Candidates for Northern District highway commissioner and Leflore County Schools superintendent touted their experience and knowledge for the jobs to a Greenwood audience Wednesday night.
State Sen. Bill Minor, D-Holly Springs, and incumbent Superintendent Cedell Pulley addressed the Greenwood Voters League.
Minor, 60, has served in the Senate for 19 years and has been chairman of the Senate Finance Committee since 1993.
He is running for the highway post currently held by Zack Stewart, who has represented the district since 1983 but decided not to seek a sixth term.
Other Democratic candidates for the seat are A.T. Marlar Jr. of Burnsville and Tom Todd of Ecru. Republicans running are John M. Caldwell Sr. of Nesbit and Larry Lee of Grenada.
Minor said two things drive economic development: education and highways. However, he added, "if they can't get to your town on highways, they'll never even ask about education."
The senator said he has always recognized the importance of highways - as far back as the days when he hauled gravel with his father, who was in the trucking business. He also once lived on U.S. 78 and recalled that friends died on that road.
"It wasn't just because it had so much traffic," he said. "It was dangerous."
He said maintenance for roads such as U.S. 82 will be a priority. Fixing them periodically, at relatively low cost, will mean that more expensive repairs won't be needed later, he said.
Minor said Greenwood is important to him, because his business does plumbing, wiring, heating and air-conditioning work for Jim Walter Homes.
He said he recognizes how important it is to repair U.S. 82 and the stretch of Mississippi 7 from Greenwood to Grenada. Mississippi 7 provides a quicker route to Memphis than U.S. 82 does, and businesses look at the relative costs of these routes when they select sites, he said.
He also said he signed a letter supporting Greenwood-Leflore Airport as a site for an American Eurocopter plant and later refused to sign a similar letter for Lowndes County. "It did end up going to Lowndes County but not with my help," he said.
If large employers with high-paying jobs come in, other employers must raise wages, and it benefits the whole area, he said.
The highway commissioner for the Northern District oversees 33 counties, but Minor said he would focus on what was best for the entire state. He said he voted against a proposal to change the State Aid program because, although DeSoto County and other growing counties in his district would have benefited, others in that district with less growth would not.
He said DeSoto has plenty of jobs for its growing population, but he recognizes that people in places such as Greenwood, Ackerman and Houston aren't in that position.
"I promise you, I'll be as fair to Leflore County as I will any county in the state of Mississippi," he said.
Minor also promised to be accessible. If elected, he said, "if you want Bill Minor to come and sit down and talk to you, I will be here."
State Sen. David Jordan, president of the voters' group, said he had worked with Minor for seven years on the finance committee. Jordan said he is confident Minor would work to improve the area.
"We haven't seen Zack Stewart since the last election," he said.
Jordan said Minor had been instrumental in securing important money for Mississippi Valley State University, including the payments for the construction of the administration building and some money the university needed this year.
Pulley, 61, said he would maintain the same focuses in his second term as superintendent that he has in his first - teaching and learning.
He is opposed in the race by Dr. Olivia Williams. Both are Democrats.
Pulley has 35 years of experience in the school district, including eight years as assistant superintendent and nearly four years as superintendent. He said this experience will help him continue doing what needs to be done.
He said the Leflore district "always has been and will continue to be a good district," where students "can compete with anyone."
Pulley said the district has full accreditation, meaning that its finances are in good shape and it violates no guidelines related to testing or federal programs.
Students' test scores have improved, and the schools are safe, orderly and drug-free, he said. All of the classrooms are connected to the Internet, and the student-teacher ratio is dropping. Teachers also are receiving more training.
"What we expect is for teachers to teach and students to learn," he said. "And you should expect no less."
