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Full transcript: Gov. Tate Reeves’ 2024 inaugural address

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Gov. Tate Reeves was sworn into office on Tuesday and delivered his second and final inaugural address.

Below is a complete transcript of his speech.


Thank you, Mr. Chief Justice. It is a great day to be a Mississippian.

Lieutenant Governor Hosemann, Speaker White, President Pro Tem Kirby, Speaker Pro Tem Barton, members of the Mississippi Legislature, friends, family, and my fellow Mississippians joining us in person and those watching from home, it is my pleasure to stand before you here today.

It is the single highest honor of my professional life to serve as the governor of the great state of Mississippi. And it brings me tremendous joy to stand before great leaders, the people of Mississippi, and God to take this oath today.

Before I go any further, I’d like to take a moment to thank the most important Mississippian to me and my family, my wife and our First Lady, Elee Reeves.

There are no words that can properly summarize how much you mean to me. From the day we met, less than one mile from this Capitol, everything has been different, and better. You are a wonderful wife, an amazing mom, and a terrific ambassador for our state. Thank you for being right by my side over this wild ride together.

I also want to thank our daughters, Tyler, Emma, and Maddie. I know that each of you make sacrifices as well – and you have made them as long as you can remember. Your mom and I are incredibly blessed by you – and I am so excited to see the strong, confident young women you are becoming.

I want to thank my dad, my mom, my brother Todd, my Mamaw, and the rest of my family. None of you signed up for, nor do you deserve, the lies and false attacks hurled at you simply because you are related, but please know that I love you all and I’m grateful for each of you. The reason I find myself here today is rooted in the values and love that come from you.

Many years ago, just after college, Elee and I decided to plant our roots in our home state, and to do everything in our power to make it better. It was a conscious decision. We had other options. We could have gone other places and done other things. But the pull of Mississippi was too strong. We were all in from the start. We volunteered. We worked hard. Bought a house in the city of Jackson. We did not at that time imagine statewide office, but we were determined to make a difference.

Then, in 2003, in what was a surprise to a lot of people, the voters of our state took a chance on a conservative young investment banker, and made me the first Republican treasurer in the history of our state.

My gratitude to the people of Mississippi for placing their trust in me, that day and every day since, can never fully be expressed in words. I thank God each and every day that he has provided the opportunity to serve.

And I’d like you each to know, from the bottom of my heart, how deeply thankful I am for your support.

I’ve met a few Mississippians who have voted for me every single time since 2003. And not all of them are related to me.

And I’m fully aware there are people who have never voted for me, not once in twenty years – but pray for me to succeed never the less.

And whether you voted for me or not, this time or ever, I want you to know it matters not. As I did four years ago, I want to once again make this promise to all of you – that I will be a governor for ALL Mississippi.

The longer I have served, the more I have come to appreciate that the defining characteristic about Mississippi is that sense that we are all in it together.

It is not our food, our football, or even our music that makes us unique. It is our commitment to each other.

I don’t think anybody could have anticipated what we would face together as a state over the last four years. Tornadoes. Floods. Hurricanes. And a pandemic on top of it all. Yet, through every challenge encountered, we have emerged stronger.

Through every moment of despair, Mississippians showed the strength of our character and chose to be a light amidst the darkness.

That is a testament to the goodness of our people. And it makes me all the prouder to be a Mississippian.

I’ll tell you this, I have frequently turned to God in prayer over these last four years. As a matter of fact, I have prayed a lot more as governor than I thought I would when I was sworn in the first time. And I know that I will do so again over the next four years.

That’s why I’m especially thankful that we were once again able to start this inaugural ceremony with a prayer service Sunday. Mississippians are never bashful about our reliance on the Lord. We know that our faith is responsible for the ties that bind. And I am proud we come together so consistently to lift up our voices in unified prayer to an almighty God.

I promise all of you that I will continue seeking God’s guidance through every challenge that we face – and I ask that you ask God to guide me when you pray as well.

Four years ago, I stood before you and discussed what we aimed to accomplish over this first term.

Four years ago, I stood here and called for a history-making increase in workforce training.

