughly $100 million development.

A second block is to include recording studios and office space for music-related businesses. Efforts to redevelop portions of Farish Street have been ongoing for years.

Watkins and his team took the project over three years ago after numerous disagreements between original developer Performa Entertainment of Memphis and Jackson officials.

The local team took on $1.8 million in Performa’s debt in the process. That includes a $1 million loan from the Mississippi Development Authority which Watkins said the agency has agreed to defer payment on until the clubs open.

The switch in developers, rigorous historic redevelopment requirements and a recession have caused the entertainment district’s projected opening date to be pushed back multiple times.

“We’re frustrated, too,” Reeves said. But he adds Watkins is “a true hero in the city for what he’s done” in bringing the King Edward Hotel and Standard Life buildings back to life.

Watkins has said the shells of the buildings are done.

JRA board member Greg Green said,”They’ve been giving us explanations for three years. We need to handle our business.”

- Jeff Ayres | Clarion Ledger

With less than two months before the Nov. 8 general election, two Hinds County races are still in question.

Gay Polk, who ran for the District 73 seat in the state House of Representatives, filed a formal challenge against Democratic opponent Brad Oberhousen after the Aug. 2 primary. The Democratic Executive Committee certified the final results last month showing that Oberhousen received 2,103 votes, or 51.09 percent, to Polk’s 2,013, or 48.91 percent. Polk said that her name had been left off the ballot at the Wynndale and Dry Grove precincts. ??Polk said today that she received a letter from Hinds County Democratic Executive Committee Chairman Claude McInnnis Monday stating that the committee could not grant a revote. She said she plans to file a lawsuit against the county.

“The letter states that an unfortunate and regrettable error occurred in House District 73, the Dry Grove precinct, during the primary. However, the Hinds County Democratic Committee certified the election in good faith,” Polk said. “Basically, my next option is to go to court.”

Oberhousen, 33, is a Jackson attorney. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Mississippi State University in 2000 and his law degree from Mississippi College in 2002. The Terry resident has said he will continue to campaign for the Nov. 8 election.

Tomorrow, candidates for Hinds County constable for District 4 will go before the Hinds County Election Commission for a hearing to determine whether Democratic candidate Leon Jones lives within the district’s boundaries.

Incumbent Constable Jon Lewis claims that Jones does not live in District 4, and that his house, located at 4036 Military Road in Raymond, is actually 200-300 yards in District 2.

Lewis’ attorney John Reeves said the Hinds County Election Commission mistakenly qualified Jones.

“What happened is that election commission mistakenly put his registration in District 4 but that doesn’t matter,” Reeves said. “The mistake in putting voter registration in wrong district doesn’t allow him to seek public office in the wrong district.”

Jackson attorney Sam Begley, who is representing Jones, said that he is reviewing Central Mississippi Planning and Development District, and Mississippi Department of Transportation maps and believes that Jones is a District 4 resident.

“I am investigating the matter to confirm what Mr. Jones has told me,” Begley said.

Dennery to Replace Davis

Republican John Dennery will replace Roger C. Davis in the Hinds County Supervisors race for District 1 against incumbent Robert Graham.

The Hinds County Republican Executive Committee confirmed the former Jackson restaurateur as the Republican candidate supervisor’s race this week.

Republican candidate Roger C. Davis confirmed last week that he dropped out of the race for Hinds County District 1 supervisor against incumbent Robert Graham.

Davis is the managing partner at Woodbridge Capital Financial Portfolio Management, a financial firm in Jackson. ??”My partner’s wife has been diagnosed with a serious illness so my responsibilities at work are exponentially more demanding than when I filed to run,” Davis said. “The party is aware of my situation.”

Dennery issued the following statement yesterday:

“I’m excited about the opportunity to restore the people’s faith in our board of supervisors. Our county suffers from a lack of transparency that has led to no-bid contracts and backroom deals. If I’m elected those deals will stop.”

Graham and McInnis were not immediately available for comment.

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