A Democratic incumbent asking the city for another four years to carry on the progress made by his administration; an independent challenger who says he won’t pick favorites and will give credit where credit is due; a Republican who believes that only his party can solve the city’s problems.

These are the choices Meridian voters will face when they go to the polls June 6 to determine the city’s direction for the next four years. Each candidate has endured a gauntlet of interviews, spoke at election forums and campaigned on promises to better the lives of Meridian residents.

The candidates are incumbent Democrat Percy Bland, Ward 2 Councilman and independent Dustin Markham and Republican William “Bill” Compton.

Bland and Markham have clashed frequently while Compton has generally avoided confrontations.

Running for his second term, Bland has said he would like to continue the work he has accomplished in the last four years, such as decreasing unemployment, securing funding for the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience project, buying new technology for Meridian police officers and raising the pay of city workers.

Compton has criticized the past administration, saying that “Democrats have put the car in the ditch and want the keys for another four years” in a televised forum sponsored by The Meridian Star and WTOK-TV.

Markham has said Bland takes credit for projects he didn’t start, such as the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience, shows favoritism and doesn’t have a strategic plan or direction for the city.

“When I took over four years ago we didn’t have a lot of buzz in the city (or) a lot of people talking about Meridian,” Bland said in an interview with The Star’s editorial board. “(The Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience, the Children’s Museum and Threefoot Building) are major accomplishments to create activity, to create buzz about our city. (They’re) a magnet to draw people in.”

Bland also discussed investments in the community, such as the Velma Young Center and a youth workforce training program with the Boys & Girls Club of East Mississippi. 

Markham has said he’d like to see more vision from the office of the mayor.

“If the mayor is simply throwing spaghetti against the wall and trying to see what sticks or what people might like, you’re not going to progress like you should,” Markham told The Star’s editorial board. “So what I want to do to maximize our potential and turn it into a reality is to sit down with (the Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors, the East Mississippi Business Development Corporation and other contributers) and then become more aggressive.”

Markham said he would work with high school students, young professionals and lifelong residents to see what Meridian is missing and what they’d like to see in Meridian. 

“We have to make people want to come here and we have to have things they want to do,” Markham said. 

Compton, on the other hand, hasn’t elaborated much on “talking points.” Rather, he has remained adamant that having a united Republican mayor and Republican City Council will smooth the way for future, unspecified policies.

When it comes to engaging with the citizens of Meridian, Compton said that it would be difficult to overcome the apathy he sees in Meridian.

“Things are going pretty good. Things have to be going pretty bad for people to get out of their La-Z-Boy recliner and get out of their house,” Compton said. “I’m dumbfounded.”

Compton has said that he believes that Republicans simply didn’t vote in the last election, giving the win to the Democrats.

“When I was a teacher, we had the same problems trying to get the parents to come to the schools,” Compton said. “The one way we found was free food. So if the mayor has a way to bring out wings and some Coke… maybe a city-wide picnic. You’re going to have everybody turn out if you serve free food and entertain the people.”

Markham pointed to his Facebook campaign as an example of how he would engage with citizens. He has posted a video series on Facebook and hosted live streamed question-and-answer sessions, where any Facebook user can submit questions and watch Markham respond in real time.

“Through technology, you can reach anyone anywhere. Whether it be on TV, an iPad, an iPhone, anywhere. I think paper communication, to some extent, does not reach like technology does,” Markham said. “If there’s a statement that needs to be made you won’t have to wait until the 6 o’clock, 10 o’clock news to hear it. You would hear it when it was live streamed.”

Bland said the city would be changing its website to be more updated with a better calendar and messages from the mayor and department heads.

“So you’ll know when a street will be closed and you will know when things are happening,” Bland said. “I think that’s one thing we can improve on. How we give out information and market ourselves in a digital age where multiple people get their information off of a smartphone.”

Bland said that social media and an improved website would keep people, especially young people, more engaged.

“I think the best way to get people engaged is to have a (better) website and for my office to be more vocal on things,” Bland said. 

When it comes to addressing the problem, or perception, of crime in Meridian, the candidates each had different responses in their submitted opinion pieces to The Star.

“We have to change from a reactive style of policing to community policing… by encouraging suppression coverages and saturation of our communities with officers. Police officers should be rooted in the communities they serve and must develop relationships with our citizens,” Markham said. “Knowing where crime has occurred and being in constant communication with those that “know” their communities will transition our department from a reactive “911” based department to a proactive community policing department.”

Markham also said that “many offenders are repeat offenders due to their inability to secure gainful employment.” Markham expanded on this position during the election forum, when he mentioned a jobs program for nonviolent felons that would allow felons to apply for positions while on probation.

Bland said in his submitted opinion that the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report said Meridian had the lowest rate of crime in 2016 since 2003, which Bland credits to the increases in officer pay, hiring more officers and using illegal drug money to purchase of body cameras and laptops for the police department.

“We can’t stop now because it doesn’t matter how much the crime rate has dropped if people still don’t feel safe,” Bland said. “That means more and better-paid police officers, the best equipment, more neighborhood policing and more trust between community members and police officers. We’ve made progress and we’ve got to continue moving forward.”

Compton’s submitted opinion described how crime and poverty are intertwined.

“The problem of crime in Meridian is real, but crime is not the real problem, it is a symptom of a nationwide problem and that is the hopelessness of poverty,” Compton said. “In order to break the stranglehold poverty has on our people, the mayor and city council together need to encourage small- and mid-size businesses to locate here by creating tax incentives while at the same time bringing jobs with these new businesses.”

However, Compton negated himself in Wednesday’s election forum when he said “we can’t offer tax incentives to come here because then we’re cutting our own throats… (Businesses) have to want to be here.”

The Mayoral Election

The mayor, elected every four years, earns $80,000 a year.

The general election will be June 6, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Voters should look at the bottom of their voter registration cards for city precinct locations, which may differ from county precinct locations. For more information call City Hall at (601) 485-1945.

A livestream of Wednesday’s forum, video editorial board discussions and guest columns are available at www.meridianstar.com.