This week in politics: When MS judge races went apolitical, or did they? Plus, more updates

Read more on insurance commissioner, Grenada statue update

In this year’s judicial races, Mississippi politicians and at least one political party have thrown their two cents in on who they believe should be elected to the Mississippi Supreme Court.

And while the races are nonpartisan, and have been for just over 30 years, it has never stopped partisan groups from supporting a candidate who holds their values more so than others.

“I think (the change from partisan to nonpartisan elections) is one of the best things about our system” said Jim Kitchens, Mississippi Supreme Justice and Central District candidate, in an interview with the Clarion Ledger. “… But I haven’t seen any kind of judicial selection, whether it’s appointed, elected or some kind of variation that completely eliminates politics.”

Kitchens has also received donations from Mississippi Democrats, including Brandon Presley and endorsements from state party leaders, including Cheikh Taylor, a Mississippi House Representative from Starkville. Kitchens said the point in the 1990s was to remove aspects of politics from the equation and to some degree it has.

One of Kitchens’ toughest opponents, State Sen. Jenifer Branning, R-Philadelphia, has received donations from Republican support groups for top state GOP members, including House Speaker Jason White and Senate Finance Chairman Josh Harkins. Branning also received a donation from former Gov. Haley Barbour.

Read more about political donations to candidates here.

What donations have been given: How much cash MS judicial candidates raised before Nov. 5 election. What companies donated?

In the Mississippi Supreme Court race for the Southern District, incumbent Dawn Beam has also received an endorsement from the Mississippi GOP.

Before 1994, judges in Mississippi ran partisan races as Democrats, Republicans and others, but the Legislature, in an effort to bring impartiality and fairness to the court, passed legislation to end the practice that year. The only exception to the rule is justice court judge races, which are still partisan.

According to legal scholar and University of Minnesota Law Professor Herbert M. Kritzer’s book, “Judicial Selection in the States: Politics and the Struggle for reform,” in the 1970s, the state was ranked last on an index of legal professionalism and lawsuits pressuring the state to revise judicial districts to increase the number of Black judges pushed reform through in the early ’90s.

“It was actually Republicans who championed that change from partisan to nonpartisan elections,” Kitchens said.

Mike Chaney not the only one to ever advocate for his position to be appointed:

Chaney’s ask to lawmakers: Mississippi Insurance Commissioner wants his position to be appointed. Read why

On Oct. 23, Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney asked Senate lawmakers to consider legislation to change his position from an elected to appointed.

As it happens, it wouldn’t be the first state position go down that road.

Below are a few of the other state positions that have been changed from elected to appointed, according to state historical records:

• State Superintendent was previously a statewide elected office, but in 1984, the Legislature voted to make it a State Board of Education appointment with consent of the Senate.
• Former Gov. William Winter was the state’s last elected tax collector after successfully lobbying for the position to be appointed. His term in that role ended in 1964.
• Before the Secretary of State’s Office absorbed the department, Mississippi had an independent Land Commission with a statewide elected commissioner. MSOS absorbed the commission in 1980 after the Legislature voted to abolish it in 1978.
• Prior to 1976, the position of Mississippi Supreme Court Clerk was a statewide elected position. In that year, it was changed so that the clerk is now appointed by the nine state supreme court justices.

Grenada Confederate statue update:

Details on Confederate statue lawsuit: Lawsuit threatens to change how MS towns can relocate Confederate statues. Read how

It appears that negotiations between the City of Grenada and two local residents over a dispute on where a 1910 confederate statue should be located have soured.

Last month, residents Susan Kirk and James Jones filed suit in circuit court to reverse a 2020 decision by the Grenada City Council to move the statue from the town’s courthouse square to behind a fire station.

Grenada Mayor Charles Latham and plaintiff attorney Don Barrett told the Clarion Ledger they had agreed to request the council vote to move the statue to a nearby Confederate cemetery, and by doing so, Kirk and Jones had agreed to withdraw the suit.

The vote was slated to take place on Oct. 14, but Latham said it was taken off of the council’s agenda and, due to the lawsuit, he was not allowed to speak on the situation.

On Oct. 18, the city’s attorney requested an extension of time lasting until Oct. 28 to file a response to the complaint.

The statue at the center of the lawsuit is also being kept in storage while litigation plays out. It is one of only three Confederate statues in Mississippi to have been moved from its original location.

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