Musgrove urges Democrats to reconcile

STEVEN A. McCALEB
103 ALVERADO DRIVE
LONG BEACH, MISSISSIPPI 39560
PHONE & FAX: (228)868-8428
E-MAIL: mccaleb5thdist@aol.com
WEB SITE: www.mississippiwebsite.com

July 5, 2001

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Thursday, July 05, 2001

JACKSON - Gov. Ronnie Musgrove asked for reconciliation from state Democratic leaders over the weekend even as party members said the recent upheaval in leadership is nothing to worry about.

"We're here to work with you," he told the 100-member state Democratic Executive Committee, which met Saturday. "We hope everybody can be pulled back together to concentrate our energies."

Seven members of party leadership, including Party Chairman Jon Levingston and Executive Director Amy Harris, have resigned their posts in the last two weeks. Some cited internal party struggles for their departure.

The Democratic Party in Mississippi has a long history of squabbles, but recent mass resignations and racial rifts have some wondering if healing is certain this time.

Some committee members loudly voiced their displeasure, vowing not to come back to another meeting, or to the party itself.

Veteran Democrats shrugged off such outbursts as nothing new for a diverse party.

"The Democratic Party was here before this took place, and it will be here afterward," said committee member Gail Smith of Morton.

"The party is not in disarray," said state Rep. Omeria Scott of Laurel, a committee member. "Anybody who says this party is in disarray is sadly mistaken."

At Saturday's committee meeting at Jackson's Medgar Evers branch library, at least six copies of Robert's Rules of Order were spotted.

In a meeting punctuated by a constantly banging gavel, order was needed: Some members yelled, others interrupted and a few others stomped out of a debate that centered on parliamentary procedure.

In the end, leaders couldn't even agree as to whether the meeting had ended or not.

Afterward, a special 15-member committee was selected and met for more than an hour behind closed doors. Levingston, who attended the earlier meeting, also sat in on the closed-door session.

After that session, leaders said supporters of Levingston are seeking his return, while others argued the first focus should be the July 28 Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner, the biggest fund-raiser of the year.

"We agreed to have a good Jefferson-Jackson dinner and revisit this," said Bill Wheeler, Mississippi's representative to the Democratic Party nationally, who had earlier pleaded for unity.

"We worked through most of our differences. The Democratic Party stands for improving education, health care and economic opportunities, and that's what's really important," he said.

As for ex-chairman Levingston's future, Wheeler said, "I think Jon will very likely come back."

Levingston isn't saying whether he'll take the job: "Many people have called and asked for me to reconsider my resignation, both private and public. I think we'll see how things evolve."

Levingston said he felt good about what's been done since last year, accomplishing most of the goals he set forth: paying off the organization's debt, providing a network computer system and updated database, creating a fund-raising plan and saving money.