Selected Article :
DBJ Delta Voices

Q. What should be Governor-elect Haley Barbour’s first order of business in his new administration?

by DBJ

“The first items on Haley’s agenda should be a situational assessment of ongoing economic development projects and education. A comprehensive evaluation of MDA needs to be high on his list also. Every effort needs to be made to speed up existing projects and to revive past projects if at all possible. Our state must get behind Haley and assist him at every opportunity. Petty politics needs to be put aside and a united effort to move Mississippi forward be made.”

Jerry Fraiser
CEO, Yazoo County
Chamber of Commerce
Yazoo City

“Haley Barbour talked about it repeatedly in his campaign speeches...crime. ‘Jackson was recently named one of the ten most dangerous cities in America.’ and ‘The current situation is intolerable because the first function of government is public safety.’ I believe the first thing that the new Governor should address is the high crime rate in Mississippi and particularly in the Delta. Economic development won’t happen in Mississippi if corporate executives do not consider this to be a safe place for employees. “

Mike Elrod
Vice President
General Manager, WABG-TV
Greenville

“I think Governor Barbour needs to look at all the state programs and see where they are in regard to personnel and budgets. He needs to look at where the programs were when the state had surplus money and where they are now. I think there should be more accountability of who is running these programs.”

Mike Upchurch
Upchurch Plumbing
Greenwood

“Governor-elect Haley Barbour should begin with improving the state’s economy. He should focus on the counties in the state with an unemployment rate above the state and/or national average. The counties above the state and/or national unemployment average should receive special emphasis focusing on all phase of education (K-12, community colleges, and universities) that can deliver a wide array of jobs (service, manufacturing, scientific research, technology, etc.). The citizens of the state must realize to improve the state’s economy you must improve those counties below the mean at a faster rate than those counties above the mean to sustain any type of real economic growth.”

Lawrence Johnson
Entergy
Greenville

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