Then, together, we created the Office of Workforce Development, Accelerate Mississippi – and invested millions to equip our people with the skills they need for good jobs.

Just last week, Site Selection Magazine said our workforce efforts passed Texas and Louisiana in 2023, and we ain’t done yet.

Four years ago, I called for a pay raise for our teachers.

Together, we secured the largest pay raise in state history.

Four years ago, I said we would travel the world to bring more great companies to Mississippi.

Together, we secured record breaking economic investment, which included the single largest economic deal in state history.

And you ain’t seen nothing yet! We’ve got some big things coming. Projects that will fundamentally change lives and transform our state for the better.

On top of this, we delivered the single largest tax cut in our state’s history and returned over half a billion dollars to Mississippians. We made historic investments in our state’s infrastructure. We’ve achieved the Mississippi miracle in education, with more kids graduating than ever before. We went from 49th to 21st in fourth grade reading, from dead last to 23rd in fourth grade math, and we were among the top 5 in the entire nation when it came to fourth grade reading test scores for African American students. We are making sure ALL of Mississippi has momentum.

We bolstered our state’s hospitals, expanded conservation efforts, increased training opportunities for medical professionals, committed more resources to public safety, and so much more.

And today, I am proud to tell you, we’re just getting started.

So what comes next for Mississippi?

There is no doubt that our bad numbers are getting better, and our good numbers are becoming great.

I love to talk about rankings and results. I’m a numbers guy. But we are not pursuing test scores to beat Alabama. We are not pursuing capital investment to have bragging rights over Arkansas.

We are pursuing excellence – to secure permanence.

For too many decades, Mississippi’s most valuable export has not been our cotton, or even our culture. It’s been our kids.

Mississippi minds dominate some of the top positions in government, business, and entertainment across the country. They carry with them the pride and grit that is engrained in every Mississippian. They made other places better – and we missed out on all they could have done here at home.

My goal is not just to ensure that Mississippi is a source of pride, but that it can be the place where they achieve their fortune and dominance in their field.

By now you know I love to say that Mississippi has momentum. And we do. But today I want to tell you what I believe we must DO with that momentum.

Our goal must be what I call Mississippi Forever.

I want to build a state where my daughters, and all of our sons and daughters can proudly stay and raise their families.

I want every kid, from the Delta to the Coast, from Tishomingo to Tallahatchie, to grow up with the idea that they’ll be Mississippi Forever.

I want every child to have the opportunities for an education, and a career, that enable them to be Mississippi Forever.

I want companies that are born here, to know they can grow here – Mississippi Forever.

And I want people who live in other states, many of whom grew up here, who are frustrated by the breakdown of culture and society where they live, who feel like they cannot get ahead, I want those families to look across the dinner table at each other and say: “honey, we need to go to Mississippi forever.”

We do not need to aim to merely get better. We need to make it our priority to be the best, at everything that matters.

To accomplish this, we must be realistic about the challenges that we still face.

We need to honestly assess the barriers in our economy – and boldly knock them down.

We need to recognize that the cost of healthcare continues to rise, and access seems too limited.

We need to make sure we do not rest on our success in education and workforce training. Momentum is our asset and inertia is our enemy. We cannot settle for better – we have to demand the best.

Here in this building, we need to be adjusting our sights.

We need to be bold in our goals and carry our Mississippi pride into our actions. We can compete with anyone and win. We can achieve the things that our neighbors have achieved.

When our sons and daughters say: “I am from Mississippi,” we can give them the pride to deliver that statement with a straight back and a strong voice.

Let’s continue to give Mississippians relief from taxes and eliminate the burdens on their families. Let’s be transformational in those efforts to compete with the best.

Let’s continue to invest in and bolster Mississippi’s nationally recognized education system.

Let’s protect mothers and babies by further expanding the Pro-Life Agenda – by making Mississippi the best place in America to have and raise a child.

Let’s protect the rights of parents and let’s protect our kids.

Let’s proudly defend our culture and our way of life.

Let’s make Mississippi the safest state in the entire nation.

