State Rep. Willie Perkins urged voters Wednesday night to re-elect him, saying his seniority in the House is a valuable asset for the people of Greenwood and Leflore County.
Perkins, a Democrat, spoke to the Greenwood Voters League. The Greenwood attorney faces independent Troy Brown, a contractor with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, in the Nov. 8 contest.
“I represent you with integrity and dignity,” said Perkins, who has served in the House for the past 19 years.
Perkins serves on the powerful House Ways & Means Committee. “To say you’re going to take a man off a money committee and send somebody down there that probably couldn’t find a bathroom” would be a foolish mistake, he said.
Perkins said he has also served for the past 12 years on the House Management Committee, which helps determine what legislation will be acted upon. His selection to that group is a sign that his peers respect him, he said.
Perkins also serves on the House Judiciary B, Public Utilities, Apportionment and Elections and Municipalities committees.
He is chairman of the House Local & Private Committee, which governs legislation for local initiatives, such as the Greenwood Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Perkins said the recent reauthorization of the bureau was a matter of pride to him. He had said earlier that the organization needed more minority participation if it was to be reauthorized.
“We all participate in a tourism tax that generates 400,000 plus dollars to the CVB, but only certain folks get the money,” he said.
Now the bureau’s board of directors includes a representative of Mississippi Valley State University — one of the biggest generators of tourism dollars in the county, Perkins said.
In addition, Thompson-Clemons American Legion Post 200, a predominantly black post, now is entitled to receive up to $2,000 a year from the bureau. “All they have to do is ask for it,” Perkins said.
The same is true for longtime blues promoter Ruben Hughes, who can receive up to $5,000 a year if he requests it.
Similarly, Perkins vowed to prevent any tourism tax funds from being used to restore the Russell Building, which Greenwood Mayor Carolyn McAdams has hoped to turn into a focal point downtown.
Perkins said, since being first elected, some $84 million in funding has gone to Valley.
“I’m a strong supporter of education. I’m a strong supporter of employees’ rights,” he said.
• Contact Bob Darden at bdarden@gwcommonwealth.com.
