Another Mayor Johnson For Jackson

I don't know Daren Bourns, but I can tell from reading his blog posts that he and I are on the same wave length. Today The Clarion-Ledger ran his post handicapping next year's race for mayor of Jackson (one thing I noticed was that the paper is quite liberal in changing what he writes when transferring it to the print edition). Bourns commends former police Chief Robert Johnson, a possible mayoral candidate.

I am also an admirer of Robert Johnson's. The turning point for me with incumbent Mayor Frank Melton was when he attacked Johnson and blamed him for the current crime problem in the capital city.

Former Police Chief Robert Johnson was the best police chief [amen!] among a [cabal] of 50 or so passing through a revolving door. ... Based on the possible [mayoral] candidates so far, he is the best of the lot.

You may recall that Robert Johnson was appointed chief by former Mayor Kane Ditto. Harvey Johnson took office as mayor in July 1997, and it took him some nine months to determine that Robert Johnson was allegedly "not a team player" and to fire him.

Many of us made a mistake three years ago [in voting for Frank Melton for mayor]. I will not make that mistake over three months from now.

The party primaries will be held on the first Tuesday in May, and any necessary runoff primaries will occur two weeks later. The general election will be on the first Tuesday in June.

I would like [Robert] Johnson to tell me his views on certain issues...

Bourns then lists nine issues that concern him. One of these is the need for a "comprehensive plan for bolstering the police force." Who better for accomplishing this and fighting crime than a successful former police chief?

Robert Johnson is very articulate and has a lot of sincerity. If he decides to take the plunge into elective politics, however, I suggest that he needs to start smiling more (but, PLEASE, not as much as Harvey Johnson!).

While we're on the subject: Why the hell do we need party primaries in municipal elections? Is there a Republican method of fixing potholes? Or a Democratic method of cleaning out ditches? We could give the voters greater choice by changing to nonpartisan municipal elections, popularly called "open primaries." This would also save the taxpayers money and relieve the candidates of the aggravation and expense of-- potentially-- conducting three campaigns.