Supervisor's Reception

Last night, the Mississippi Association of Supervisors held their legislative reception at the Jackson Hilton. While many counties had only two or three of their supervisors in attendance, it was refreshing to see all five of Forrest County's supervisors present.

Web Updating

Just to give thanks for the one who is continously putting the effort into redesigning and updating the website- Sunny Corral.

Sunny is the Director of Innovation at the Lott Center at Southern Miss. She is also an incredibly talented and kind friend who sets aside time from husband Christian and dogs Jazz and Mango to make sure the people of District 102 know what is going on in the legislature.

Thanks to Sunny.

First Delegation Meeting

This morning, we had our first Hattiesburg delegation meeting. It was very productive to share ideas, strategy and goals for the people and entities we represent. I think the greater benefit was just the sharing of information between our Hattiesburg counterparts on the Senate side. We have a solid delegation, with each member on the House and Senate side adding something important to the mix.

A nice treat happened when newly elected Lamar County Supervisor Ben Winston gave the opening prayer for the House this morning.

It's a short day today- the Inauguration ceremony for Gov. Haley Barbour will take place at 11 a.m.

Progress Abounds

Maybe the title was a little misleading. For now, any sign of progress is a cause for excitement. We've put in for committees, and now the waiting starts. While the Senate can usually appoint committees within a week, the House usually takes a couple of weeks. This is because the Senate knows who its leader will be in November, while we find out the first day of session in January.

Today we drew for parking spaces. By using the same process, the class of 2008 was again at the rear of the selection. However, this time, I drew the prized #1. By that time, however, all the parking spaces were on the street. So, luck is a relative term.

We're starting to get the ball rolling on adding another circuit judgeship to the Forrest/Perry County circuit district. We should be receiving some caseload information tomorrow to start building our case. If we can win this, it will help clear a great deal of backlog in cases in the Hattiesburg area.

In one final note, all of the new statewide officials (minus Haley Barbour, who will be inaugurated next week) took the oath in the House chambers today.

Seating Draw; Other Updates

Today we drew for seats. The way it works is that the members who have been there the longest get to choose their seats first. So, starting with the class of 1980 (which still have several members in office...including our own Rep. Percy Watson), the members of a class draw numbers to see who chooses first.

The idea is to avoid getting stuck on the front row, especially on the middle aisle. Landing on the front row in the middle aisle means that you will spend the next four years right in front of the well (the main lectern) of the House chambers. The problem occurs during particularly passionate speeches in which errant saliva might be thrown from whomever is speaking at the well.

So, after a good hour-plus, the class of 2008 was finally called. Out of 19, I drew #10 (not as good as Bob Evans or Mac Huddleston- but not as bad as Bubba Carpenter or Mark DuVall, who drew #18 and #19, respectively). In the end, I took one of the few remaining seats on the next-to-back row, in the middle aisle. I'm sitting on a row with Tommy Woods, Alex Monsour and Larry Baker.

Other notable news is that J.P. Compretta from the Gulf Coast was re-elected Speaker Pro Tem. Rep. Percy Watson of Hattiesburg was elected again to the Management Committee. This is good news for the Pine Belt because the Management Committee helps select which members go to each committee.

McCoy Re-Elected House Speaker

By a vote of 62-60, Speaker Billy McCoy was re-elected Speaker of the House. Obviously, I was on the short end of that vote, seeing as though I supported Rep. Jeff Smith.

The tone of the day was set by two tie votes for temporary Speaker, with Robert Johnson tying Ed Blackmon 61-61 twice before Blackmon won on the third try 62-60.

The First Seating

I guess the reality of it all still hasn't hit me. I walked up the lawn and through the basement doors of the Capitol building. After explaining to security that I wasn't a page, I walked into the ground floor while everyone milled about. There was a guy with his keyboard in the rotunda playing "Lean on Me". I grabbed my passes from the House office, strolled past the House staff and onto the House floor. It's awe-inspiring to think of all the past leaders, statesmen and scoundrels, who once walked the walls of the Capitol and debated legislation that would forge the future of Mississippi. I'm grateful to be here, and I look forward to all the experiences I'll have the privilege of living.