CITY COUNCIL INACTION ENDORSES MAYOR'S ACT

Jackson City Council President Ben Allen was actually insightful in
explaining his logic for wimpish inaction instead of taking a stand
against Mayor Frank Melton.

"This isn't Iraq. This is the United States of America . . . We are
the legislative branch of government. We are not the Gestapo," Allen
said in explaining why he joined three colleagues in deciding not to
investigate the mayor's possible participation in the partial
demolition of a Virden Addition duplex.

That this is Jackson, not Baghdad or Moscow, is precisely the point.
Citizens by law are afforded due process and a presumption of
innocence and not subjected to financial penalties based on suspicion,
even if it's the mayor.

No one expected Allen and the council to become investigators and
bring the mayor up on charges. That's the responsibility of the
district attorney and the sheriff. It is more than reasonable,
however, for council members to help set the city's tone.

The council's inaction is a de facto endorsement of the mayor's
Gestapolike actions.

LEADERSHIP NEEDED

Occasional displays of leadership are a reasonable
expectation.

Leadership is crucial in this situation when the actions involved are
so deplorable. Most law-abiding citizens are offended by drug houses.
The city and the Police Department should do everything within reason
to remedy these neighborhood cancers.

At the same time, however, no one's property should be destroyed based
on suspicion, even if it is the mayor's suspicion. Melton, as part of
his anti-drug campaign, has acknowledged he was present when the
Ridgeway Street house was damaged.

No one should be allowed to convict a tenant and condemn the property
owner as if they were Saddam Hussein or Leonid Brezhnev, even if it is
the mayor. What's even more outrageous is a council majority chose to
ignore these irrational, immoral and possibly illegal actions.

MAYBE GRAND JURY

Allen basically said this was none of the council's business, logic
shared by Ward 4 Councilman Frank Bluntson, Ward 5 Councilman Charles
Tillman and Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes, who is apparently
attempting to remake himself.

Stokes at one point championed the little guy and built his reputation
challenging the establishment. Sadly, that seems like light years ago.

It will be interesting to see what turns up in the investigation,
which will be led by Hinds County District Attorney Faye Peterson and
Hinds County Sheriff Malcolm McMillin. Peterson said any evidence she
finds will be presented to a grand jury. Maybe there will at last be
some accountability.

The mayor's passion for battling crime and drugs is admirable, but he
has squandered a lot of political capital. The law and basic common
sense demand his passion be tempered with a healthy respect for the
Constitution. As Allen said, this is not Iraq.

And even though the City Council is only the legislative branch, its
president and its members are not exempt from occasional displays of
leadership.