Pascagoula voters find change in legislative seat has impact
Think the turnover of a single legislative seat can’t change the tone at the Mississippi Capitol?
Think again.
A good example is a House district formerly represented by Republican Carmel Wells-Smith of Pascagoula. When she chose not to seek re-election in 2007, the District 111 seat in coastal Jackson County was won by an assertive young Democrat, attorney Brandon Jones of Pascagoula.
Republicans loved Wells-Smith, but now they’re fuming about Jones’ active role in supporting Democratic House Speaker Billy McCoy and in challenging the agenda of Republican Gov. Haley Barbour. Many Democrats are cheering the change.
Wells-Smith served from January 1993 to January 2008, and she earned a reputation as a consistent, conservative voice in the House. She was among the most outspoken allies of two Republican governors – Kirk Fordice, who served 1992-2000; and Haley Barbour, who was elected in 2003 and re-elected in 2007.
Pascagoula is a longtime Republican stronghold and produced one of the party’s most prominent national figures of the past few decades, former U.S. Sen. Trent Lott.
Jones’ election to the state House in 2007 was noteworthy because he persuaded socially conservative voters to look past the “D” by his name and to trust that he would represent their interests in Mississippi’s capital city.
The difference between Wells-Smith and Jones was clear immediately.
On the opening day of the 2008 legislative session, the Mississippi House voted 62-60 to elect McCoy to a second term as speaker. Jones was among the 62.
Emily Wagster Pettus
1/20/9
Magnolia Tribune
