Michael Watson may not have a vote in the legislature, but a local official nonetheless took the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Tuesday visit to the Rotary Club of Columbus as an opportunity to voice concern over Senate Bill 2715.
The bill proposes moving the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science to Mississippi State University in Starkville by 2026-2027.
The residential high school for gifted juniors and seniors was established at Mississippi University for Women in 1988.
Before Watson’s Tuesday speech at Lion Hills Center encouraged more citizen engagement with the political process, Trip Hairston, a Rotarian and president for the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors, pleaded with club members to contact legislators and oppose relocating MSMS.
“They will spend millions moving MSMS to MSU that they should have spent on the condition of the MSMS facilities,” Hairston said during announcements.
Hairston joins a growing din of expected local opposition to the bill, which has been referred to the Senate Education and Senate Appropriations Committees. All four members of the Columbus’ local legislative delegation — Reps. Andy Boyd, Kabir Karriem and Dana McLean, as well as Sen. Chuck Younger — all told The Dispatch they oppose the school’s move to MSU.
Mayor Keith Gaskin, speaking to a group Monday during a book talk event at City Hall, said he was disappointed and discouraged that District 43 Sen. Dennis DeBar, R-Leakesville, would consider proposing the bill. DeBar chairs the Education Committee.
“Our local senators and representatives are aware of it, and they’re doing everything they can to get this killed before it even leaves the committees,” Gaskin said. “We appreciate your support because you all know how critical MUW and MSMS is to our community.”
Watson, while not taking sides on the bill during his speech at Rotary, said public access and engagement make the government stronger.
He did praise Hairston and other club members for their willingness to contact legislators.
“I think any time you can make our citizens more knowledgeable where they understand how the process works and help them understand who to hold accountable, you just get better government,” he said. “The more we can educate our citizens in general … you just get better results when they’re engaged, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Transparency in campaign finance, other SOS programs
Government accessibility, accountability and transparency are key areas Watson said his office is focusing on this session, starting with encouraging citizens to stay active with the legislative process.
Watson also discussed his office’s efforts to increase accessibility for citizens when it comes to campaign finance. The newly rebuilt campaign finance database on the secretary of state website includes reports from county and local officials rather than only state officials.
This, Watson said, makes it easier for citizens to see how financial support affects public officials’ decisions.
“That’s how it should be,” he said. “So you can understand why (officials) make these decisions and ask yourself, ‘Should I continue to support them?’”
Watson said his office is taking steps to address enforcement mechanisms for ethics issues in campaign finance reporting as well. Currently the secretary of state’s office, the attorney general’s office and the Ethics Commission each play a role in handling campaign finance violations, a process Watson said was slightly “disjointed.”
To fix the process, all violations and questionable activity when it comes to reporting would be sent to the secretary of state’s office instead.
Watson said his office collaborated with the lieutenant governor’s office to clearly lay out what constitutes a campaign finance violation. His office would then be able to handle that violation objectively, he said.
“It’s not left up to our discretion. It just is what it is,” he said. “So I think if we do that, and you have an individual that’s a statewide elected official that’s held responsible by the public, you’re going to get a better product. And once we start enforcing it, you’re going to see fewer violations because people know we actually mean business now.”
Watson also discussed efforts made by his office to engage young Mississippians in state government through an ambassador program. The program accepts high school seniors through an application process to attend regional summits in Jackson about the state’s legislative process.
The program also includes monthly training and education sessions with Watson, which he said is one of his favorites efforts he’s worked on.
“The mentorship piece with our ambassadors is something really near and dear to me,” he said. “I’m really encouraged by the depth of knowledge and the questions they ask, and I love the piece where they can come together … and talk about hard things and not be offended by it. I think that’s an important piece we’re missing in politics.”
Applications for the 2024-2025 Student Ambassador Program are available on the secretary of state website. Interested students must be a senior in high school, maintain a 3.0 GPA or higher and have strong interest in state government and service.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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