Greenwood, Miss. (Delta News)

Mississippi’s Secretary of State, paid a visit to the Delta this morning to meet with supporters, and residents in the community to make a special announcement.

Dozens of supporters filled the room as Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann came to Greenwood announcing his candidacy for Lieutenant Governor.

Hosemann says, “It’s a great day, we’ve been all over Mississippi, and we’ve had a wonderful response. As you can see here we’ve had hundreds of people to show up, and this is just the announcement.”

Serving for Secretary of State for 12 years, Hosemann says now he’s ready to move on. In his 20 minute speech, he touched on topics such as infrastructure, and an educated workforce.

“We’ve been blessed to raise a billion dollars for public education since we started. We’ve gotten business laws right in Mississippi. We got voter ID through and now everybody thinks it’s a great idea. Now it’s time to move on, and we’re going to start talking about an educational workforce which is critical here in the Delta, that we can bring industries back here people to work here like Milwaukee Tools. We can do that elsewhere.”

Mayor Carolyn McAdams says she’s been awaiting the news of the announcement.

“Delbert Hosemann has been a really good Mississippian. He’s done great things in his role as Secretary of State. He supports Mississippi, he does great things for Mississippi, and more importantly he does great things for Greenwood. So when you do great things for your state it trickles down to all the cities, and municipalities.”

Walton Gresham, Supporter of Hosemann says, “He has done an excellent job of Secretary of State, he’s transformed that office. It’s so easy to do business in the State of Mississippi now if you are a corporation, and I expect the same thing out of him for the next 4 years as Lt. Governor. He will do a great job, he’s a great man, he’s dedicated to the State of Mississippi. I can’t think of anyone I rather have as Lt Governor than Delbert Hosemann.”

Columbus, Miss. (Starkville Daily News)

After announcing his candidacy for lieutenant governor Wednesday morning, Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann made a stop in the Golden Triangle.

In a speech at BankTEL Systems in Columbus, Hosemann laid down the basics of his platform, with a particular focus on education and roads. He also touched on the importance of business to Mississippi.

Hosemann was elected secretary of state in 2007, and before that was an attorney and developer. He is a native of Warren County.

“You see this growth around Mississippi, and this is intellectual growth,” Hosemann said. “It’s smart growth. It’s people that are making significant economic impacts both for themselves and their employees.”

He said none of the growth would have been possible without education, both academic and career-technical. He said 70 percent of the state’s workforce won’t have a bachelor’s degree and commended various vocational programs and cooperation with employers.

“We believe that every single child, now matter what his capabilities, needs to have the maximum potential to succeed, and with that, there are special kids who need special help,” Hosemann said. “We were fortunate to work on the autism bill. There are others who need special help, but all of that educated workforce means that every child gets in the educated workforce.”

Hosemann also emphasized the importance of higher education, referencing Mississippi State University as an economic driver for the region.

“Those university systems will be a key to where we’re going, key leadership to where we’re going, particularly Mississippi State University,” Hosemann said.

He also voiced support for a pay raise for Mississippi teachers, which is a topic expected to be a point of discussion during the regular legislative session that began this week.

He discussed roads and infrastructure needs, including hopes to improve roads in north Mississippi. He said even with money being used for statewide infrastructure improvements, progress was slow.

“There are no new roads, really,” Hosemann said. “We need new roads in north Mississippi. There are parts of the Highway 15 to Highway 25 corridor just begging to be four-laned. In our budget, which is over $1 billion, we find that we can’t even do any new construction.”

He called infrastructure improvements a “key” to getting Mississippi products and people to work.

He said he chose to run for the lieutenant governor’s seat because of its power within both the legislative and executive branches of state government. He said he had kept an office in the state capitol building the past 12 years, giving him the opportunity to get to know legislators and be a part of various pieces of legislation.

“I got everything through the legislature that I wanted, and I think that’s given me a very good view for how to operate,” Hosemann said.

Hosemann also referenced the birth of his seventh grandchild, Howard Delbert, saying it was important for Howard and other young Mississippians to have a bright future ahead and be able to have opportunities available to them in the state.

