Attorney General Jim Hood called for rolling back the sales tax on groceries and requiring all legislators and statewide officeholders to open their backroom deals to the public as part of a seven-point “Pledge to Mississippi Families”. The plan was unveiled after he announced that he officially qualified for governor in the upcoming 2019 race for Governor.
“I’m running for governor to move working families to the center of what matters. I will put working families first,” said General Hood. “This isn’t about party; it’s not about partisanship — there’s already too much of that dragging our state down. This race is about getting work done and building a brighter future for our children and grandchildren.”
During remarks to supporters at Mississippi’s new Museums of Civil Rights and History General Hood made a seven-point “Pledge to Mississippi Families”.
- Honest and transparent government; and putting a stop to shady, backroom deals.
- Requiring all state legislators and statewide officials to allow the public to have access to all of their emails and other correspondence under the Mississippi Open Records Act.
- Providing tax relief for families by rolling back the sales tax on groceries.
- Fixing our crumbling roads and deteriorating bridges.
- Improving education — from statewide pre-K to teacher pay, to making college more affordable.
- Expanding workforce development and job training at community colleges and technical schools.
- Keeping rural hospitals open and fighting for accessible, quality healthcare.
“By way of our lieutenant governor, Mississippi has given out hundreds of millions of your tax dollars to big out-of-state corporations that should have gone to fixing our roads, improving our schools, or giving tax relief to our own Mississippi businesses and working families,” said General Hood. “I want to see a rollback on the sales tax on food. It’s hard enough for families to make ends meet. Let’s make it easier to put food on the table.”
Hood touted his efforts as Attorney General saying he has returned more than $3 billion to the state in fines and penalties from unscrupulous corporations and individuals who thought they could rip off Mississippi taxpayers.
“I know what it takes to make money for Mississippi, not give it away,” Hood said.
Hood also called for greater transparency within state and local governments calling out legislative leaders who have “run the state like a casino for special interests — collecting chips and handing out favors.”
“My first act as governor will be to open up state government, creating greater transparency that starts with legislators and statewide officials who refuse to abide by Mississippi’s open records laws,” he said. “We need to take a broom and clean it out.”
Hood added that the core needs of working families have been overrun by the needs of special interests, partisan politicians and big money.
“We see it in the brain drain, our kids leaving Mississippi,” said Hood. “We see it in our crumbling roads and bridges, in our subpar schools and in the paychecks of working people who pay too much in taxes for the meager amount of services they receive in return.”
Hood ended by saying he is running for governor to “give our state back to the people.”
