Lidell, I agree that it would be a dumb political move on Whitwell's part. But it is proving to be very true that people passing it around want to see it to happen. (Of course, now that it's no longer stealthy, I'm not sure how they expect to make it happen.) SMH.

A little bit ago, businessman Jeff Good (who supported Jonathan Lee) posted this response to the write-in campaign email on his Facebook page:

> An open post to all those circulating
> the "election write in email"...
> please take a moment to read this. It
> is from my heart.
>
> __________________________________________________________________________
>
> Emotions run high when we don't know
> what the future will bring. They also
> run high when the team we rooted for
> (or in this case, the Mayoral
> candidate we voted for) doesn't win.
> It is natural to be upset. Natural to
> be disappointed. But when a game is
> over, it is over. The score is the
> score. The bleachers empty out. The
> teams go home.
>
> We need to realize that the next mayor
> of the city of Jackson will be
> Councilman Chokwe Lumumba. This is
> reality. He won the democratic
> primary, and he will easily win the
> general election. This is fact.
>
> I challenge anyone to find someone who
> worked harder for Jonathan Lee than I
> did. I believed strongly in this fine
> young man, and I am honored to have
> him as my close friend. Am I
> disappointed Jonathan didn't win? Do I
> wish it would have turned out
> differently? Of course! Still, he
> lost, and I have come to accept this
> fully. And I am reconnected to the
> work at hand... making jackson better.
>
>
> Going forward, I have every reason to
> believe that things will be just
> fine... we have the opportunity to
> work with a new mayor, and that is a
> fresh start.
>
> i, for one, will be reaching out to
> the new administration, and am pleased
> to report they have already reached
> out to me.
>
> Working together works, and that is
> where my heart and mind is.
>
> Am I afraid of Mayor-Elect Lumumba?
> NO. Not at all. He is a smart man and
> I trust he will be able to find a way
> to help make Jackson the kind of place
> we all want it to be... better. But
> only if we work together to do this.
>
> Working together works.
>
> I am ready to give the Mayor-elect a
> chance. Likewise, I hope he will give
> me a chance. And all of us/each of us.
> Forward, Together, up and UP.
>
> Let's do this.
>
> Jeff E Good

Also, in the event that this a real effort, as the email indicated, the folks doing it need to realize that if they spent money on signs and the like for Whitwell, they need to have registered with the city clerk's office as a PAC and file campaign-finance reports on what they're spending.

Update: I asked Councilman Whitwell (who is apparently on vacation) on his Facebook if he knew who sent this email out originally. He says he does not know who sent this email:

*Official Statement: I appreciate all supporters for me as mayor of this great city we call home - Jackson! But, as I have stated I am running for council again, I'm appreciative to those that support for me for other offices... at the same time - I know nothing about this email or who sent it. When I run for the Mayoral Office, it will be taken it seriously and I won’t use Shenanigans to get elected. ... As I mentioned. I intend to be the voice for whomever is elected as the mayor of Jackson, MS - for the purpose of making Jackson, MS a better city!*

And you know, I just read it again. There's one problem with it being a "joke": It's not funny. And if it is a joke by Whitwell's friends, it sure backfired on him. Y'all should apologize to him.

Huh, Summer. You seem to know more about this email than we do. No, we did NOT get it off Facebook. A woman who received from someone else who got it from someone else emailed it to us (along with several others). I would post the whole thread including all the emails that forwarded it, but some folks called today practically begging us not to.

And being that you seem so clear about knowing where it originated, I'm guessing that disputes the comments on Mr. Whitwell's Facebook page blaming it on Lumumba supporters trying to drum up votes for him, eh?

As for your defensive attack on the JFP, I assume you know little about the news business. It is NEWS with a capital N when this many people are forwarding around an email with specifics on how they're going to write in a candidate and to keep it quiet so that the voters for the other candidate don't know it or turn out. That's not exactly calling for voter participation, is it? It's calling for trickery in order to defeat someone who has been democratically nominated.

Now, if as you say, it was just a joke, then 'fess up to who did it as said joke, and we'll interview them and do a piece about a joke turned sour.

You're up to bat.

elby, say what you will, but her votes might have put Mr. Lumumba over the top. My guess is she'll get a job with the administration and set herself up for a future run. She could be seen as the smartest person in the room right now. And it's not like other local leaders do not overstep when it comes to trying to get their person elected. ;-)

summer, we didn't get it off Facebook. The email was forwarded to us from several people who got it, including email addresses of who forwarded it before them. Note that they didn't want it on Facebook. Read it closer. And we've spoken to people who have confirmed they forwarded it on, but said they don't know who sent it (and one who called and said she did, but wouldn't tell us, saying it was a "joke"). I'm not sure I see the relevance of Whitwell being on a rafting trip. People can start, and apparently did, a secret write-in campaign for him while he's out of town.

msnative, it sure didn't like a joke -- considering how many northeast Jackson folks are begging us not to print that they forwarded it to their friends. We're still trying to trace it to the original source. All, if you got it, feel free to email to: [email protected] to help us sort it out.

And I suspect you're right: This will likely be quite the GOTV tool for "Chuckwe."

(Seriously, folks, Chokwe has six letters. Y'all can spell it. We believe in you.)

Feel free to start one, pilgram.