Democratic Party chairman Wayne Dowdy is not seeking re-election, and a new leader will be chosen July 12. Party officials say they haven’t heard of any competition for Franks, a 35-year-old who represented parts of northeast Mississippi before he was defeated by Republican Phil Bryant in the lieutenant governor race last year.
“I think we’ve had some infighting, a lack of resources … we have simply not been on the same page,” Franks said of the party’s woes. “All I can say is that Republicans better beware, because Democrats are back.”
Besides choosing the remaining delegates to attend the Democratic National Convention in August, Democrats decided not to re-elect Brown to the state executive committee. As a committee member for the last 20 years, he had helped oversee party policies and certify Democratic candidates for state and congressional offices.
Last summer, a federal judge banned Brown and his associates from helping run Noxubee County elections after ruling he and other black political leaders in the county violated the 1965 Voting Rights Act by discriminating against white voters.
Asked about his defeat, Brown said, “The Bible says it doesn’t hurt you to part with anything you brought in the world with you.”
Clarion Ledger
6/9/8
Magnolia Tribune
