Gill, Hyde-Smith talk ag commissioner job

Gill, Hyde-Smith talk ag commissioner job

TUPELO, Miss. (AP) – Joel Gill and Cindy Hyde-Smith predict changes with either one’s election as the state’s next commissioner of agriculture and commerce.

Gill, a 60-year-old Democrat, says he believes the department lost its vision in the waning years of Dr. Lester Spell’s four terms. Spell isn’t seeking re-election.

“I’ve been a businessman the past 42 years,” said Gill, mayor of Pickens in Holmes County.

He and his family operate a cattle buy-sell business and know the ups and down of agriculture. But he says he aims to be more than an administrator.

“The people are hiring a voice to speak up for the Mississippi producer and the Mississippi consumer,” he notes.

AP
10/26/11