Dear Editor:
I read with interest the articles on the front page relating to dividing of Sunflower County in JR202 by taking the three south boxes of Sunflower County out of Senate District 13 and putting them in Senate District 22.
It was interesting to read that this is perceived to be bad for Sunflower County.
I do agree that it will make it harder to elect someone from Sunflower County to either Senate seat; however, Sunflower County will now have two senators that will need to be responsive to the citizens of Sunflower County.
To me this is a positive. If you look at the map of Mississippi and how the counties are divided there are numerous counties that are divided and have two Senators.
All the counties surrounding Sunflower County have two senators.
This includes Bolivar, Coahoma, Humphreys, Leflore, Tallahatchie and Washington.
In addition Holmes and Yazoo counties in the Delta are represented by two or more senators also.
There are many other counties around the state that also have two or more senators.
I also want to point out that both the Senate and the House of Representatives are controlled by the Republican Party.
For anyone to believe that Senator Simmons, who is a Democrat, had anything to do with what happens does not understand the political process in Jackson.
The Court of Appeals upheld the District Court and the Senate was given a deadline of April 3, 2019 to redraw the district.
The Senate Republicans were only going to change as few districts as they could because it extended the qualifying date of any district affected.
The Republicans found the one district (Senate district 13) that they could move votes from and only affect that district plus District 22.
Plain and simple the party in control does what is good for that party and that is what happened. If the shoe had been on the other foot, I feel certain the Democrats would have done what was best for their party.
Senator Simmons has represented Sunflower County well over these last 26 years, and for anyone to think he could affect the process controlled by the Republicans does not understand how politics in Jackson works.
Senator Simmons has represented the Delta through his efforts to secure funds for many projects and communities like the B. B. King Museum, Grammy Museum, Drew, Cleveland, Fannie Lou Hamer’s Cancer Center in Ruleville, Indianola and Boyle to name a few.
By the way, Senator Simmons is running for election as the Commissioner of the Central Highway District, and I certainly hope that Sunflower County citizens will support him.
He has been Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee for the past eight years.
He knows what needs to be done, and I think he is the perfect candidate for this job.
Walton Gresham