“We have a great state,” Hosemann said. “We have great people, innovative people. We just need to continue to work to be positive about what we are going to do and aggregate our intellect together. We will prosper in Mississippi.”

Meridian, Miss. (Meridian Star)

Delbert Hosemann, the Secretary of State for Mississippi, made a stop Thursday in Meridian at Structural Steel Services, Inc. as part of a statewide campaign for his run as lieutenant governor.

Tommy Dulaney and Rebecca Combs-Dulaney, the president/CEO and vice presidents for public relations of Structural Steel, respectively, introduced Hosemann to the crowd of two to three dozen supporters.

“Some of this major work being done is going to Amazon in Bessemer (Alabama) and we’re hoping to get the next few bids from Amazon,” Combs-Dulaney said, gesturing to the steel work within the plant. “If you don’t think companies like Amazon are in Mississippi, you’re wrong. They’re here because of people like (Hosemann).”

Hosemann spoke of the importance of small businesses and workforce development beginning at local high schools and continuing at colleges such as Meridian Community College.

“My background was representing small businesses around me and I intend to assist East Mississippi,” Hosemann said. “So we’re training our children earlier for a meaningful career.”

Hosemann spoke about his newborn grandson, less than a week old, who made him think about the future of Mississippi and the opportunities within the state for future generations.

He made a commitment to raising the state’s labor participation, which sits at 55 percent, at least 1 percent a year by reaching out to unemployed youth, non-violent formerly incarcerated people and elsewhere.

“We want them working and staying out of trouble and paying taxes,” Hosemann said.

Richland, Miss. (Mississippi Today)

Republican Delbert Hosemann, who rode a comical ad of an elderly woman mispronouncing his first name to election as secretary of state in 2007, announced Wednesday he is running for lieutenant governor.

Hosemann said this past spring he would not be a candidate for re-election in 2019, but did not reveal which office he would pursue. Most believed, though, it would be lieutenant governor so Wednesday’s announcement was no surprise.

The three-term secretary of state said the Legislature — led by the lieutenant governor as the presiding officer of the Senate and the speaker of the House — “controls the budget and all the laws” and is “where I can make the most difference.”

Hosemann, thanks in part to the original campaign ad where the woman called him everything from Dilbert to Gilbert, but never Delbert, has some of the highest name identification in the state, according to various polls of politicians. Some had speculated he would run for governor.

It is commonly believed that Hosemann and incumbent Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, the Republican front runner for governor this year, have a frosty relationship.

“I want to be a part of leaving a better educated, healthier, and more prosperous Mississippi to our children and grandchildren,” said Hosemann, whose seventh grandchild was born this past week. “The next lieutenant governor will have a significant impact on your future and our future.”

Hosemann, age 71, made his initial announcement Wednesday morning at the driving academy for KLLM trucking company where Chief Executive Officer James Richards praised his accomplishments. Hosemann said his campaign would focus on the importance of Mississippi developing “an educated work force.”

About 75 supporters attended the announcement. Hosemann planned nine other announcements today and Thursday across the state.

State Rep. Jay Hughes, D-Oxford, announced in May that he is running for lieutenant governor and already has been campaigning vigorously across the state.

No other person has announced intention to run for the office of lieutenant governor. The qualifying deadline is March 1.

Hosemann, a Vicksburg native who now lives in Jackson, is an attorney. Before running and winning the office of secretary of state in 2007, he ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House.

Hosemann said he was stepping down as secretary of state because he had accomplished his goals, which included enacting a voter identification law, increasing the revenue from 16th Section land for the public schools and streamlining the process for a business to incorporate.

The issue of voter ID was a particularly contentious one for the state when approved by voters in 2011 and first enacted for the 2014 election.

Hosemann was a staunch advocate of requiring people to show a government-issued photo ID to vote. Many believe that the requirement is troublesome in Mississippi with its history of voter suppression.

But voter ID was incorporated into Mississippi elections with no lawsuits filed to try to block it.

Tupelo, Miss. (Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal)

Jackson, Miss (WJTV)

A new survey from the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office indicate businesses want an educated workforce but don’t have people to fill the jobs.

