It is a winner take all in a four-candidate race for the Ward 1 selectman position on the McComb city board.
Outgoing Ward 1 Selectman Republican Ted Tullos did not run for reelection. Republican Tommy McKenzie, Democrat Ed Silence and independents Jeffrey “Jay” Wilson and Paschal David Stewart will be on the ballot for the June 21 election. The winner will take office July 1.
On an incoming board of six new selectmen and selectwomen, all four candidates talked about being able to work with any elected officials. Incumbent Democrat Quordiniah Lockley and current Ward 2 selectman independent Michael Cameron are the two mayoral candidates.
McKenzie served eight years as a selectman-at-large and hopes to use his experience in office. He said having six new selectmen and selectwomen provides a clean slate for officials coming in with new ideas.
“It’s an enormous responsibility I don’t take lightly,” he said. “My eight years of city board experience, 30 years working as a civil engineer and working with city, state and federal agencies all over the country in my career will greatly aid the new board and the citizens of McComb. There’s a very steep learning curve for new city board members and this in-coming board has to be effective from day one to address all the problems.
“Usually, it takes a couple of years for a new board member to fully grasp how municipal government works. To make the current situation more critical, this board will start without a City Administrator which is the fifth one to leave in four years. I have a firm grip on how City Hall operates effectively and efficiently.”
McKenzie said he was fortunate to learn from municipal attorney Wayne Dowdy.
Wilson welcomes working with a new board.
“I'm looking forward to working with a new and motivated board,” he said. “New ideas and new energy are things we need. That said, I believe that experience in city governance matters more for a mayor than a selectman. Although the mayor only votes to break ties, he (or she, when the time comes!) defines meeting agendas and presides over board meetings. Both candidates’ experience would be valuable.”
Stewart, a McComb High School graduate who received a certificate for efforts cleaning up the city, said attending meetings through the years will help him with a new board taking over.
“I have been attending the council meetings for several years and learned their duties,” he said. “I have been active in cleaning the city.”
Stewart said he has also been involved in the community volunteering at St. Andrews Food Center, as a member St. Alphonsus Catholic Church and taking voter registration cards to McComb residents.
Wilson said communication will be key to helping lower crime and lowering employee turnover at city hall.
“As far as I am aware board meetings are open to the public, including any department heads or employees that wish to address the board,” he said. “It should also be possible for department heads to attend work sessions should they have something they would like for the board to vote on in a future board meeting. That may already be possible, but if it is no one in the public has been made aware of it to my knowledge. I'd like to see a quarterly open forum with the department heads and the board if possible. As for employee complaints, all employees should follow their chain of command so that smaller issues can be handled at the department level as they should be.”
Silence proposed establishing volunteer citizen task forces to alert authorities of suspicious and criminal behavior and moving the curfew for children to 8 p.m.
“Crime is a community disease that requires a community cure which includes involvement with the school, local religious institutions and concerned citizens who can assist with crime prevention,” he said. “People who live in the community and know what's going on in the community are our greatest assets when fighting crime.”
McKenzie said increasing fines or jail time and creating a better environment for the whole process from the police officer on the street through sentencing in court would make a difference. He added he plans to reveal more of his ideas on fighting crime later.
Stewart said he would focus on cleaning up the city and talk to law enforcement officers about enforcing littering fines.
“I could talk to the citizens and tell them if they see anything suspicious, they can let us know,” he said.
Wilson said being an independent candidate will help him be able to work with anyone on the board.
McKenzie said city hall leadership is a key issue and hiring a city administrator that addresses the flaws in the city charter are crucial to success. He also talked about improving morale, lowering turnover by allowing employees to do their jobs and follow the chain of command.
“As a project manager for multi-million dollar projects with hundreds of employees, we are only successful when we encourage everyone to succeed in their position and follow the proper protocols,” he said.
McKenzie said board members make the policies and employees carry out day-to-day operations.
Silence reflected on 2018 when he ran for the Ward 1 selectman position as a Republican.
“Interestingly, I am the only candidate who has run as both a Republican and a Democrat, possibly the first ever in McComb,” he said. “I respect the principles and interests of both parties and frankly, ‘collaboration not confrontation’ is a motto, along with ‘a vote for me is a vote for we,’ established to reinforce the idea that we can get more done as an effective board and community than a dysfunctional disrespectful group.”
McKenzie also said all parties should work together.
“This is such an easy question, but we make it so complicated,” he said. “I believe a good idea is color blind. There are many people who dislike unity because it creates a world that can’t be controlled. If we have unity on the board, all the naysayers go away and we are left only with ideas and facts. We can be effective in this environment.”
Two of the bigger projects the past four years have been renovating the Alpha Center and building a new Martin Luther King Center gym.
McKenzie said operational costs have been a concern for 20 to 30 years, but the city will find the right path for both projects.
Wilson said it is important for kids to have a safe place to go in the neighborhood, and acknowledged the projects could cost taxpayers more money.
“It's the responsibility of a city to provide services to its citizens, is it not?” he said. “I get the feeling if the topic were trash service people would change their answer pretty quick. Now, it’s true that just about everything costs money, and we don’t have (and shouldn’t borrow) a ton of it. That means every elected official gets some things they want and doesn’t get others.”
Silence had a different outlook.
“There are homes in Ward 1 that dwarf the newly constructed MLK gym but the fact of the matter is, as a civilized society, it is incumbent upon the leadership to improve the quality of life for the citizens being served while maintaining and developing the community,” he said. “Just as roads need repair, our youth require healthy recreation and opportunities to become the future leaders of our town.”
McKenzie also talked about road repairs.
“Towards the end of my second term, we bought equipment to properly repair potholes and create a training program for the employees,” he said. “It was never implemented properly. We created an environmental court to ‘legally’ address blight and improve property values; hold property owners accountable for dilapidated property. This needs more emphasis. We got to improve our curb appeal. Other than sales tax, property values are our biggest source of income. And some would say sales tax and property values are related.”
Stewart said he would like to have a non-profit fitness center in the community.
“I would like to see something for the children, the young people to do,” he said.
Wilson, McKenzie and Silence all talked about making sure the city gets up to date with its audits.
“Let the contractors the current board has selected finish their audits,” Wilson said. “From there we can start mapping out the future of McComb and applying for grants to help ease the impact to citizens’ pockets.”
Silence said there should be regular audits to review finances and he would propose fundraisers.
McKenzie said the books were balanced when he was in office.
“The fact that the city hasn’t balanced the books for four years is pure negligence,” he said. “For eight years while I was on the board, we had near perfect audits. The process was in place. This sounds elementary, but the answer is putting the right knowledgeable person in place to perform the work and giving them the tools and support to make it happen.”
