State Sen. Lydia Chassaniol, R-Winona, said Thursday that she has never met the man she’s running against for the District 14 seat, but she knows him by reputation.
Chassaniol, 60, who is seeking her second term in the Mississippi Senate, will face Democratic nominee Carlos Moore in the Nov. 8 general election.
Moore, 34, an attorney from Grenada, has represented clients who have filed multiple lawsuits against the city of Greenwood seeking a combined total of more than $33 million. Most have been settled out of court or won by the city.
“(Moore) has never met a lawsuit he didn’t like,” Chassaniol told the Greenwood Kiwanis Club. “He may sue me before it’s all over.”
Chassaniol said one of her proudest achievements “is getting Sen. (David) Jordan to like me.” Jordan, a Democrat from Greenwood, is Leflore County’s other senator.
“I don’t care if you’re a Republican, Democrat or a member of the Billy Goat Party, if you’re in the Mississippi Senate, I’m going to find a way to work with you,” she said.
Chassaniol’s district includes North Greenwood and Carroll County.
Chassaniol, who chairs the Senate Tourism Committee, said she thinks tourism will save the Delta. She said tourism, which employs 80,000 people statewide, has the potential to replace jobs the area has lost in other sectors, including manufacturing.
She said travel and tourism visitors brought $5 billion to Mississippi last year, including restaurant receipts. And she said tourism brought $370 million into the state’s general fund.
Chassaniol said she has told Tate Reeves, the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor, that she wants to remain chairman of the Tourism Committee. Reeves is a heavy favorite to defeat a yet-to-be-determined Reform Party candidate in November. The lieutenant governor presides over the Senate and selects committee chairmen.
Two groups claim to represent the Reform Party of Mississippi. State election commissioners have yet to decide which group’s candidates will be listed on the November ballot.
• Contact Charles Corder at ccorder@gwcommonwealth.com.
