Fifteen candidates vying for the Capitol City’s top spot put themselves on record regarding a variety of crime and prevention issues today. Safe City posed a list of eighteen questions to the entire field of candidates. Their answers may be viewed by going to www.thesafecity.com and clicking on the Jackson Voter Guide icon at the top of the homepage.
Questions ranged from support of and qualifications for a new police chief to solving the criminal backlog in our Courts. Other queries asked for candidate views on fiscal accountability, better interagency cooperation for projects like Metro One and possible funding solutions for youth programs. One other important question surrounds the resurrection of the highly successful metro Gun Interdiction Team (GIT) which is responsible for getting a number of repeat, violent offenders off the street with enhanced time for carrying a weapon.
“Jackson needs strong and effective leadership,” said board member Coyt Bailey. “There is a tremendous amount of resources both public and private which can be utilized to attack Jackson’s crime issue. Already there are many people working together to provide the tools needed to thwart crime. We need the aggressive initiative to sustain those projects or to support the advancements already on the books and working.”
Safe City is a 501(3) C and does not take part in political support for candidates or partisan activity. The goal of the organization is to bring assistance and accountability to the Criminal Justice system. It is the only state watchdog group of its’ kind. In the last three years members saw a number of successes both on the policy level with the passage of metal-theft policies, enhanced penalties for property crimes and fund-raising to support local law enforcement particularly, Metro One helicopter which provides air support to metro agencies.
“We applaud the efforts of local press to better inform voters. Taxpayers need more information than a 15-second soundbite or a campaign commercial can provide,” said board member Johnnie Patton. “Many of the candidates who answered our questionnaire did their homework and went into detail about their accomplishments or proposed suggestions to the challenges facing the City of Jackson. We hope citizens will take the time to read their answers.”
Copies of the candidate surveys will be available Monday at Safe City’s 12th annual fundraiser, “Take a Tasty Bite Out of Crime” beginning at 6:00 pm at Highland Village.
SafeCity Initiative Press Release
5/1/9
Magnolia Tribune
