EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Candidates in Mississippi’s U.S. Senate runoff are competing with college football, Thanksgiving turkey and the mad dash of Christmas bargain hunting as they try to hold voters’ attention. Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democratic challenger Mike Espy are on the ballot Nov. 27, and the winner will get the final two years of a six-year term started by longtime Republican Sen. Thad Cochran. Both candidates acknowledge that motivating people to return to the polls will be a challenge. “I want everyone to have the best Thanksgiving they can possibly have. But don’t you eat a bite if you’re not looking at the person next to you, making sure they’ve got to go vote,” Hyde-Smith told cheering supporters at a Nov. 6 election night party in Jackson. Espy hosted a gospel extravaganza Nov. 5 at Anderson United Methodist Church in Jackson. He talked to the mostly African-American audience about honoring the legacy of those who … [Read more...] about Analysis: Candidates need motivated voters for Senate runoff
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Analysis: Candidates to replace Joe Straus aren’t the only power-seekers in the House
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Editor's note: If you'd like an email notice whenever we publish Ross Ramsey's column, click here. TMF is back, proving that not everything in a race for speaker of the Texas House is about who’s going to be the next speaker of the Texas House. The TMF in this instance is Trey Martinez Fischer, a bull of a Democratic House member from San Antonio who gave up his seat to run — unsuccessfully — for the Texas Senate and is now poised to return to his old stomping grounds. Known around the Capitol by his initials, he was one of the leaders of the Democrats before he left. Others stepped up and could reasonably expect to keep going even though he’s back. That might be what happens. But TMF, never a shrinking violet, sent a letter last week to some of the real and suspected candidates for speaker, urging them to show their faces, to start a dialogue over the direction of the House — to come out and play. The Texas Tribune thanks its sponsors. Become one. … [Read more...] about Analysis: Candidates to replace Joe Straus aren’t the only power-seekers in the House
Analysis: Candidates vie for attention in 3rd District race
EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Voters in central Mississippi’s 3rd District are choosing a new member of Congress for the first time in a decade. Candidates have been traveling for weeks to speak at forums and fish fries, and the heavy rotation of advertising – for those who can afford it – is expected to begin close to Memorial Day. Party primaries are June 5, and if a runoff is needed to choose the Republican nominee, it will be June 26. Rep. Gregg Harper of Pearl was first elected in 2008 to what was then an open seat because fellow Republican Chip Pickering stepped aside after 12 years. Harper announced early this year that he wouldn’t seek another term, saying he thinks a decade in Washington is enough. The district encompasses all of 20 counties and parts of four others. It runs in a diagonal across the middle of the state, from two counties that touch the Mississippi River in the southwestern corner, up through the more densely populated suburbs of Madison and … [Read more...] about Analysis: Candidates vie for attention in 3rd District race
EEOC issues new guide on how employers should screen job candidates’ criminal records
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission did employers a huge favor Wednesday when they freshened guidelines on how companies should use criminal background checks in deciding whether to hire a job candidate. An EEOC commission voted 4-1 Wednesday to approve the new enforcement guidance. The rules now come with a question and answer sheet and some "best practices" to adopt. Take a peek at www.eeoc.gov. "The new guidance clarifies and updates the EEOC's longstanding policy concerning the use of arrest and conviction records in employment, which will assist job seekers, employers, and many other agency stakeholders," said EEOC Chairwoman Jacqueline Berrien. Turns out, using only an arrest record to disqualify a candidate is NOT all right. Anyone can be arrested for any number of reasons. A conviction? Now that's another matter. "The fact of an arrest does not establish that criminal conduct has occurred. Arrest records are not probative of criminal conduct," … [Read more...] about EEOC issues new guide on how employers should screen job candidates’ criminal records
With 35 candidates, Mpls. mayoral election cost $1.7M; officials want change
A detailed report provided to the City Council's elections committee, which meets Tuesday, also shows that 2013 city elections cost $1.7 million. That's just over what city clerk Casey Carl originally requested, but much more than the $1.3 million the council approved. One major driver of the cost was mailing a voter guide to every household in the city, which cost $97,536. The election was the first major test of ranked choice voting, which allows voters to select three candidate preferences. Seventy-six percent of ballots in the mayor's race listed three choices. The city found the most common voter error was repeating a candidate in the rankings -- 3.28 percent of ballots in the election had this error. "This reflects a common theme identified during voter outreach efforts, where many voters expressed the belief that 'bullet voting' would help a preferred candidate to advance in a race where additional rounds of tabulation were required," the report said. An accompanying survey of … [Read more...] about With 35 candidates, Mpls. mayoral election cost $1.7M; officials want change