And let’s relentlessly recruit new jobs not just to our prosperous counties but to all our communities.

The fact is that everything we do, we do together. There is no black Mississippi or white Mississippi. There is no red Mississippi or blue Mississippi. There is only one Mississippi – and it is Mississippi Forever.

We know that in our hearts, none of us ever leave Mississippi. Our task is to make sure our opportunities align with our sentiment.

I really do believe that this is Mississippi’s time. We have an opportunity ahead of us that we must seize. But it will require that we be bold and ambitious.

We must be bold in our reforms. We must be bold in winning new jobs and businesses. We must be bold in our commitment to principles. And we must be bold to build a brighter future for the state we all love.

I’d like to end this speech where I started. Back twenty years ago when I first took this oath. As I have prepared for this day these last few weeks, it has been apparent to me that this is my last opportunity to do the thing I have most wanted to do my entire adult life.

And I know that I am not alone. I am surrounded by people in this Capitol, in both parties, who have chosen a path to make Mississippi better. And as I campaigned this year, I was struck by the fact that virtually everyone was driven by a desire to bring Mississippi up.

We have all been placed in a position of great importance. We sit at a crossroads for our state.

We’ve been entrusted by our friends, peers, and neighbors to make decisions that will impact many lives, not just today, but for many years to come.

Let us take up this work with joy and determination. Let us come together and heal our differences. Let us all throw ourselves at the great mission. Let us be united by our mission to make Mississippi the home for all its sons and daughters – forever.

Thank you all for being here today. Thank you to all of our legislators for giving your time and energy to serve our state. Thank you all for your support. And thank you all for your prayers.

May God bless you. May God bless your families. And may God bless the great state of Mississippi!

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Mississippi Today

On this day in 1867

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mississippitoday.org – Jerry Mitchell – 2024-11-23 07:00:00

Nov. 23, 1867

Extract from the Reconstructed Constitution of the State of Louisiana, 1868. Credit: Library of Congress

The Louisiana Constitutional Convention, composed of 49 White delegates and 49 Black delegates, met in New Orleans. The new constitution became the first in the state’s history to include a bill of rights. 

The document gave property rights to married women, funded public education without segregated schools, provided full citizenship for Black Americans, and eliminated the Black Codes of 1865 and property qualifications for officeholders. 

The voters ratified the constitution months later. Despite the document, prejudice and corruption continued to reign in Louisiana, and when Reconstruction ended, the constitution was replaced with one that helped restore the rule of white supremacy.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Crystal Springs commercial painter says police damaged his eyesight

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mississippitoday.org – Mina Corpuz – 2024-11-22 12:21:00

CRYSTAL SPRINGS – Roger Horton has worked decades as a commercial painter, a skill he’s kept up with even with the challenge of having what his wife has called “one good eye.” 

It hasn’t stopped him from being able to complete detailed paint jobs and create straight lines without the help of tape. But last year following a head injury, he and others said people have been pointing out a change in his work. Horton says the sight in his right eye is clouded, like he is looking underwater.

Affected vision, short term memory and periods of irritability – potential symptoms of concussion – followed after he was arrested last September. During an encounter with several police officers, Horton alleges more than one slammed his head into a cruiser and placed handcuffs on so tight that he started to bleed. 

“(The officer) was kind of rough with me and all, and he takes my head and I said, ‘What’d I do?’” he recalled recently. 

Horton ended up being convicted of two misdemeanor charges and has paid off the fines, but a year later he still has questions about the arrest and treatment by the police. 

To date, he has not seen a doctor to evaluate his eye and check for vision or cognitive issues. Horton and his wife Rhonda don’t have a car, and transportation to doctor’s appointments in the Jackson area remains a challenge. 

The Hortons have lived in Crystal Springs all their lives, and they have lived in the home the past five years that belonged to Rhonda’s mother. 

More than a quarter of all people in Crystal Springs live below the poverty line, and that includes the couple. Rhonda Horton said it’s hard to make a living because there aren’t a lot of jobs, but they support themselves as painters. 

