I am responding to the article about the Vicksburg Housing Authority board seeking a replacement for Mr. Jim Stirgus.

Let me just give you a great recommendation that would solve a lot of criticism about this matter. Last year, Mayor Leyens wanted to eliminate the Housing Division of the City Planning Department. Well now is the time to utilize a brilliant idea. The City of Vicksburg Planning Department has a Housing Division that is managed by Beatrice Moore, whom we all have seen do an outstanding job in housing counseling workshops and helping low-income individuals become homeowners with down-payment assistance programs.

Mrs. Moore has worked with various agencies (Mississippi Disability Studies, Mississippi Regional Housing VI, HUD, MEMA, USDA Rural Housing) that fund housing programs that can help the tenants of VHA in many ways. I have seen Mrs. Moore show compassion with these individuals (especially flood victims) and if appointed over the VHA she can assist these individuals from becoming dependent on the government for life. Keep in mind we do have some elderly, disabled and special needs individuals who truly need the support from HUD-VHA.

To combine her knowledge of housing programs and federal grant applications for assistance would be a great asset to lead a connection with the tenants becoming home-owners-taxpayers for the City of Vicksburg. Don’t appoint but confirm Beatrice Moore, director of VHA!

Mary Jones

Vicksburg

Verify candidate promises

I have been a member of Local 619 Plumbers and Pipefitters for over 40 years. I was very upset to see Paul Winfield’s campaign signs on our union hall knowing that Mayor Leyens had not been given the opportunity to speak to our membership. I contacted Mr. Newell, our business agent. He indicated Mr. Winfield had the support of the membership because Mr. Winfield has promised to unionize all city employees, including the civil service employees. He has also promised consideration for all city bids to be processed through the union. Recently, I discovered Mr. Winfield has hired union workers from the Gulf Coast to stand at the intersections to hold his signs. If Mr.Winfield is truly interested in our local union workers, why has he hired outsiders to help with his campaign?

I know personally the benefits that unions have provided to members and would hope that whenever possible every consideration would be given to union workers. I do not want our members to be misled or misinformed by promises that cannot be kept. I believe Mayor Leyens has always provided prospective businesses with information on the skilled labor force in this area and that is all that can be done. He is unmatched when it comes to selling Vicksburg to prospective businesses and in doing so, he knows how important it is to provide these prospects with information on the availability of skilled labor in this area.

I contacted the city for some clarification and discovered that some promises being made would not be legal and, as well, could be detrimental to both city employees and the taxpayers. The city employees would be assessed the dues for membership and ultimately the taxpayers would pay the price. The city has a very productive work force. Salaries and benefits have increased substantially during the Leyens administration. As well, accountability has been a part of this administration’s strategy. During his first term, Mayor Leyens put the department heads in charge of their staffs. Basically, the city is being run like a business, which it should be because it is the people’s business.

I strongly urge my fellow union members to look at the candidates, their character and their commitment and be assured that promises pledged, that are not legal, cannot be fulfilled. Please vote on June 2 and please look around you at the results of the Leyens administration. We have growth and stability and if we go backward there will be no additional jobs for union members or non-union members. Consider your options: proven leadership or the unknown. Personally, I don’t think we can take that chance.

Leon Gilmer

Vicksburg

Vibrancy not happenstance

It is human nature to take good things for granted. It is natural, and actually good, that we can forget how bad things used to be. But at this time, we need to remember — not forget — how Vicksburg used to be before Laurence Leyens became mayor. Have you forgotten:

• Many people were annexed by the city in the 1980s, yet city services were not provided to them by prior administrations until Mayor Leyens took office. Those people now have city services.

• Downtown was literally dead. Today, downtown Vicksburg is the vibrant heart of a now prospering community, with an image that promotes tourism, business development, education and local pride. This did not exist before the Leyens administration.

• Major improvements have been made to infrastructure, underground utilities, streets, water wells and water treatment facilities — repairs that have been neglected for decades. These services, often overlooked by the public, increase efficiency today and have a major, long-lasting impact on our city’s future.

• While we often hear criticism of the police department, please remember back to the condition of our police force prior to the Leyens administration and how truly ineffective it was. In that “good-old-boy system” no one was ticketed for anything, and drug arrests were nonexistent.

We voters in Vicksburg should not forget how this community used to be before Mayor Laurence Leyens. Nor should we take for granted how good it has become. We should not take a chance of going back to the old ways of doing things. City voters, take advantage of the vision, business acumen, energy and drive of Laurence Leyens. Please get out and vote on June 2 and vote for Mayor Leyens. He’s a proven leader who gets good results that benefit all of Vicksburg’s citizens.

Landman Teller Jr.

Vicksburg