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abuse, Black Nationalism, Bloomberg, City Administrator, city management, City Manager, Civil Rights, Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds, corruption, crumbling infrastructure, desegregation, Detroit, drinking water, environment, ethno-state, fraud, integration, Jackson, Jackson Mississippi Water Crisis, local government, Lumumba, Mayor, Mayor of Jackson Miss., misconduct, Mississippi, Office of Inspector General, OIG, overpaid bureaucrats, poverty, racism, Republic of New Afrika, resegregation, RNA, segregation, Siemens, small towns, State Government, US Civil Rights movement, US EPA, waste, water quality, water system
Small town Jackson Mississippi, with a population less than 150,000, doesn’t need a paid City Manager AND a paid Mayor. They certainly don’t need an overpaid City Manager AND an overpaid Mayor. Mayor Lumumba is paid $119,999.36. The City Administrator (City Manager), Louis Wright, is paid $113,768. These are redundant positions. The salaries of Mayor and City Manager, combined, are almost 14 times the average income of the citizens of Jackson. The self-proclaimed “socialist” Mayor Lumumba should be paid, at most, the average income of the citizens of Jackson Mississippi, which is $22,815. That is apparently median income, so half of the population has less: https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/jacksoncitymississippi. The Detroit-born Mayor’s father, a Detroit native, came to Mississippi right after Mississippi had finally desegregated its public school system. Shockingly, he came down from Detroit demanding that Mississippi resegregate, as part of a black ethno-state (The Republic of New Afrika).
The US EPA OIG has apparently noticed that something smells funny in Jackson Mississippi. On September 13, 2022, the EPA-OIG wrote that “The Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is initiating an inquiry into the drinking water emergency in Jackson, Mississippi. This inquiry will include interviews, data gathering, and analysis of compliance with regulations, policies, and procedures for, among other things, overseeing the city’s water system and administering the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds. Anyone with knowledge of potential fraud, waste, abuse, misconduct, or mismanagement related to this inquiry should contact the Office of Inspector General’s hotline at (888) 546-8740 or via an electronic form at OIG Hotline.” https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2022-09/Certified_Notification%20Memo%20Jackson%20Miss-FINAL_NNMsignature.pdf
To call Jackson a “City” is a gross exaggeration. It’s a state administrative center and a college-university center.
Lumumba should return $100,000 per year of his salary. Since he’s drawn that salary a few years, he could volunteer for a number of years. While the City Administrator-Manager may be able to help, he is a private sector (Entergy) retiree and could also volunteer.
The Mayor of Jackson Mississippi, Chokwe A. Lumumba, makes over five times as much as the average citizen of Jackson, i.e. he makes $119,999.36. The City Administrator aka City Manager, Louis Wright, is paid $113,768.
The Governor of Mississippi makes $122,160, which is already too much for a poor state. The previous Governor, Bryant, may be under investigation: https://web.archive.org/web/20220405202933/https://www.wjtv.com/news/politics/focused-on-politics/governor-other-mississippi-officials-set-to-receive-large-pay-raises/
“UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
September 13, 2022
MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT: Notification: Inquiry into Jackson, Mississippi, Drinking Water Emergency
FROM: Nicole N. Murley, Acting Deputy Inspector General
TO: Daniel Blackman, Regional Administrator Region 4
The Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is initiating an inquiry into the drinking water emergency in Jackson, Mississippi. This inquiry will include interviews, data gathering, and analysis of compliance with regulations, policies, and procedures for, among other things, overseeing the city’s water system and administering the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds. As we conduct our inquiry, we may contact individuals associated with the Region 4 Water Division and the Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division, as well as individuals associated with the State of Mississippi and the City of Jackson.