That’s how they met Yvonne Florczak-Seeman, who lived in Illinois and purchased her first historical property in Crystal Springs in 2019. She splits her time between the two states. 

“We painted that porch bar and the rest is history,” Rhonda Horton said, adding that they went on to complete detailed work on mantles, kitchen cabinets and a cigar room at Florczak-Seeman’s North Jackson Street residence. 

Over the years, the couple built a relationship with Florczak-Seeman, who is seeking to open a women’s empowerment center called the Butterfly Garden, in the building next to city hall. 

Yvonne Florczak-Seeman poses for a portrait at her business, The Butterfly Garden, in Crystal Springs, Miss., Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today

Florczak-Seeman has supported the couple numerous times, including helping them pay a late water bill and offering them work. She called them talented painters and hired them again to paint the interior of the future center, located at East Railroad Avenue. 

In pieces, Rhonda Horton told Florczak-Seeman about her husband’s arrest and later the injuries she said he sustained from it. Florczak-Seeman had questions about the encounter and other potential injustices at play, so she offered to help. 

“I just want them to pay for what they’ve done not just to him, but everybody,” Rhonda Horton said. “That’s what I want, justice.” 

The Arrest

On Sept. 24, 2023, Horton was walking home from a friend’s house when officers approached him. One grabbed his arms to handcuff him, and he remembers them cutting his wrist and causing it to bleed.

Then, he said, a second officer slammed his head into the top of the police car, followed by another officer who slammed his head again. During the encounter, a bag of marijuana that Horton said he found fell out of his pocket onto the ground. 

An officer put Horton in the back of the cruiser and took him to the station where Horton asked to speak to the police chief and call his wife. He said the police took his phone and clothes.

Afterward, he was taken to the Copiah County Detention Center in Gallman. 

Police Chief Tony Hemphill disputed Horton’s allegation of mistreatment, saying he did not sustain any injuries that required hospitalization. He said Horton’s wrist was cut while he resisted arrest. 

“He was not brutalized and targeted,” Hemphill said. “If he had just complied, he wouldn’t have had to come up there (to jail) that night.”

Two police reports from the night of the September 2023 arrest detail how officers had responded to a possible assault and were given the description of a white man. While in the area, they encountered Horton — the only person who fit that description. 

Hemphill said a mother called police after her daughter told her she was assaulted. He said officers approached Horton on the street and tried to talk with him to rule him out as a suspect. 

That’s when Horton began “fighting, pulling away, and kicking against (the officer’s) patrol vehicle, trying to run,” according to a police report from the night and Hemphill. Horton denies doing any of that. 

The next day police took Horton from the county jail to the Crystal Springs police station. There, police informed him a teenage girl reported being assaulted. After learning about the assault allegation, Horton remembered feeling shocked and saying it couldn’t be true because he was not on the street where the alleged incident took place. 

Hemphill confirmed the police investigated the assault allegation and found it not credible, meaning Horton wouldn’t face any related charges. He said he communicated this to Horton and his wife early on and since then, which the couple disputes. 

As Horton was being arrested and detained, his wife grew worried because she had just spoken with him on the phone and expected him to arrive home shortly. Rhonda Horton and her adult son started calling Roger’s phone, each not getting an answer. 

Then during one of the calls by her son, someone who did not identify himself answered Roger’s phone and said, ‘Your daddy’s dead’ and then hung up, Rhonda Horton said. 

She was starting to assume the worst had happened. Rhonda Horton wouldn’t have confirmation her husband was alive until he called from the county jail in the early morning. 

The next morning as she talked with the police chief, Rhonda Horton asked the chief about who answered the phone and told her son that Roger was dead. The chief told her the person who answered must have been from the county. 

Hemphill later told Mississippi Today that he did not know about the call and that type of behavior by his staff “is not going to be tolerated.” Similarly, Copiah County Sheriff Byron Swilley said he had not heard about it and could not say whether a member of his department made the comment to Rhonda and Roger Horton’s son. 

A Sept. 25, 2023, citation signed by Hemphill, shared with Mississippi Today, summoned Roger Horton to municipal court for the misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana and resisting arrest and directed him not to have contact with the alleged victim in the assault case. No contact orders are typically for cases such as domestic violence and sexual assault and they are set by a judge.

