Barbour
and Musgrove are both
demonstrating good leadership |
Now
that the gubernatorial race is over, you have got to hand
it to both Barbour and Musgrove: they have put the race
behind them and are working together in a professional and
gentlemanly way to transition one administration into the
next without any fights, without any badmouthing - all for
the good of Mississippi.
Musgrove demonstrated quickly how he was going to handle
the outcome of the race the day after the election by calling
Barbour and inviting him to an important budget meeting
that took place the next Monday. Barbour accepted and attended.
Musgrove continued to show professionalism and support for
Barbour by attending the Governor-elect’s Job Creation
Summit on December 16 during which Barbour acknowledged
Musgrove’s presence in a very gracious and professional
way. All of this is good for our great state - that two
rivals, who at times during the campaign were very tough
with each other - can now “bury the hatchet”
and work together for the betterment of our state means
so much. Both are to be commended for this.
There is no doubt that Barbour has already hit the ground
running. His Job Creation Summit. where over 600 attended
to hear FedEx founder and Marks, Mississippi native, Fred
Smith, as well as President Bush’s Chief of Staff,
Andy Card, give their ideas on moving Mississippi forward.
Barbour has continued to demonstrate his good decision-making
by hiring former state representative Charlie Williams as
his chief of staff. Having served in the legislature for
“more years than I can remember” said Williams,
Barbour has chosen someone who knows his way around the
Capitol like few others. Charlie’s longtime involvement
in the Delta will also be good for our region in particular.
Other significant hires as we go to press with this issue
of the DBJ have been Jim Perry and John Arledge.
Perry, who comes to the Barbour team from Congressman Roger
Wicker’s office in Washington where he was Wicker’s
legislative director, is well respected, not only in Wicker’s
office, but on Capitol Hill in general. Perry will serve
as director of policy for Barbour. Additionally, Perry took
a leave of absence from Wicker and served on Bush’s
advance team during Bush’s 2000 Campaign. Perry also
advanced Bush’s 9/11 speech. Perry, 27, is a 1998
graduate of the University of Virginia and grew up in Jackson.
Arledge, 35, is a veteran of the Fordice administration
where he served as press secretary. Arledge was also a great
asset in Fordice’s re-election campaign. In recent
years, Arledge has been senior vice president of marketing
for the statewide Community Bank system and was a right
hand man to Community Bank’s chairman, Thomas Colbert.
A graduate of Mississippi State, Arledge will be in charge
of media relations for Barbour.
In a conversation a few days ago with my good friend and
longtime Mississippi political operative/Republican insider,
Hayes Dent, he summed up Haley’s early decision making
like this:
“I have literally watched Jim grow up on the front
porch of a cabin at the Neshoba County Fair,” said
Dent. “No doubt Jim is super qualified to handle this
important role for Haley.”
As for Arledge, Dent said, “I served in the Fordice
administration with John and not only does he have the ability
to react and solve a crises with a cool head, John can also
push the governor’s day-to-day agenda forward with
great success. He is just unmatched - that’s all there
is to it.”
As for Williams: “Charlie’s ability to get things
done inside state government is second to none. He knows
how to make things happen and he can make them happen in
a big way.
Taken together, all three choices are great indications
of Haley’s ability to surround himself with top notch
people.”
Good thoughts from someone who has been close to Barbour
for many years.
As for Musgrove, we at the DBJ wish him the best and applaud
the way he has handled this transition. We enjoyed working
with Governor Musgrove during his watch. With an unlimited
amount of energy and drive, don’t count Musgrove out
for anything political in the future.
Haley Barbour is off to a great start. If his Job Summit
event and hiring choices can be judged in any way on what
Haley’s future performance will be, then Mississippi
is in line for one fantastic ride. This is truly “Mississippi’s
Moment”.
Good luck Governor Barbour! DBJ
As always, your comments are welcome. DBJ
Scott Coopwood
Publisher
