More on Hinds County redistricting scam
From the Northside Sun
At its meeting on January 18, the board of supervisors voted to give Jackson attorney Derrick Johnson $40,000 to redraw district lines.
The decision could indicate that the board didn’t quite do its homework before approving the contract. The Central Mississippi Planning and Development District (CMPDD), the planning organization that typically does redistricting for the metro area, charges half that amount.
That fact is something Board President District Five Supervisor George Smith admitted to in an interview with the Sun. “We could have negotiated (for a better price) but we didn’t,” he said. At the time of the vote, Smith said he didn’t know what other counties were charged for the same services.
Despite that claim, Smith and Johnson are board members of CMPDD. Johnson is also president of the Mississippi Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a fact that has sent up red flags with some in the area.Read more: northsidesun – Redistricting
JJ
Magnolia Tribune
