Who is subsidizing the Leonard Bentz PSC election campaign?

LEONARD BENTZ

From Better Mississippi Report:

Nothing like having the luxury of a taxpayer-funded tour around the district during the last week of a campaign to keep a candidate in the public eye. Just ask incumbent Public Service Commissioner Leonard Bentz.

Bentz announced today a series of “ratepayer forums,” where Bentz and his staff will meet with voters, er ratepayers, “to assist Mississippi Ratepayers with their utility concerns in the continuation of the series of Ratepayers’ Forums. Information on registration for several utility assistance programs such as LIHEAP, Lifeline/LinkUp, Weatherization assistance, Zap the Gap and the No-Call program will be available. Other utility questions and current issues involving the Public Service Commission will also be addressed.”

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.