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Is Musgrove running, or is he retiring?
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| By: Bill Jacobs |
February 24, 2003 |
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Last week was a rather interesting week in state politics.
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Haley Barbour makes it official and comes out swinging in his race for governor. Attorney General Mike Moore stuns everyone with his announcement that he is stepping away from politics for a while. Then come reports that Gov. Ronnie Musgrove might join the attorney general in retirement!
Rumors have been circulating since Thursday that the governor was seeking the job of president of Delta State University - a position that would allow him to almost double his current salary of $108,000. What is interesting about the rumor is that while his staff has discounted it, no one has denied it.
Musgrove's campaign did pick up qualifying papers on Friday, has a substantial war chest, and is reportedly lining up campaign staff. But again, on Friday, his staff stopped short of denying the rumor.
Interestingly enough, Musgrove was a no-show in Brookhaven on Friday for the ribbon cutting of the new Mississippi Highway Patrol building -- but the inclement weather could be to blame. Adding to the speculation is the fact that the State College Board held a meeting in executive session on Friday. No one knows what was discussed.
A sudden change by Musgrove would be interesting in that -- without a doubt -- he has been campaigning very hard over the last month. He has been touting his education initiatives, especially his success in getting Internet access to every classroom in Mississippi.
So if there were any truth to the rumor -- why the sudden change?
One who is holding his political breath is the Republican Barbour. Visiting Brookhaven on Friday, he, too, expressed surprise at the rumor but said he had been hearing it since Tuesday. Barbour said a decision by Musgrove to not run for re-election would not change his own campaign strategy.
Another who is also wringing his political hands is Moore. On Monday, Moore made the surprise announcement about his decision to not seek re-election, saying it was time for him to spend some time with his family. Moore did not rule out a future political race for U.S. Senate or even governor, but he made it clear that any future political races would be in the distant future and only if the opportunity presented itself.
Opportunity may be knocking.
A favorite of Democrats, Moore would make a very strong candidate, but it would require him to backtrack on his Monday comments about his desire to spend time with his family.
As the days count down to Saturday's deadline, it may be an interesting week full of more speculation and rumor.
Locally, speculation has been mounting in recent weeks on the political future of Dist. 92 Rep. Jim Barnett, who is yet to qualify. Speculation will end Tuesday afternoon, according to Barnett, as he plans to formally qualify for a fourth term.
Write to Bill Jacobs at P.O. Box 551, Brookhaven, Miss. 39602.
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©The Daily Leader 2009
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