Greetings from the campaign trail. I apologize that this week’s edition is a day late, but yesterday we embarked on our 13-stop campaign kick-off tour which will lead us through every part of the state over the next week and a half.
We visited Hattiesburg, the Gulf Coast, and the Jackson area yesterday (Wednesday) and Sharon and I had a wonderful time meeting people on each stop. Today, I was in Meridian and the Golden Triangle.
While in the Golden Triangle, I was able to tour SeverCorr, the new steel manufacturing facility that is under construction. What an impressive facility-and big; it is six football fields long. Most importantly, it represents over 400 new jobs for Mississippians.
Mississippians have real concerns about their future and they deserve to know who is going to stand up for their conservative principles. That is why I’ve proposed a series of seven debates with my opponent across the state in the next few months to let the voters decide whose vision for Mississippi better suits their beliefs, issue by issue.
The legislative session ended this past weekend, and there were some great successes for the people of Mississippi. First, we passed a balanced budget that will actually put $50 million into the “Rainy Day Fund.” Like a responsible business, we only budgeted 98 percent of our expected revenue, setting aside 2 percent in case our estimate was wrong-and to fund the Rainy Day Fund. It is essential that Mississippi be responsible with its citizens’ tax dollars, and we were able to live up to that obligation.
We also passed a bill that is aimed at strengthening our criminal justice system. In several districts, our courts are overloaded with cases. This bill, which I wrote, will increase the number of assistant district attorneys in those districts to ensure that those who commit crimes are held accountable for their actions in a timely manner.
The so-called “wind pool” bill was another great success. The bill is designed to stabilize the insurance market and further the recovery effort in South Mississippi. Our Gulf Coast is vitally important to Mississippi’s prosperity and we need to do everything in our power to ensure its bright future. Affordable insurance is a key to the recovery of the Coast. This bill will go far in retaining that goal.
A disappointment this year was the “Sunshine Attorney Bill” that did not pass the House because Speaker McCoy and Representative Blackmon would not allow a vote. (These are the same two that would not allow a vote on tort reform for so long as well.) The Sunshine Bill would have provided oversight for the multi-million dollar contracts that state agencies give to outside attorneys. The bill came about because of Attorney General Jim Hood’s $14 million contract with one of his largest campaign contributors. This practice is wrong and the taxpayers’ money should be used to serve our state, not cronyism. We will continue to fight to make sure that this accountability is passed and implemented.
I was proud last week to participate in a Senate presentation honoring outgoing State Supreme Court Justice Kay Cobb in the Capitol. Justice Cobb has served 8 years with honor and distinction on the Supreme Court.
We also honored Rick and Liza Looser in the State Senate last week for their “Mississippi, Believe It!” ad campaign. For those of you who have not seen them, the ads are a great tool to promote our state in a positive light to the rest of the nation. In one ad the caption reads, “Yes, we can read, a few of us can even write.” The ad then displays pictures of many prominent Mississippi writers including William Faulkner, John Grisham, Eudora Welty, and Tennessee Williams. What makes the Loosers so special is that they did this entire campaign at no cost to the state, buying hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of ad space in publications like The New York Times and U.S. News & World Report. Mississippians owe them a debt of gratitude due to the positive image of our state that their ads produced around the nation.
I was humbled last week when I was given a resolution in the Senate honoring my ten years of service in the chamber. Though I am not running for re-election to my senate seat, I expect to return to the Senate Chamber to preside as the lieutenant governor.
Look for us out on the campaign trail in the next couple of weeks; we are traveling nearly everywhere in the state, so we should be making a stop near you. Check the “Events” section on our website, http://www.charlieross.com, to find out when we’ll be near you.
As always, remember that you may contact us at our campaign headquarters in Jackson at (601) 362-ROSS (7677) or you can send me a message on our website. You can also sign up to volunteer or donate to our campaign on the website – just click on “Get Involved” and see what you can do.
Best regards,
Charlie
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Friends of Charlie Ross
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Brandon, MS 39047
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