commentary

There are those in the community who want to know what contributions I have mede recently. I have been active in the River Cities Festival Committee, the Historical Society, and the Ecology Board Acting Chairman for the past ten months. My plan is to let the people vote on the big issues, as is their right as Americans, and their history in the past on golf course and highrise votes. My plan is to implement changes in our government that will insure that accountability and transparency are present. No more $375 a square foot and $600 a square foot construction projects. I believe the City should take a leadership position on efficient Green and environmental issues. I believe that DUE DILIGENCE should be done before considering any major issues, which entails indepth examinations and discussions of ALL the pros and cons of each and every issue, and ultimately results in the people voting after all is said and done. Those are the things I believe have been missing from our city government in the past, and the things that I intend to get straightened out, if elected. Dr. Mel P. Johnson

annexation issues

Any area we might annex without control of the zoning would NOT be in our control and we would be vulnerable to whatever the County wants to allow there. The wants and needs of the County are not always in alignment with the wants and needs of MS. How could we control the QUANTITY and QUALITY of the businesses in the annexed lands if we cant control the zoning? How would we know that we are NOT annexing polluted lands? Does paying the County $338,000 a year for mitigation fees for FOREVER make any sense? Too many questions; too little DUE DILIGENCE done.