Rep. Mary Ann Stevens calls it a career?
I've been hearing that Rep. Mary Ann Stevens has withdrawn her reelection bid. That would be big news, as she'd basically become a de facto Republican vote in the House. Her voting record bought her three primary opponents at the qualifying deadline, one of which is an alderman from Stevens' tiny hometown of West. There are no Republicans qualified to run in House District 48, so the winner of the primary will replace Stevens, if what I have heard is correct.
Phil Bryant, Miss America, and $10,000
Geoff Pender at the Sun-Herald wrote an article last Friday that revealed Republican gubernatorial candidate Phil Bryant's plan to use BP money to move the Miss America pageant from Las Vegas to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. In order to help restore tourism, BP pledged $16M to the Mississippi Gulf Coast after they spewed oil all over it. Under Bryant's plan, a majority of that money would go towards moving the pageant from Vegas to the Coast.
From the article:
Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant, a gubernatorial candidate, wants local tourism leaders to spend the bulk of the advertising and marketing money BP is providing over three years to move the Miss America pageant from Las Vegas to the Mississippi Coast.
But those leaders are concerned whether they could, or should, spend a majority of the $16 million from BP on the pageant, which has seen flagging viewership and popularity in recent years. Though the pageant moving here would be a boon for the Coast’s image, there’s concern it would not necessarily help bring enough tourists to be worth the expense.
Bryant this week accompanied Mississippi native Sam Haskell to a meeting to pitch the newly formed Mississippi Gulf Coast Regional Tourism Partnership on the pageant. The three-county partnership is in charge of BP’s tourism and marketing grant to the Coast.
Haskell, former chief of worldwide television for the William Morris Agency, is the current chairman of the Miss America Organization.Then things get interesting. According to the article:
Bryant through a spokesman declined comment on the issue, and apparently had wanted the pitch to be a secret, according to local leaders.I'm sure that Bryant wanted it kept secret for the same reasons other economic development projects are kept secret. But it kinda looks bad when you factor in the fact that Sam Haskell donated $10,000 to Bryant's campaign 3 weeks before the pitch was made (see page 4), and that the Miss America pageant ain't what it used to be. According to Pender's article:
In 2006, ABC declined to renew its contract with the pageant.
Cable channel CMT picked it up for two years, then dropped it, with cable channel TLC signing a three-year deal in 2008.
In 1988, the pageant had 33 million viewers. During its cable years, viewership had dropped to less than 4 million.
The pageant has returned to ABC, and this year drew 6.6 million viewers, a 47 percent increase over last year on TLC.As a comparison, 6.6 million viewers is 1 million less than last year's Alabama-South Carolina football game. Of course, there will be people who travel in to watch the pageant live, and I figure whatever venue hosts it will sell out. But how is that markedly different than, say, the upcoming Keith Urban show at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum? (My guess is it won't even be held at a venue that large. It will probably be held at the much smaller Beau Rivage Theater, meaning there will be even less tourist dollars spent.)
I'm not sure this is a wise way to spend nearly all of the BP tourism money. And I can't help but wonder whether or not Sam Haskell pitched the idea of handing over the Coast's BP money to prop up his flagging franchise while he was handing over that $10,000 check.
Now for a little news of the weird...
Perennial candidate Shawn O'Hara this year attempted to run for both the Democratic nomination for State Treasurer and the Reform Party nomination for Governor. The Democratic Executive Committee told O'Hara "no way", and O'Hara subsequently filed suit in Hinds County Circuit Court. Judge Gowan entered his ruling today, telling O'Hara that such a dual candidacy is prohibited by statute and that the Democratic Executive Committee was correct in refusing to put his name on the ballot.
O'Hara has three days to file an appeal to the Supreme Court. (For you legal geeks out there, this is one of the rare instances in which appellants proceed via bill of exceptions.)
30 minutes from filing deadline...
Looks like Democrats have lined up good challengers in almost all of the vulnerable GOP legislative seats. I'll get some analysis of those races together over the next few days.
Harvey Moss, House Democrat Whip, hangs it up after 28 years (and gives us something to think about going forward)
In a well-written article over at the Clarion-Ledger, Molly Davis covers the 7 term career of Rep. Harvey Moss (D-Corinth). There are some great quotes from Moss in the article that help remind folks exactly what Mississippi Democrats stand for:
The state's increasingly powerful Republican Party holds that conservatism is inconsistent with tax increases, but Moss says tax increases are sometimes necessary.Speaking about the 5-cent tax increase in the landmark 1987 transportation bill that led to our state's modern highway system:
"You can't turn people out of mental health. You've got to keep the highway patrol going. You've got to keep the school buses going," he said.
"It was one of the most major economic factors that we've had in our whole state."Speaker Billy McCoy chimed in with praise for Moss:
"Education, transportation, public health and economic development - Harvey's been in the middle of all of it...He's just a quiet fellow that's never asked for much recognition."So now that Moss is gone, and Republicans are viciously fighting to take control of the House, the question has to be asked:
What happens to law enforcement and our mental health, public health, transportation, and education systems if people whose only goal in public life is to cut taxes and cut spending control Mississippi government?That question will be the one the 2011 legislative elections will be decided upon.
