Four candidates vie for rare open NE Mississippi legislative seat

July 29--TUPELO -- Lee County's House District 17 features the only legislative race in Northeast Mississippi where an incumbent is not seeking re-election.

Brian Aldridge, R-Tupelo, who has represented the District since 2004, opted not to run this year. Four candidates, two Democrats and two Republicans, are vying to represent District 17, which includes a substantial portion of Tupelo and swings down to encompass much of southwest Lee County.

The district generally is viewed as solidly leaning Republican, but Democrats Charles Penson, a minister and former personneldirector, and James Newman, a retired businessman, hope to pull a major upset.

But on the Republican side, accountant Shane Aguirre and businessman Mark Prince are hoping to keep the seat in the Republican column.

Because the seat is vacant, it is generating intense interest from throughout the state.

Aguirre

The 42-year-old accountant said he always has been interested in politics and decided to run for the vacant District 17 seat to make a difference for Lee County.

"I want to be the best advocate for Lee County I can be," Aguirre said. "I want to do what I can to help recruit businesses to the area, do what I can to help strengthen schools.

"The schools in Tupelo and Lee County have been instrumental in our growth and in the industry we have been able to attract. I want to continue to be an advocate for those things in Jackson."

Aguirre conceded he signed the petition to help put Initiative 42, designed to strengthen the state's commitment to public education, on the November ballot. Upon further reflection, though, he said he does not support the initiative.

"I do want to work to find a better way rather than having to go to courts," said Aguirre, echoing the comments of Initiative 42 opponents saying the proposal, if passed, would put funding of the schools in the judiciary instead of the Legislature.

Aguirre said he "fully supports" full funding, but "as an accountant I know what it is like to have to balance a budget. I know Mississippi has a limited amount of money. But I want to provide as much money as we can to help to have a strong education system. I know there are times when it is not possible, but I want to work hard to meet that obligation."

As an accountant working as a comptroller for a nursing home company, Aguirre also said he appreciates the importance of health care access, but said he does not know how the state can afford to expand Medicaid to provide coverage to primarily the working poor as is allowed under federal law. He said, though, he is actively looking for a solution to the problem.

When it comes to changing the state flag as has been advocated by Republican Speaker Philip Gunn of Clinton, Aguirre said, "Personally, I like our flag and really do not want to change it. If the voters decide to do that, I would support them."

Prince

With the District 17 seat coming open, Prince said, "I knew we needed good, strong conservative leadership ... I was approached by several people about running for the seat. I have a proven track record in community leadership."

Prince, a real estate agent and president of a company that builds cell phone towers, said he is active on various community boards and will bring that willingness to work for the betterment of the community to the state House seat.

"Obviously, education is one of the key, if not the key, issues in the state," Prince said. "We have to get off the bottom of these lists of education attainment."

Prince, 44, said he "totally supports" full funding of education, but also said "I don't think we should mandate funding based on the MAEP formula."

The Mississippi Adequate Education Program is the mechanism used to provide the state's share of most of the basics to the local school districts.

He said he is "adamantly against" Initiative 42.

"I don't think a judge in Hinds County should be all encompassing of education dollars," he said, though, supporters of the citizen-sponsored initiative adamantly dispute whether education funding decisions will rest solely with a Hinds County judge.

But Prince added that if the people vote to approve the initiative in November, "I am good with that."

When asked if he would support expanding Medicaid as is allowed under federal law to cover primarily the working poor, Prince said he understands the importance of Medicaid to rural hospitals.

"But how do we fund it?" he asked.

He said he hopes to be more involved "in those conversations" if elected.

He said growing the economy would provide more revenue for issues such as education and health care.

While he did not take a position on how he would vote on changing the state flag, which has the Confederate battle emblem as part of its design, he did say "I do understand that it does affect some people and is viewed as an offensive symbol. We don't need to be offensive. We need to be unifying and coming together."

At the same time, he said the flag for him is a symbol "of Southern heritage" and "fond memories of my time at Ole Miss."

Newman

In the early 1990s, Newman ran an unsuccessful race for the at-large seat on the Tupelo City Council as a Republican. Newman, a 73-year-old retired businessman/entrepreneur who has been involved in numerous business ventures, is running for the House seat as a Democrat.

"We wonder why we are 50th in everything," Newman said recently. "I am tired of it so I decided to run. I bill myself as the contrarian/independent Democrat. ...

"We can't keep sending the same people (to serve in the Legislature) to do the same thing and expect change. It is not working."

Newman said the key issues are education and generational poverty. He said a commission is needed to look at needs to address "generational poverty" over a period of years.

"We are not going to solve this in two years or four years," he said.

"It is a giant puzzle, but we have to have some priorities," he said. "Education, getting kids out of poverty and health care solve a lot of those problems in the long run."

Newman said he supports full funding of the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, while at the same time saying efforts must be made to look for ways to change and reform the schools. He said he supports the citizen-sponsored Initiative 42 that would enhance the state's commitment to fund public education.

And Newman, who ended his professional career working with the Tupelo Municipal Airport, said he would support expanding Medicaid to cover primarily the working poor to improve not only health care outcomes in the state, but also improve the state's economy. Studies have cited potentially creating more than 9,000 new jobs in the health care industry with the expansion.

On the issue of changing the state flag, as proposed by the House speaker, Newman said, "That flag is the history of Mississippi. It is not the future. And therefore it belongs in a museum as part of our history. Half of our people are offended by that flag."

Penson

"Disappointment" with the commitment to education by the Legislature spurred Penson, a 62-year-old minister, to run for the vacant seat. Penson said he has been particularly disappointed with the support for education by many area legislators.

"I feel like given the history of our area ... and all the support from our area for public education, that we still have seen that support dwindle in recent years," he said. "I feel it is tantamount to developing a better quality of life. That is basically why I am running."

Penson also said he is a strong supporter of the citizen-sponsored Initiative that enhances the state's commitment to funding education and worked to garner the signatures to get it on the November ballot.

Penson, who started the Personnel Department for the city of Tupelo, also has served on several commissions designed to support the Tupelo Public School District.

"Fully funding public education and also keeping in place the Public Employees Retirement System are big issues for me," he said. "We made a promise and commitment to our teachers and state employees.

"The last thing we need to do is not honor that. I will fight to keep that retirement system in place."

He said expanding Medicaid as is allowed under federal law to cover primarily the working poor is key.

"I believe we have too many Mississippians, especially working class Mississippians, who do not have insurance," he said. "Medicaid expansion will give them an opportunity to have health care and also afford the state many good paying jobs ... I would like to have a full debate on Medicaid expansion in the Legislature."

Under Medicaid expansion, the federal government will pay for a large bulk of the health-care costs.

As far as the possible debate on changing the state flag, which includes the Confederate battle emblem as part of its design, "We do not need a symbol that divides us. My position is we need to look for a new flag."

bobby.harrison@journalinc.com

Twitter: @BobbyHarrison9

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