Press Release
For Immediate Release
House Majority Leader Tyrone Ellis Pays Own Way To Represent Mississippi at the DNC Convention
State Representative and House Majority Leader Tyrone Ellis will represent the Mississippi House of Representatives at the DNC National Convention in Denver, CO next week. “The Democratic and Republican party conventions are the biggest political events in America, and each state is sending members of the legislature to both. I am proud to be going to Denver because I want to make as many contacts and friends for Mississippi as I can. I am not sure who the Republicans in the House are sending, but I fully expect them to be at the Republican National Convention in September because they know the importance of our presence there,” said Rep. Ellis.
Rep. Ellis went on to say, “Mississippi gets billions of dollars a year in the form of Federal matching funds and it’s imperative to our state’s economy that we not lose that. When I became majority leader I made a pledge that I will go anywhere I am called on to represent our state, to lobby for our state, and to make certain that we continue to have friends in high places so that Mississippi is not left out of the discussions in Washington.”
The House of Representatives approved an expense voucher to offset the expense of the trip. However, Rep. Ellis will reimburse the State that money, said Ellis. “While attendance at the convention is very important to the state of Mississippi, I do understand that some feel it is wrong for the state to pay for this trip, therefore I will reimburse to the state the monies it granted to me and will pick up the cost of the trip on my own,” he said.
Background
In January 2008, Tyrone Ellis, a member of the House of Representatives since 1980, was selected to serve as the first Majority Leader of the Mississippi House of Representatives. In that capacity, Rep. Ellis has built a strong Democratic coalition that crosses all barriers of race and geography. Rep. Ellis is often credited for being able to hold together the once small 62 vote majority that re-elected Rep. Billy McCoy as Speaker of the House in January.
Magnolia Tribune
