Mississippi Today
Mike Chaney is not the first state politico to call for his elected post to be eliminated
Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney is not Mississippi’s first statewide official to advocate for his job to be changed from an elected post to an appointed one.
Earlier this month, Chaney called on the Legislature to eliminate the elected insurance commissioner position and instead have the state’s insurance industry regulated presumably by an appointee of the governor who is confirmed by the Senate. Chaney said he is willing to serve for a short period of time in an appointed position.
William Winter successfully proposed to the Legislature in the 1960s that his post as tax collector be eliminated and the duties incorporated into other positions. Winter’s actions did not end his political career. He went on to serve in multiple other statewide elected post, including as governor from 1980 until 1984 and is viewed as one of Mississippi’s most significant political figures.
In the 1970s, John Ed Ainsworth ran for and was elected to the post of land commissioner with the promise he would work to eliminate the position. One of his primary goals while eliminating the position was to ensure 16th Section land was properly managed to the benefit of public schools. He succeeded and for his troubles was defeated when he later tried to run for lieutenant governor, though he is viewed favorably by many for his work in various areas of state government, including in developing the state’s casino industry. The duties that the land commissioner had are now handled primarily by the secretary of state.
At least four previous statewide elected posts in Mississippi are either now appointed or have been eliminated. Besides the posts of land commissioner and tax collector being eliminated, the post of Supreme Court clerk was changed in 1976 so that the nine members of the Supreme Court appoint the clerk instead of the clerk being elected by Mississippians. And in the 1980s, the elected state superintendent of education was made appointed. The superintendent is now nominated by the Mississippi Board of Education and confirmed by the Senate.
While the state superintendent of education and Supreme Court clerk are in the constitution and required an amendment approved by the voters to be changed, the land commissioner and tax collector needed only action by the Legislature to be eliminated.
Currently, the statewide posts of governor, lieutenant governor, auditor, attorney general, secretary of state and treasurer are all in the constitution, so it would take a vote of the people to change how they are selected or to eliminate any of them. The positions of insurance commissioner and commissioner of agriculture and commerce would require only action of the Legislature and the governor’s signature to make a change.
When Chaney first ran for and was elected as insurance commissioner in 2007, he said the post should be appointed. Since then, Chaney has been reelected four times. He does not plan to run in 2027 and is saying now is the time to change how the insurance commissioner is selected.
Chaney said recently he believes an appointee “can do a better job regulating the industry and protecting the consumers” than someone elected to the post.
“I have grave concerns about someone running for this as a stepping stone to another position,” said Chaney, age 80. “It is too important to do that.”
He said it “is borderline unethical” to take campaign funds from the industry being regulated.
Chaney said in 39 states the person regulating the insurance industry is appointed instead of elected.
Mississippi has eight statewide posts — more than most states, but there are states with more. For instance, neighboring Alabama has 10, but that includes three public service commissioners, all of whom are elected statewide. Mississippi also has three public service commissioners, but they are elected regionally.
Another neighbor — Tennessee — only elects its governor statewide. The lieutenant governor is elected by the members of the Senate.
Mississippi Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who is elected statewide, recently said on Mississippi’s Today “The Other Side” podcast that the Senate would look at state government structure in the coming session, including whether Mississippi should elect so many positions.
While some posts have been changed from elected to appointed, Mississippi legislators often have been reluctant to take the vote away from the people.
In the early 2000s, the House led by then-Ways and Means Chair Billy McCoy passed legislation to make the Transportation Commission appointed instead of elected. The proposal did not survive the process.
But in more recent times, legislators did vote to make all local school superintendents appointees of the local boards of education.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi Today
Meet the 2 Candidates for Mississippi Supreme Court’s Nov. 26 Runoff Election
On Tuesday, Nov. 26, voters will determine who will hold one of central Mississippi’s three seats on the nine-member state Supreme Court. This 22-county area includes Hinds County and Jackson.
Justice Jim Kitchens is seeking a third, eight-year term on the high court. State Sen. Jenifer B. Branning is the challenger.
The state Supreme Court often has the final say in cases involving criminal, civil and death penalty appeals, questions on the state’s laws and constitution, and legal issues of public interest. It hears appeals from lower courts, such as the chancery and circuit courts. The court decided 260 cases in 2023 and issued rulings in 2,656 motions and petitions.
The Marshall Project – Jackson and Mississippi Today compiled information about each candidate to help you make an informed decision at the polls.
Admitted to Mississippi Bar: 1967
Residence: Crystal Springs, Copiah County
Relevant experience: Completing second term as Supreme Court justice; 41 years as practicing attorney, including nine as district attorney of Copiah, Walthall, Pike and Lincoln counties.
Campaign finance: As of Oct. 10, his campaign committee has raised $288,502, mostly from trial lawyers, and spent $189,675, leaving the campaign with $98,827. Read the latest report here.
Statement of economic interest: Kitchens and his wife are partners in a real estate company, Kitchens Properties, LLC, in Copiah County. Read the latest report here.
Kitchens was first elected to this seat in 2008, after more than 40 years practicing law, which includes nine years as a district attorney across four counties. He is one of two presiding justices, who have the most years on the bench, following the chief justice. Presiding justice is a role on the court’s executive committee that includes administrative duties, such as enforcing the court’s deadlines, and presiding over panels during oral arguments.
Campaigning at the 2024 Neshoba County Fair, Kitchens stressed his experience in the courtroom, especially on criminal cases, and promised impartiality.
