Irving says DNC made decision for him, declines to discuss Hinds Chancery Court case

The former chair of the Mississippi Democratic Party said this week he is no longer seeking reinstatement after an appeal submitted to the Democratic National Committee’s Credentials Committee was denied last month.

The committee threw out the appeal from former state party chair Tyree Irving to be reinstated after he was voted out of office in July 2023 for alleged “long standing and repeated actions of malfeasance and misfeasance.” His appeal was thrown out during the DNC’s April meeting.

The decision came less than two months before the state party holds an election to elect a new chair.

“The Credentials Committee voted unanimously (25-0) to recognize State Representative Cheikh Taylor as permanent chair,” The committee wrote in a press release issued last month. “Taylor was elected by a 2-1 vote by the State Executive Committee at a July 2023 meeting and has served as chair since then. In addition to filing the challenge with the national party, Irving also took the extraordinary measure of suing his own party in Hinds County Chancery Court in connection with his removal.”

The lawsuit referenced is still pending further action in the Hinds County Chancery Court.

That suit was filed in September 2023 and in it, Irving claims the state party violated its constitution several times in the course of ousting him, appointing Taylor and making several position changes within the party. He has also requested a restraining order on all party business until he is reinstated.

Irving had previously submitted a resignation letter to the party a few days before the vote was tallied during a special meeting.

That resignation letter came after Irving ridiculed MDP Executive Director Andre Wagner for trying to clarify an email Irving sent stating DNC funds were coming to MDP if it donated an equal amount to Gubernatorial candidate Brandon Presley. Gifting funds to a political entity to give one candidate funding is a crime.

More on Irving’s resignation The Mississippi Democratic Party chair announced he will resign. What happens next?

Details on Irving lawsuit: Former Mississippi Democratic Party chair sues to reinstate himself, saying his ouster was improper

Irving and several other plaintiffs claim that the party, as well as key executive committee and party members including Taylor and William Wheeler, are essentially acting as a rogue political group without legal ground to conduct business on the party’s behalf.

The party’s response in the case is that Irving claims are all categorically false, and that the party has acted in accordance with its own regulations. It also denounces his claim to be reinstated, and one defendant, Wheeler, even alleges Irving destroyed property at party headquarters in Jackson.

“Irving negligently and intentionally abused and caused damage to the property, including personal property inside of the building, out of spite and malice, all of which will be shown by the evidence at trial,” Wheeler stated.

The court has not yet set a trial date, according to a Hinds County Chancery Court employee.

Irving’s status with state Democratic Party

Irving, a former appellate judge who declined to comment on the ongoing case, told the Clarion Ledger Tuesday that with the decision from the DNC, he has no plans to run against Taylor.

“I devoted nearly three years of my post-retirement time to trying to lay the groundwork to transform the Mississippi Democratic Party into a real political force that would serve the interests of all ordinary Mississippians rather than the interests of self-appointed party bosses,” Irving said. “My term will officially end when the State Executive Committee elects new officers in the next month or two.  I can think of no good reason why I should continue my efforts to bring about such a transformation by seeking another term.”

Irving added that he believes the DNC simply made a political move to support Taylor and ignore the facts of the July 2023 vote to oust him as party chair and the ongoing case.

“The Credentials Committee of the DNC made a political decision without consideration of the facts,” he said. “The DNC sends $15,000 monthly to support the Mississippi Democratic Party. Without that financial support, the Mississippi Democratic Party would not have any substantial operational footprint. Since it is clear that my vision for the Party did not align with the Party bosses of the Mississippi Democratic Party and the Credentials Committee of the DNC, there is no reason to believe that would change going forward.”

Taylor, a Democrat from Starkville, told the Clarion Ledger he is unaware of any other challengers to him, and he hopes he can continue the work of the party as the congressional elections come up in November.

“I am seeking chairmanship again and we’ve moved forward rapidly,” Taylor said. “I want a solid four years to really put my stamp on the vision and the mission along with the great council that I have moving the party forward.”

Read more on Primary races MS Primary results

Taylor added he believes the decision made by the DNC may help push the chancery court in favor of the party over Irving’s claims.

“What I think may happen is that the chancery court will probably look at the ruling of the committee, And will follow suit,” he said.

Grant McLaughlin covers state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.

STARKVILLE — Chris Lemonis isn’t sure what’s gotten into Joe Powell lately, but Mississippi State’s head coach sure hopes his senior catcher keeps doing whatever he’s been doing.

“Maybe he met a cute girl. She’s lucky,” Lemonis said. “I don’t know. I hope he keeps talking to her.”

Powell was out of baseball last season after three years at Cincinnati, and splitting opportunities with Johnny Long behind the plate, had not given the Bulldogs much in the power department. But after connecting on his first home run of the year Sunday at Arkansas, Powell hit three homers off three different pitchers Tuesday night, almost single-handedly saving MSU from a disastrous loss as the Bulldogs defeated North Alabama 8-4.