LaKiedra Kangar, who works in municipal court services, said the no contact order was put in place because of the assault allegation. She confirmed Horton was not charged with the offense following the police department’s investigation of the allegation. 

Weeks passed. Roger Horton went to court for the misdemeanor charges, to which he pleaded guilty.  Felony assault charges were not part of the hearing. Municipal Court Judge Matthew Kitchens ordered Roger to pay over $900 in fines for the misdemeanors. 

Horton was able to pay for some of the fine through at least 10 hours worth of court-ordered community service, which he said involved painting buildings for the city. 

Months later after learning about Horton’s arrest and how he said the police treated him, Florczak-Seeman said she wanted to know more. Horton didn’t have access to his arrest documents, so she accompanied him and his wife to the police department to ask for them. 

The first visit, Horton asked but did not receive the arrest report. Florczak-Seeman asked if he had a fine for any of the charges, which police said Horton did even after completing some community service hours. Florczak-Seeman paid for the remaining balance and had him work for her for two days to pay that off. 

This year, they went to the police department a second time so Horton could ask for his arrest paperwork. An officer told him he didn’t need it and that the rape allegation had been investigated and found not to be credible, Horton told Mississippi Today. 

Florczak-Seeman asked why Horton couldn’t receive the report. She said Hemphill asked if she was Horton’s attorney, and Florczak-Seeman clarified she was his representative. 

The chief left for a few minutes and returned with two pieces of paper and handed them to Horton. Hemphill told Mississippi Today he did not recall whether he was the one who handed the report to Horton. 

Florczak-Seeman took the document from Horton and began to read it as they stood in the lobby. She said she was horrified to see the name of the alleged, underage victim and her address in the report.

Hemphill said the victim’s personal information should have been restricted and not doing so was an oversight. 

After reading the report, Florczak-Seeman went down the street to the mayor’s office at city hall to explain what happened, and how she believed the mayor had grounds to fire the police chief because he provided that document to Roger with the alleged victim’s information. 

Crystal Springs Mayor Sally Garland Credit: Crystal Springs website

Mayor Sally Garland confirmed she had a conversation with Florczak-Seeman about the police chief’s employment. 

She said she reviews all complaints about city officials, and Garland said she goes to the department head to get a better understanding of the situation. If she determines there are potential grounds for termination, a hearing would be scheduled with the Board of Aldermen, and the group would vote on that decision.   

Garland did not find grounds for termination, and Hemphill remains police chief. 

A Strange Visit

The Hortons and Florczak-Seeman hadn’t given much thought about the 2023 arrest, until weeks ago when a teenaged girl suddenly showed up in Florczak-Seeman’s yard. 

At the end of September at the North Jackson Street home, Florczak-Seeman heard screaming and found the teenage girl who came onto her property. She asked what was wrong, and the teenager said she was chased by a dog, which Florczak-Seeman and Rhonda Horton did not see. 

The teenager asked for a soda, and Rhonda Horton went inside to get one. Florczak-Seeman asked where the teenager lived, and she gave an answer that Florczak-Seeman said conflicted with what two girls who were standing nearby on the public sidewalk said she told them. 

Then Florczak-Seeman asked the teenager’s name and recognized it as the name of the alleged victim on Horton’s arrest record. Immediately, Florczak-Seeman said she turned to Horton and told him to stay back, and she told the teenager to get off her property, which she did. 

At the moment, they were not able to verify whether the teenager was the alleged victim from the report. Neither the Hortons nor Florczak-Seeman had seen her before, and they only knew her name from the arrest report.

“That didn’t make sense at all,” Rhonda Horton told Mississippi Today. 

Florczak-Seeman called 911 to report the situation and ask for police to come, which they did not. Hemphill told Mississippi Today a dispatcher informed him about the call with Florczak-Seeman, including details with the teenage girl and how she wanted to report the girl for trespassing. 