Kitchens said he is “the guy that carries his oath of office around in his pocket as a daily reminder of what he swore to do. That oath teaches me that I’m not supposed to care whether people before the court are rich, poor, Black, White, Republican, Democrat, Libertarian or Independent. And I don’t care.”
Mississippi College of Law Professor Matthew Steffey described Kitchens as a “middle-of-the-road centrist.” On the bench, Kitchens’ dissents have keyed in on what the justice called oversteps in judicial power and scrutinized prosecutorial decisions.
Kitchens wrote a partial dissent on the decision about House Bill 1020, calling the creation of the court in Hinds County a “fiction of convenience that overreaches our judicial function, and of ultimate importance, our constitutional duty.” He also joined a dissenting opinion in the case that killed Mississippi’s ballot initiative.
Ensuring defendants who can’t afford representation have court-appointed lawyers is a theme throughout Kitchens’ career. He was the chair of the Public Defender Task Force, which was created in 2000 to study and make recommendations on the public defender systems in the state. In a 2018 interview with Mississippi Today, Kitchens expressed support for a more well-organized and adequately funded state public defender system for Mississippi.
The bulk of Kitchens’ campaign donations through Oct. 10 have come from trial lawyers. In addition to Mississippi attorneys, the campaign also received contributions from lawyers as far away as Oregon and Pennsylvania. In the three months since the July finance report, Kitchens’ campaign raised over $200,000, more than it had previously raised in the entire race. He has also received an endorsement from the Southern Poverty Law Center, an advocacy group specializing in civil rights litigation.
Admitted to Mississippi Bar: 2004
Residence: Philadelphia, Neshoba County
Relevant experience: State senator since 2016.
Campaign finance: As of Oct. 10, Branning’s campaign committee has raised $665,624, including a $250,000 loan from the candidate, and spent $343,728. The campaign reported a balance of $319,876, which left a discrepancy of about $2,000. Read the latest report here.
Statement of economic interest: Branning is listed as member, owner, stockholder or partner in several companies located in Philadelphia, including her law firm, Branning Properties, LLC, and Triple E Investments. Read her latest report here.
Republican state Sen. Jenifer B. Branning is running on a platform to represent Mississippians’ conservative values on the Supreme Court, she said at the 2024 Neshoba County Fair candidate forum.
Branning has no judicial experience. Since she joined the Mississippi Bar in 2004, she has practiced as an attorney, primarily representing businesses through her private practice in areas including real estate development, banking and agribusiness. She has also served as a special prosecutor in Neshoba County, a guardian ad litem in Neshoba and Winston counties, and as a staff attorney in the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Division of Business Services & Regulation.
Branning described herself as a “Christian conservative.” She has been endorsed by the state’s Republican Party and the National Federation of Independent Business Mississippi PAC, a special interest group for small businesses. She has been outspoken about overturning Roe v. Wade and supporting the state’s abortion ban, and about reducing taxes on businesses. Branning is also a member of the National Rifle Association. On criminal justice issues, Branning has voted in favor of mandatory and increased minimum sentences for crimes including shoplifting, motor vehicle theft and fleeing law enforcement.
In the state Senate, Branning chairs the Highways and Transportation Committee. She has touted her record on lowering taxes and reducing regulations on farmers and small business owners.
Branning comes from multiple generations of business owners in Neshoba County. Her grandfather, Olen Burrage Jr., owned and operated a truck farm, hauling timber and corn, according to previous news reports.
Her election committee has received contributions from political action groups including Truck PAC, Mississippi Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Stores Association PAC and the Mississippi REALTOR PAC.
Much of Branning’s campaign funding, however, comes from the candidate herself. She kicked off her campaign with a $250,000 candidate loan. She has also bankrolled her previous senate campaigns, with candidate loans as high as $50,000 in 2018. This year, her campaign committee also received funding from other Republican politicians and their campaign funds, including Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, the Committee to Elect Jeremy England (state senator), Harkins for MS (state Senator Josh Harkins), and Friends of Jason White (Mississippi House speaker).
Branning did not acknowledge or return the candidate questionnaire from The Marshall Project – Jackson and Mississippi Today.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi Today
On this day in 1915
Nov. 25, 1915
A week before the silent film, “Birth of a Nation,” premiered at an Atlanta theater, William Simmons, along with 15 other men (including some who lynched Leo Frank) burned a cross on Stone Mountain, Georgia, signaling the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan.
The movie’s racist portrayals of Black Americans prompted outrage by the NAACP and others, leading to huge protests in towns such as Boston and the film’s closing in Chicago.
Despite these protests, the movie became Hollywood’s first blockbuster, making as much as $100 million at the box office (the equivalent of $2.4 billion today). In the wake of the movie, the KKK became a national organization, swelling beyond 4 million members.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi Today
Podcast: Mississippi Hospital Association’s Roberson discusses Medicaid expansion outlook under Trump, other 2025 legislative health care issues
Richard Roberson, president and CEO of the Mississippi Hospital Association, tells Mississippi Today’s Bobby Harrison and Geoff Pender a new Trump administration would likely approve Mississippi Medicaid expansion work requirements. He says revamping the state’s certificate of need laws is likely to be a major issue before lawmakers, and he discusses a new alliance of hospitals that left the MHA and formed a new organization.
READ MORE: As lawmakers look to cut taxes, Mississippi mayors and county leaders outline infrastructure needs
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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