(Photo from Visit Jackson)
- Council members voted unanimously to institute the hiring freeze after outgoing Mayor Chokwe Lumumba made two hires that raised eyebrows.
The Jackson City Council has implemented a hiring freeze with the municipal General Election weeks away and the incumbent mayor out of the running for re-election.
Lumumba lost the Democratic Primary runoff to State Senator John Horhn in late April, ending his bid for re-election.
Council members voted unanimously to institute the hiring freeze after outgoing Mayor Chokwe Lumumba made two hires over the last few weeks that raised eyebrows.
Lumumba hired former Hinds County Supervisor David Archie for a job within the Office of Constituent Services last week. The week before, Lumumba hired Tariq Abdul-Tawwab as deputy director of the city’s Public Works Department. Tawwab left JXN Water abruptly in 2024 and is now a critic of the utility. He served as “chief experience officer” at JXN Water from 2023 to 2024.
Council President Virgi Lindsay introduced the measure to pause hiring within the municipal government, saying Lumumba’s actions influenced her to place the measure on the agenda late. Council rules state if an ordinance is placed on the agenda late, it must have unanimous approval before moving forward. With less than a handful of questions, the council approved the ordinance 7-0.
At first, the ordinance was believed to impact only hiring within the executive branch. However, when Lumumba’s chief of staff asked if it also applies to departments outside of the city’s fire and police department, Lindsay confirmed it applies to all city departments other than first responders.
The mayor’s chief of staff then asked if the freeze includes the City Attorney’s Office, which has several vacant positions. “Yes,” Lindsey said.
“We’re five weeks from the change (in administration) and I just don’t think it’s prudent to be hiring people,” she said.
Mayor Lumumba was not at the Council meeting. Calls to his office over two days went unreturned.
“We have a new administration taking office July 1 and the risk is there that the new hires may not even be able to keep their jobs, so it’s just unfortunate that we even had to take this action tonight,” Lindsay said. “But I think it’s important as a body that we remain as fiscally responsible as we can to the taxpayers.”
There has been rumblings over the Mayor’s hiring of Abdul-Tawwab, with some in City Hall claiming cronyism. Abdul-Tawwab’s wife works at the non-profit Lumumba’s sister founded. Both men are vocal critics of JXN Water and third-party administrator Ted Henifin.
At a press conference last week announcing the hire, Lumumba said, “Every city employee is entitled to have [their] own political beliefs and thoughts. That would be no different for Mr. Abdul-Tawwab as it is for any city employee sitting before me.”
“It is neither something that renders someone a position nor restricts them from a position to have outspoken beliefs,” the mayor said.
The hiring freeze is set to expire on June 30, the day before a new mayor is set to take office.
Daniel Tyson
