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Frank Melton
Mayor Frank Melton was elected in 2005 with the slogan “Help is on the way!” The former television executive and flamboyant gadfly had vowed to rid the city of crime within 90 days and was a popular choice of mainstream media, including the Gannett-owned Clarion-Ledger, which endorsed him even though the editors knew that he was lying under oath in a lawsuit for providing a faulty memo to the paper.
At his July 4, 2005, inauguration, Melton voewed to run all the “thugs” out of town. However, on his watch, crime has skyrocketed, and a never of young accused felons who live with in his home have been arrested.
City management has also faltered, with the city budget in shambles. Melton has been under multiple criminal indictments for illegally carrying weapons and for destroying a so-called “crackhouse” on Ridgeway Street in 2006, and by mid-2007 was under investigation by the FBI.
The Jackson Free Press has won awards for investigative reporting about Melton, including breaking the story about the Ridgeway demolition.
Read the JFP Melton Blog/Archive here.