On a night where Nate Dohm, who opened the season as MSU’s Friday starting pitcher, returned to the mound for the first time in more than a month after battling an arm injury, his backstop stole the show with a solo shot in the third inning, a go-ahead three-run blast in the sixth and a two-run homer in the eighth. Powell also singled in the fourth for a perfect 4-for-4 night.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Powell said. “I made an adjustment in my swing and (I’ve) been seeing the ball well and swinging at good pitches.”

Dohm threw just two innings, as was the plan all along, retiring all six batters he faced with a pair of strikeouts on only 22 pitches. His fastball was sitting comfortably in the low-to-mid 90s, and Lemonis’ goal is to have him back at close to full strength for the postseason.

“It’s really good to have him back,” Powell said. “He’s looked really good. He’s had some ups and downs, but he’s a tough kid and it’s going to be big having him back down the stretch.”

The Bulldogs (34-18) took the lead in the first inning when Bryce Chance led off with an infield hit, moved up on a wild pitch and a passed ball and scored on David Mershon’s single. Powell’s first homer, a 436-foot blast to the back of the lounge in left-center, gave MSU a 2-0 lead, but the Lions (17-33-1) hung tough. They broke up the shutout in the fourth on Cal Cook’s solo home run off Colby Holcombe, then tied the game on Andrew Knight’s double in the sixth.

With runners at the corners and one out in the Bulldogs’ half of the sixth, Michael O’Brien’s grounder to the right side hit Ethan Pulliam on the foot as he was running toward second base for the second out, forcing Amani Larry back to third. That could have snuffed out the rally, but Powell turned on the first pitch he saw from Carson Howard and launched it to the second level of the lounge in left for a three-run shot, giving MSU the lead for good.

“I told him a couple weeks ago, I feel like he had finally gotten comfortable,” Lemonis said. “You come here, it’s a lot different from where he came from. He came from a good school, but this is the pinnacle. So (he’s) getting comfortable, relaxed, knowing his role. He’s a hard-working kid. He just shows up every day to hit, work, and you’re seeing that he’s playing pretty free right now.”

North Alabama drew closer in the eighth with two runs against Cam Schuelke, but Powell capped his career night with a 421-foot shot off the batters’ eye in straightaway center field in the bottom of the inning. The Bulldogs’ pitchers allowed eight hits but issued just one walk and recorded 11 strikeouts.

MSU concludes the regular season with a three-game series at home against Missouri starting Thursday evening. The Bulldogs will likely drop a spot or two in the RPI rankings just by playing the Lions, who entered the day at No. 280 out of 305 Division I teams, but Lemonis said he was not worried about whether the game would affect their chances of being selected as a top-16 seed and NCAA regional host.

“They’re going to reward us if we’re one of the best 16 teams to host,” Lemonis said. “We have to prove it on the field. I just felt like it was more important to play than to cancel our game. I know our group’s done enough. We have to play good baseball this weekend, but us playing tonight is not the reason we will host or not host.”

Mississippi State Baseball MSU

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. (WLOX) – The Bonnet Carre Spillway opened 13 times in 2019. Low salinity caused marine life in the sound to die, leaving fishermen with no catch.

Cary Trapani said fishing in Bay St. Louis hasn’t been the same since all the freshwater flowed into the Mississippi Sound, killing shrimp, crabs, and oysters.

“Our way of life was devastated,” Trapani said. “The salinity level was so low. It couldn’t sustain life or the main fish or the oysters or what have you.”

Trapani learned that officials in Louisiana want to rebuild marshlands as part of a Mid-Breton Sound sediment diversion project.

That’s why he met with the Mississippi Sound Coalition and the University of Southern Mississippi on Tuesday, to find ways to prevent this from happening.

“Freshwater will take over the sound which would change everything,” he said.

The proposed Breton Sound Project aims to rebuild Louisiana marshlands and divert more fresh water. Mississippi Sound Coalition Manager Gerald Blessey believes this will do more harm to marine life in the Sound.

“If you want to restore Louisiana, don’t do it with diversion water, dredge the Mississippi River,” Blessey said. “Everything that must have some saltwater and cannot live with too much pollution will be gone.”

The Coalition is also concerned about studies from the University of Southern Mississippi that show if the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would open the spillway more over the next 15 years, causing algae blooms again, beaches to close, and impact tourism, as well as the seafood industry.

153 bottlenose dolphins died after the 2019 spillway openings. The Mississippi Sound Coalition said that was the highest one-year loss ever, even when compared to the BP oil spill.

Blessey said he and the Mississippi Sound Coalition will be following these Breton Sound projects in Louisiana as well as working to prevent harmful impacts to the Mississippi Sound.

“Protect Louisiana from flooding and protect the Mississippi Sound from being destroyed and by the way, protect the Louisiana fisheries from being destroyed like they are in Plaquemines Parish and St. Bernard Parish,” he said.

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