1. So, why am I running for office?

Because I hate dishonesty. However, I'm not really sure the citizens of Tunica County are ready to listen to the truth. It seems to me that most are waiting for someone else to do the job for them...to make everything okay. This is not going to happen folks. Each of us has a right and a responsibility to question our government. When you don't, your silence is endorsing what they do.

What started this burn in my belly was attending Board of Supervisors meetings and watching my Supervisor playing with his cell phone. I guess he was text messaging. Who cares. He wasn't giving his undivided attention to the business at hand and that was what was important to me.

The Transparency Committee asked the Board of Supervisors to move the first meeting of the month to an evening time so that more citizens could see what was going on in our government and our government would therefore be more transparent. The answer from the Board as a whole was no. Billy Pregram said anyone could come into the meeting at 9a in the morning. Guess this went over his head as most people are working at that hour. Bobby Williams wanted to know who was on our Committee and said we weren't being "transparent" because we wouldn't tell them. Why do you need to know? So you can fire them? If you don't know this by now let me put it in writing. Our county government has a reputation of getting rid of anyone who doesn't go along with the program. That's why I wouldn't tell you.

However, this isn't to say we were hiding anything. Every month we have specifically invited elected officials to our meetings by placing this item on the Calender of the Tunica Times. Not one of you has ever shown up.

Back to why I am bothering to run for office:

In the summer of 2009, I was given information that my Supervisor, Cedric Burnett did not live at 1370 Beatline Road as indicated on his Statement of Intent for the above listed office.

I went by this address and could verify from my van that no one could be living in this house as it was filled to the gills with junk.

I then verified that Cedric Burnett had used this same address in his previous 2 terms as the Supervisor for District 2. Additionally, his voter registration and that of his mother, State Representative Clara Burnett, also show this address.

At the next Public Hearing, I asked Burnett if he lived at 1370 Beatline Road.

Burnett said, “No, I don’t live there.”

Please note that at this Public Hearing the following people were present:

District 1 Supervisor, James Dunn

District 2 Supervisor, Cedric Burnett

District 3 Supervisor, Paul Battle

District 4 Supervisor, Bobby Williams

District 5 Supervisor and Board President: Billy Pegram

Board of Supervisors’ Attorney Andy Dulaney

County Administrator, Clifton Johnson

Publisher and owner of our local newspaper, The Tunica Times.

Citizens interested in having the newly formed Humane Society included in our county Budget.

Members of Tunicans for Transparency in Government of which I am a member.

I then asked Burnett to tell us where he lived.

Burnett stated, “Keep looking, you’ll find it.” Can you imagine the arrogance of an elected official making such a statement?

I then asked the other Supervisors to vacate the District 2 seat and hold a Special Election to fill the vacancy.

The Tunica County Board of Supervisors took no action. Not one of them even had the guts to say: "Cedric, tell her where you live."

Stay tuned, there is more to come.