“The Woman” offers a response…

I want the community to know the details of the series of events which I witnessed that resulted in the mistrial of the Honorable Mayor Zach Patterson’s lawsuit.

The trial began on Monday, July 19, and was still in progress on the afternoon of July 20. However, from the eyes of “The Woman” sitting in the third row ahead of Norman Gillis, an attorney and member of the Mississippi Bar, the events of the afternoon are quite different than those depicted in his statement.

Where can anyone get justice in McComb or Pike County Mississippi? The Mississippi-Tribune covered the trial of Mayor Zach Patterson versus the Selectmen of the City of McComb back in May, and to this date Judge Michael Taylor has not rendered a decision. It is pretty obvious at this point that the justice, or should I say “just-us”, system is definitely a part of this good-ole-boy network.

Obviously, there was a lot of planning that went into revisiting the hotel/motel tax by State Representatives David Myers, Sam Mims, City Administrator Quordiniah Lockly, certain selectmen (who claimed to be sympathizers with Tourism Director, Tasha Dillon) and other special interest groups.

First off, I too must regrettably admit that I never saw this one coming. I would assume that Ms. Dillon would also have to admit that she too, given the hypocrisy of certain board members, did not see this coming. So I have to ask, “Why the special-called board meeting, why all this discussion around ways to fund the tourism department during all the work sessions?”

 Last week I graded each of the selectmen who have served on the McComb city board during this current term. I gave selectman Melvin Joe Johnson an A+ and Robert Earl Smith a C. Wade Lamb, Robert Maddox, Danny Esch, E.C. Nobles and David Myers all received a F grade.

Myers, a man that I personally respect, simply let his community down, in my opinion. Before he was replaced by Nobles after a court ruled that he could not hold both, the city selectman seat and a seat in the state legislature at the same time, Myers spent a significant portion of his term challenging and politically fighting against the current mayor. He just didn’t do much to help his community as a selectman this time around.

 The McComb Selectmen for the term period of 2007 through 2010, in my opinion, with few exceptions, have been a disappointment. Seven men have served as selectmen on the Board of Mayor and Selectmen since January 2007: Danny Esch, Wade Lamb, Robert Maddox, Melvin Joe Johnson, Robert Earl Smith, David Myers and E.C. Nobles. Nobles replaced Myers after he was forced to vacate his seat on the board in the middle of his term.

The majority of the selectmen have worked against the Black community in numerous decisions and actions with the exception of Johnson and Smith. Johnson has been the most consistent in his support of the Black community, as well as voting in the best interests of the city of McComb.