All those involved should resign.
That’s what Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes said about the latest events in a bribery scandal that now involves at least two unidentified Jackson elected officials. The revelation of additional elected officials came after the court hearing of Sherik Marve’ Smith, a local insurance specialist who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery charges in federal court last week.
Smith, along with an “Unindicted Co-conspirator A,” facilitated bribes to the Jackson officials, known only as “Unindicted Co-conspirator B” and “Unindicted Co-conspirator C,” according to court documents. All that is known of “Unindicted Co-conspirator A” is they are resident of Hinds County.
“I think everybody that has dirty hands should come forward and they should resign,” Stokes said after Tuesday’s meeting of the Jackson City Council. “You do not get in government to steal. People run for office, they tell poor people ‘when I get elected, I’m going to help you’ and then they get elected and they help themselves. I think it’s wrong. I think it’s absolutely wrong.”
The Jackson elected officials involved in the scandal allegedly took bribes from two undercover FBI agents posed as real estate developers from Nashville. The agents said they were interested in bidding on the city’s long sought after downtown hotel development across the street from the Jackson Convention Complex. The city put out a statement of qualifications, or SOQ, for the project on Jan. 31.
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In August, four members of the council admitted to meeting out-of-town developers with Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens, who’s business and offices were raided by the FBI in May. Council president Virgi Lindsay of Ward 7, Councilman Ashby Foote of Ward 1, Councilman Vernon Hartley of Ward 5 all acknowledged meetings with the supposed Nashville developers. Councilman Brian Grizzell of Ward 4 said he met one developer in passing.
On Tuesday, Stokes said he never met them, but might have received a call from one of the developers.
“I don’t meet with people,” he said. “We don’t need no private meeting. If it’s something that’s so important that you think I should know, then tell the whole council, let everybody know. It shouldn’t be no back-room meetings, that’s what they did in the old days. They used to call that the good-ole-boy system, and I wasn’t part of it then and I’m not part of it now.
How is Jackson’s image affected?
Stokes said he worries about how Jackson, specifically the 82% Black population that make up the city, will be viewed after the bribery scandal.
“It gives a black eye to the city,” Stokes said. “It sends a bad image about Black people period, Black people in government and whether Black people can run a city. All over this country you have Black people running cities with success. All over the City of Jackson for many, many years you had Black people running the city with success.”
Stokes asked the public to not “judge one person’s action and label all people that way.”
“I think you still have successful, great people who can run Jackson who would not steal a dime,” he said. “I tell people all the time when they say, ‘well Kenny we’re glad it wasn’t you,’ you know, I know some people wish I was involved. I say, ‘where did I work before I became a councilman?’… Hell I was a tax collector, I don’t steal!”
“One of the first lessons is don’t touch the money. You take what’s yours. If it ain’t yours, leave it alone,” Stokes said.
Stokes believes “from what I’m reading, that you had Councilmember Lee, there’s a possibility you’ve got Councilmember (Aaron) Banks; there’s a possibility you’ve got the DA Owens, and it’s a possibility you’ve got the mayor.
“It’s possibilities, because whether they decide to court or not, a jury will make the final determination.”
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Lumumba dodged questions regarding the scandal, only repeating the phrase “I have never conspired with anyone to commit a crime,” during his Monday press conference. Banks, who attended the Tuesday council meeting virtually, has not responded to the Clarion Ledger’s repeated requests for comment. Owens has previously declined to answer any questions about the scandal, releasing a statement through his attorney in August.
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No other elected officials have been charged with a crime since former Ward 2 Councilwoman Angelique Lee, who resigned then pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges in August. Lee accepted nearly $20,000 in payments and luxury clothing from two undercover FBI agents posed as real estate developers from Nashville. She accepted the bribes in exchange for her support in favor of the agents for the city’s downtown hotel project.
One other member of the council, Ward 1 Councilman Ashby Foote, has also speculated that Lumumba and Owens are involved in the bribery scandal. Foote said he believes there’s involvement from another member of the council as well, but he refused to name them.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jackson MS Councilman Kenneth Stokes speaks on bribery scandal
