Odds are Ron Williams won”t be our next governor. Williams, a Republican, has never held elected office. Williams hasn”t raised much money; in fact, on his website he claims to “actively urge supporters not to contribute” because “he understands that since times are tough, we all need to save our money and spend it wisely.”
Williams is also running against a heavily favored candidate in Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant. Bryant has been elected to statewide office three times, has raised more money than the other candidates, and has actively courted the Mississippi Tea Party, an important constituency in the Republican primary. However, after watching the televised gubernatorial debate last Thursday, I think Williams” message will resonate with a surprising mix of voters and, in the future, could change the political landscape in Mississippi.
Before the debate, I knew little about Williams. I read one article that mentioned he was a resident of Moss Point and had a small environmental contracting business. The article also said he thinks the governor”s mansion needs a businessman rather than a career politician. But on these points, Williams sounded like Dave Dennis, another successful business owner from the Gulf Coast turned Republican gubernatorial candidate.
However, from the first question of the debate, Williams laid out a anti-establishment message. Williams argued the state capitol operated under a “good ole boy” system; one in which the well-connected receive government contracts and tax breaks, while everyone else is left to fend for themselves. Williams claimed this system works by “giving special tax status to certain industries” that have “the right lobbyists or contribute to the right campaign.”
Throughout the debate, Williams tied this message to his answer to each question. When asked whether he would have joined the lawsuit to challenge “Obamacare,” Williams answered affirmatively but also said the state should remove the mandated insurance monopoly and increase insurance opportunities by allowing out of state competition. However, Williams insisted this would never happen “as long as the high special interest insurance industries control these candidates.”
In response to a question about voter identification, Williams said he supported it but felt the issue was being used to divide white and black voters so the “working men and women of Mississippi won”t vote as Mississippians” and “change the power that”s in Jackson.” Williams also said Mississippi would not reduce poverty “until we stop diverting taxpayer dollars that are suppose to be moving our state forward to special interests and campaign contributors.”
This populist message probably won”t be enough to get Williams past the Republican primary, but I think Williams has identified an issue boiling below the surface. Increasingly, people are questioning the sincerity of our political system and our elected officials. The reliance on television advertisements to build name identification and spread a candidate”s message (even though there”s little substantive value to these ads) forces candidates to raise large sums of money. Much of this money is raised from Political Action Committees and large contributors, not average citizens.
Common sense tells most Mississippians that some of this money comes with expectations attached. And the more people think government decisions are attempts to meet these expectations, rather than serve the best interests of the citizens, the more likely people are to support a candidate that promises to end the “good ole boy” system.
Scott Colom is a local attorney.
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