We respectfully note that the OIG is authorized by the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, to have timely access to personnel and all materials necessary to complete its objectives. Similarly, EPA Manual 6500, Functions and Activities of the Office of Inspector General, dated 1994, requires that each EPA employee cooperate with and fully disclose information to the OIG. Administrator Michael S. Regan, in an April 28, 2021, email message to EPA employees, conveyed his “expectation that EPA personnel provide OIG timely access to records or other information” and observed that “full cooperation with the OIG is in the best interest of the public we serve.” We will request that you immediately resolve the situation if an Agency employee or contractor refuses to provide requested materials to the OIG or otherwise fails to cooperate with the OIG. We may report unresolved access matters to the administrator and include the incident in the Semiannual Report to Congress.
We will post this memorandum on our public website at http://www.epa.gov/oig. Anyone with knowledge of potential fraud, waste, abuse, misconduct, or mismanagement related to this inquiry should contact the Office of Inspector General’s hotline at (888) 546-8740 or via an electronic form at OIG Hotline.
Questions about this topic should be directed to the OIG’s public affairs office at (202) 566-2391.
cc: Janet McCabe, Deputy Administrator Dan Utech, Chief of Staff, Office of the Administrator Jon Monger, Associate Deputy Administrator Wesley J. Carpenter, Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of the Administrator Radhika Fox, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water…” See more CCs at the link: https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2022-09/Certified_Notification%20Memo%20Jackson%20Miss-FINAL_NNMsignature.pdf
As of October 2018, Bob Miller, director of public works was making $125,991.84; Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba’s salary was $119,999.36; Robert Blaine, Jackson chief administrative officer was paid $111,537.92; Jackson Police Chief James Davis was paid $112,998.08; City Attorney Sharon Gipson was paid $106,238.08. The previous CAO, Guss McCoy was paid $85,001. https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/local/2018/10/18/list-jacksons-highest-paid-city-employees-including-mayor-lumumba/1682169002/
“Louis Wright named Chief Administrative Officer for City of Jackson” by: Kaitlin Howell, Aug 2, 2021, https://web.archive.org/web/20220129092207/https://www.wjtv.com/news/local/louis-wright-named-chief-administrative-officer-for-city-of-jackson/
Former Entergy manager-executive: “Louis P. Wright, Sr. serves as the Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Jackson” https://web.archive.org/web/20220905105659/https://www.jacksonms.gov/contacts/louis-p-wright-sr-cao/
Louis Wright retired after 37 years with Entergy. He could volunteer for the good of the city and the prestige: “Mayor Chokwe Lumumba appoints Louis Wright as new CAO – Local businessman says he is just what the city needs” August 5, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210805230445/https://themississippilink.com/2021/08/05/mayor-chokwe-lumumba-appoints-louis-wright-as-new-cao-local-businessman-says-he-is-just-what-the-city-needs/
According to Gov Salaries: “Louis Wright in 2021 was employed in City of Jackson and had annual salary of $113,768 according to public records….” https://govsalaries.com › wright-louis-e-742806
“Council-manager
This is the most common form of local government and is the type used to govern most major cities in North Carolina, including Raleigh, Durham, Charlotte, and Greensboro. It is also prevalent in the Southwest and Pacific coast areas, in cities such as Phoenix, San Antonio, and Las Vegas. The city council oversees local policy and budgets and appoints a professional city manager to handle administrative tasks on a day-to-day basis. Typically, the mayor is a member of the city council.
Mayor-council
In this form of local government, the mayor is elected separately from the legislative body and has strong or weak powers based on the municipal charter, a legal document that includes everything a town or city government provides like water and transportation services. In some cities, the mayor plays a more ceremonial role; in others, the position involves responsibilities ranging from administrative to legislative to operational. A mayor, sometimes referred to as the “chief executive officer of the city,” may deal with issues as diverse as immigration, infrastructure, the environment, public health, and the criminal justice system. Elected mayors are common in older, larger cities in the United States, such as Los Angeles; Birmingham, Alabama; Denver; and Philadelphia. But smaller cities have mayors, too” Read more here: https://onlinempa.unc.edu/blog/city-manager-vs-mayor/
The Mayor of Jackson appears to have essentially inherited his position from his father, the late Chokwe Lumumba, Sr. Interesting that he and his son are from Detroit, where they’ve also had water problems.