Florczak-Seeman is one of the people who have noticed a difference in Horton’s vision. It’s clear when comparing the detailed and clean paint job Roger completed at her Jackson Street property in 2019 and the center where he painted last year.

During an interview at the center in October, Florczak-Seeman pointed to the ceiling and noted spots that Horton did not paint. She remembers telling him about them and realized that he couldn’t see them. 

“The spots on my ceiling are still not painted, and they’re not painted as a reminder of the injustices that happened in this situation and why I got involved,” Florczak-Seeman said. 

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Job opening: Jackson Reporter

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mississippitoday.org – Mississippi Today – 2024-11-22 15:00:00

Mississippi Today, a Pulitzer Prize-winning newsroom focused on investigative and accountability journalism, is building a dedicated team of reporters to provide in-depth coverage of Jackson, Mississippi.

As the state’s largest and capital city, Jackson matters greatly to us and all Mississippians. Launched in 2016 as the state’s flagship nonprofit newsroom focused on Mississippi government and policy, Mississippi Today is focusing our lens beyond the statehouse and to the city of Jackson, serving our readers with the watchdog reporting they’ve come to expect from Mississippi Today. Our newsroom, with a proven record of providing impactful government accountability, aims to serve the city more directly with this team.

Our Jackson team will focus on sharp investigative reporting, watchdog accountability journalism and meaningful cultural storytelling. We aim to both elevate the voices of those working for positive change in the community while offering a balanced perspective on the city’s obstacles and triumphs. Our goal is to deliver impactful, honest journalism that will inform, inspire and empower Jackson’s citizens.

The team will be led by Pulitzer Prize winner Anna Wolfe, an investigative reporter with a decade of experience covering Jackson.

Roles and Responsibilities:

  • We are purposefully casting a wide net, hoping to connect with journalists of many different backgrounds who may be uniquely qualified to help us launch this team. If you’re a reporter with any of the following experience or attributes, this team may be for you.
  • Investigative reporting focused on uncovering systemic issues within government and politics. The bigger the impact of your reporting on government leaders or systems, the better.
  • Political reporting covering not only high-profile candidates for offices, but experience delving into issues and ideas that affect a community. We hope to delve deeply into a deep distrust in the city’s institutions.
  • Cultural reporting that highlights the often-overlooked success stories of citizens who are making a positive impact on their communities.
  • Strong understanding of Jackson (or similar large urban centers) and the unique challenges facing the city and its residents.
  • Commitment to the mission of balanced, impactful journalism that centers and respects the voice of the community.
  • Collaborative mindset and ability to work within a team-oriented newsroom.

The starting salary for this position is $58,000. Compensation is commensurate with experience level.

Expectations:

  • Work with a small team of journalists who are focused on social inequities and racial equality in our area.
  • Willingness to collaborate closely with a small team of like-minded journalists.
  • Get people to talk, find willing sources and protect them while telling sensitive and timely stories.
  • Build trust: Many people who have been impacted by inequities in Mississippi have been victims of predatory practices and forces. This will require empathy, patience and savvy.
  • Work with our Audience Team and data and visual journalists to create compelling story presentations.

Qualified candidates should have:

  • Experience working as a reporter in a newsroom.
  • Ability to work quickly, with accuracy and good news judgment.
  • Comfortability in digital or multimedia journalism spaces.
  • Ability to independently develop and cultivate sources.
  • Ability to use social media for research and to engage readers.

What you’ll get:

  • The opportunity to work alongside award-winning journalists and make significant contributions to Mississippi’s top nonprofit, nonpartisan digital news and information sources.
  • Highly competitive salary with medical insurance, and options for vision and dental insurance.
  • Use of appropriate technology and equipment. 
  • 29 days paid time off.
  • Up to 12 weeks of parental family leave, with return-to-work flexibility.
  • Simple IRA with 3 percent company matching. Group-term life insurance provided to employees ($15,000 policy).
  • Support for professional training and attending industry conferences.

How to Apply:

We’re committed to building an inclusive newsroom that represents the people and communities we serve. We especially encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply for this position, including women, people of color, LGBTQ people and people who are differently abled. Please apply here.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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