Better Mississippi Group questions Phil Bryant e-mails to teachers

LT. GOV. PHIL BRYANT

By BETTER MISSISSIPPI REPORT

JACKSON – Republican gubernatorial candidate Phil Bryant’s weekly campaign e-mails have appeared unsolicited in teachers’ in-boxes across the Rankin County Public School system, according to documents obtained by Better Mississippi Group.

Better Mississippi Group questions whether a candidate for political office – in this case, a sitting lieutenant governor who is running for the open governor’s seat – should mine public schools’ e-mail rosters as a forum for political correspondence.

Bryant faces Coast businessman Dave Dennis and three other candidates in the Aug. 2 GOP primary. The winner will advance to the November general election, where he will face the Democratic nominee.

Better Mississippi Group is not charging that Bryant and his campaign have misused public funds. We do, however, believe that Bryant and his campaign’s decision to co-opt taxpayer-funded e-mail inboxes raises serious ethical questions.

In addition to Bryant’s unsolicited campaign messages, former Mississippi Republican Party Chairman Billy Powell, a resident of the Ross Barnett Reservoir-area like Bryant, offered his own pro-Bryant messages to startled e-mail recipients across the Rankin County school district.

Bryant’s and Powell’s unsolicited e-mail messages to public school teachers’ school e-mail accounts also raise serious questions given the lieutenant governor’s weak stand on supporting public schools.

Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant reads to an elementary school class -- this, despite his support of devastating cuts to public school funding during the 2011 Legislature. Better Mississippi Group questions Bryant's support for education. This photo was posted to the lieutenant governor’s Web site.

Earlier this year, Bryant supported stiff funding cuts to K-12 public schools that would have seriously harmed education across Mississippi.

The cuts would have been in addition to $300 million in funding cuts schools have suffered over the past three years. The $300 million in cuts, which Bryant supported, have cost teachers their jobs, increased the student-teacher ratio in classrooms and raised local school district property taxes.

As House Education Committee Chairman Cecil Brown put it, “as lieutenant governor, (Bryant) couldn’t be counted on to be a strong supporter of public education.”

Better Mississippi Group urges Bryant, Bryant’s campaign and Powell to fully disclose to the taxpayers how and why they obtained Rankin County School District-maintained e-mail addresses of educators and used those taxpayer-funded e-mail addresses for political purposes.

Better Mississippi also urges Bryant, Bryant’s campaign and Powell to do the following:

1.) Fully reveal all of the details of any other public school district e-mail address list they have obtained from school districts statewide for the purpose of sending political messages, including whether they purchased the list or lists and, if so, for what amount.

2.) Fully reveal whether they obtained e-mail address lists from other taxpayer-funded government agencies and entities for the purpose of sending political messages, including whether they purchased the list or lists and, if so, for what amount.

3.) Halt any political e-mail messages they plan to send to e-mail addresses they obtained from public school districts or other taxpayer-funded government agencies or entities.

Better Mississippi Group LLC is an independent, non-partisan business based in Jackson. Better Mississippi is dedicated to improving the state of Mississippi by encouraging good public policy; supporting issues vital to improving the state’s quality of life; and encouraging effective, forward-thinking elected leadership. Visit our Web site, Better Mississippi Report, at www.bettermsreport.com.