In today’s Republican nomination for Mississippi’s 1st district, Republicans rejected outsiders and chose a ‘career politician’ with a legacy of hurting Mississippi families as their standard bearer for Congress. For the last several weeks, the Mississippi Democratic Party has released updates on the devastating budget legacy of Appropriations Committee Chairman Alan Nunnelee. Nunnelee recently referred to his work on this year’s state budget as“one of the legacies I’ll leave.” [Clarion Ledger, 4/21/10]

“Alan Nunnelee’s a career politician whose legacy puts him out of touch with middle class families here in North Mississippi,” said Sam Hall with the Mississippi Democratic Party. “Even his primary opponents knew that Nunnelee was a say-one-thing do-another type of typical career politician but they didn’t realize how devastating that career has been for the families of this district. Whether it’s drastic cuts to law enforcement officers or increased class sizes in our schools, Alan Nunnelee’s priorities have been wrong for the district and harmful for families. Travis Childers has been independent minded and stood up for working families while Alan Nunnelee has only stood up for himself and his own career.”

THE LEGACY OF ALAN NUNNELEE, REPORT #5

Thousands of DeSoto County children will find more of their friends in class beside them this fall. Superintendent of Education Milton Kuykendall announced Monday the DeSoto County Schools district would eliminate 40 teaching and 50 teacher’s aide positions before the new school year begins in August. [Desoto Times, 5/4/10]

Background
Republican candidates, especially Tea party favorite Henry Ross, have tried to cast Nunnelee as a ‘career politician’ throughout the primary. [NEMS Daily Journal, 5/5/10; 5/30/10] Nunnelee is a career politician having been in the state senate for nearly two decades [Nunnelee for Congress, accessed 5/31/10]

The Mississippi Democratic Party began exploring the implications of Alan Nunnelee’s legacy in this state budget by raising concern over his “pay cut for thousands of teachers, law enforcement officers and other state and local employees” and continued raising concerns about budget cuts that directly affect children. [Mississippi Democratic Party, 5/10/10; 5/12/10; 5/13/10; 5/21/10]

For more information, contact Sam Hall at (601) 969-2913 or via email to sam@mississippidemocrats.org.