House District 53 features another spirited race in 2019.
In 2015, now-incumbent Vince Mangold of Brookhaven, a Republican, knocked off longtime representative Bobby Moak of Bogue Chitto, then the Democratic leader in the House.
This year, Mangold faces a challenge from Democrat Rita Wilkinson Goss of Brookhaven as he seeks a second term.
Both candidates have political experience, though neither has more than one term in office. Mangold, a farmer, is finishing his first term in Jackson. Goss served one term as Lincoln County’s tax assessor and collector from 2012-15.
Vince Mangold
Mangold said his service in the Legislature already is, in itself, valuable.
“I learned after the last election that experience matters,” he said. “I went in thinking that I knew how everything worked. Once I got in, I saw there are a lot of moving parts. After four years, I know a lot better how everything works.”
The first-term representative said he believes the state is headed in the right direction, and he wants to be part of to moving the state forward.
He noted his pro-life credentials and touted the law restricting abortion passed in this year’s legislative session, which is being challenged in federal court and has been put on hold by U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves.
He also pointed to educational gains in the state, including the report just this week that found Mississippi fourth-graders had made the biggest gains in the nation in both reading and math.
“What we’re doing in education is working,” he said.
Mangold said the legislature’s move to provide raises to the state’s teachers was also a positive action that he supported in the legislature.
He said the state’s improved graduation rate is also a positive, as well as a near record low unemployment rate and the institution of an infrastructure funding program based on internet sales taxes that provides money directly to cities and counties for road and bridge maintenance and repairs.
“That’s all a plus,” Mangold said.
Mangold said he expects to see a push for expanded career and technical training.
“I think we’ll see an alternate path to (high school) graduation where students can get a certificate to go into a workforce training program at a community college, or get a job right out of high school,” he said.
He said a budget projection now would be “just a guess, but so far, the money is coming in good.”
Mangold called himself a strong supporter of education, abortion restriction and gun rights, and touted his endorsement by the National Rifle Association and the Police Benevolent Association.
“We’re going to take care of our law officers and veterans,” he said.
Rita Wilkinson Goss
Goss said her term as tax assessor allowed her to work with the legislature and gives her adequate experience with the legislative branch.
She decided to make a run for the seat because “I don’t like what I see going on. I believe if you don’t like what you see going on, you should step up and do something about it. I decided it was time to step up and make a difference for Mississippi and District 53.”
She said she felt especially strongly about health care, education and infrastructure issues. Goss said Medicaid should be reformed, rather than expanded, and that process should not require a tax increase.
“The inability to afford health care is hindering the state and its people,” Goss said.
She also wants to reduce the testing program for state students, which she said cause stress for teachers and students alike.
She would retain, however, using the ACT as a de facto graduation exam.
She also wants to put more effort into repairing and improving what she called the state’s “crumbling infrastructure” of roads and bridges.
Goss said she wanted to see how proceeds of the newly created lottery would affect the state’s revenues before thinking about whether the state’s budget priorities should be shifted.
She also said the state should think about examining where online purchases are made and consider how those funds should be divided among cities and counties.
She said she believed there was enough waste in legislative actions that could be cut and reallocated to provide significantly more funding to infrastructure needs.