Did Lumumba Sr. go south to participate in the Civil Rights movement? No, he did not. He waited until the Mississippi schools were fully integrated (desegregated) from Grade 1 and then arrived to demand more segregation. Instead of segregated schools he wanted to make Mississippi part of a Black Ethno-State, undermining everything that people fought and died for in the south during the Civil Rights era.
“After a protest at Wayne State Law School about racially discriminatory grading, Lumumba left in 1970 after his first year to organize in Jackson with the RNA”. https://web.archive.org/web/20220903094634/https://www.ebony.com/who-was-chokwe-lumumba-987/
Siemens ripped Jackson Mississippi off, which is a long story in and of itself.
“Lyin’ Lumumba’: Stokes escalates feud with Jackson mayor in turbulent press conference: Councilman Kenneth Stokes responded, ”We tried to get the mayor to sue Siemens forever. He wouldn’t do it cuz he had friends in there. Who put on the agenda to sue Siemens? Kenny Stokes. I even put on the agenda that we hire Gibbs Law Firm because they had won some money from Siemens and that’s when the mayor come up with who? These folks out of Birmingham. And gave him how much? Thirty million dollars. You didn’t have what they said, 89, they gave 30-million to some lawyers out of Birmingham. And ain’t it funny how this money now trickling back for his re-election? Oh, I’m a tell it now. Y’all don’t want me to tell it? Tell him don’t ask Kenny Stokes.” https://web.archive.org/web/20210227041024/https://www.wlbt.com/2021/02/25/stokes-lumumba-go-back-forth-heated-war-words/
Mike Bloomberg gave Jackson $1 million for an art project about food: https://web.archive.org/web/20210227010717/https://www.bloomberg.org/press/mike-bloomberg-announces-city-jackson-will-receive-1-million-public-art-project-addressing-nutrition-food-equity-mississippi/
“Statement by Administrator Regan on the Ongoing Water Crisis in Jackson, Mississippi September 26, 2022
Contact Information
EPA Press Office (press@epa.gov)
WASHINGTON – Today, EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan returned to Jackson, Mississippi with Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim to address the ongoing water crisis. Following a meeting with Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, Administrator Regan issued the following statement:
“The people of Jackson, Mississippi, have lacked access to safe and reliable water for decades. After years of neglect, Jackson’s water system finally reached a breaking point this summer, leaving tens of thousands of people without any running water for weeks. These conditions are unacceptable in the United States of America.
When I became EPA Administrator, I made a commitment that EPA would prioritize the health and safety of underserved and overburdened communities across this country. That’s why Jackson was the first stop on my Journey to Justice tour last year and why I’ve returned to the city multiple times since, meeting directly with families affected by this crisis and with State and local officials.
As a public health agency, EPA has a responsibility to protect people’s health. As evidenced by the roughly 300 boil water notices that have been issued over the past two years, the multiple line breaks during the same timeframe, and the recent drinking water crisis, it’s clear this community has suffered long enough.
Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim from the Department of Justice and I met today with Mayor Lumumba to discuss the actions the federal government is prepared to take to help remedy this longstanding injustice. During that meeting, I conveyed our desire to work with the City to reach a judicially enforceable agreement that ensures a sustainable water system in the mid- and long-terms.
The people of Jackson, like all people in this country, deserve access to clean and safe water. They also deserve more than words – they need action. I look forward to working together with the Mayor and City of Jackson to deliver long overdue relief for Jackson residents.” Contact Us to ask a question, provide feedback, or report a problem.
LAST UPDATED ON SEPTEMBER 26, 2022 “ https://web.archive.org/web/20220926161650/https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/statement-administrator-regan-ongoing-water-crisis-jackson-mississippi
Mining Awareness + 