More than 5,600 businesses responded to the survey and found despite record number of jobs available there aren’t enough people to fill them.

“This is real solid data about where Mississippi is going and we need to pay attention,” Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann said,

He adds, despite companies wanting skilled workers many companies have failed to reach out or don’t have access to educational institutions.

“You don’t want to get a young man or woman walking across a high school and give them a diploma and ask them what are you going to do now, we’re way late when we do that,” he said.

Hosemann says are beginning to understand the need to go and get employees.

“They are realizing that working pool we’re going to have to compete and the only way to compete is to get in these schools and get the best one out for us,” the Secretary said.

The results of the survey has been shared with state leaders and could be acted on in the new legislative session,

“I would encourage that member of the legislature to listen, this is over 5 percent of Mississippi businesses,” he said. “Every one of these questions was aimed at public policy part and they should be viewed as that.”

Greenwood, Miss. (Greenwood Commonwealth)

Leflore County will gain a little more than $7,000 from the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office after the sale of tax-forfeited property within the county.

Read the full story here

Hattiesburg, Miss. (Lamar Times) 

Business owners across Mississippi are coming together to work on two problems: too many high school seniors are waiting until after graduation to figure out a career path, and the businesses themselves aren’t doing a great job of connecting with students to educate them about the workforce.

To help figure out the solutions, local and state officials – including Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann – attended a Pine Belt Partners in Education Summit last week at Hattiesburg High School. The meeting, which was sponsored by the Mississippi Association of Partners in Education, gave employers, education directors, superintendents and community college workforce development coordinators the chance to learn about school/business partnerships that create better opportunities for Mississippi students.

“We’re excited to be partnering with MAPE and the Secretary of State’s office … as we continue to build partnerships and prepare our students for life beyond high school,” said Robert Williams, Superintendent of the Hattiesburg Public School District. “This event directly supports the mission of the Hattiesburg Public School District, which is to educate all students.

“For us, it simply means when students graduate high school, they’re ready to enroll in an institution of higher learning of their choice, enlist in a branch of service or be gainfully employed so they can support themselves or their families.”

In a survey conducted by Hosemann’s office of limited liability companies and corporations throughout the state, 30 to 35 percent of the 2,000 employers who returned the survey said their most important need was an educated workforce. That need was followed by community support, competitor information, consumer information, biographical data, banks and infrastructure.

Rounding out the list was state and local incentives, which placed at No. 11 on the survey.

“We don’t have to give away Mississippi – they have people that want to work here,” Hosemann said. “Because where does that money come from? It comes from education.

“So when we go to look at state and local incentives, we need to remember that it’s the eleventh thing that people are thinking about. If you’ll give me an educated workforce, and your community wants me to be there, that’s 50 percent of being there.”

Katie McCrary, co-owner of McCrary-West Construction in Columbus, said hers and other companies in the area have begun going to local schools to find out how to produce students ready for the workforce.

“We listen to their needs, they listen to our needs,” she said. “We kind of found a common ground.

“We formed relationships with superintendents, we formed relationships with (Career and Technical Education) counselors, we formed relationships with teachers, we formed relationships with students. We spent time, and it takes time – educators have to be patient with industry, and industry has to be patient with educators.”

Paige Roberts, co-founder of Pathways2Possibilities – a Biloxi-based career expo for 8th-graders and at-risk youth – discussed how that program bridges the gap between employers and educators. The initiative’s recent Gold Post event, for example, was divided into 19 career pathways that aligned with the Federal Department of Education and the Mississippi Department of Education.

On hand were professionals from each of the 19 career pathways, who facilitated hands-on activities for the students.

“So number one, it’s three-dimensional career exploration, which means getting all five senses involved in that skill set,” Roberts said. “What does it take to be successful in that job? What is the education? What is the training?

“We had, at just last month’s event, 130 employers who do those activities for our 7,000 8th-graders over a two-day period.”

JACKSON, Miss. (WTOK) – The Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office says it has received multiple complaints from voters who have received text messages about the
Nov. 27 U.S. Senate runoff.

When asked by the voter how the sender obtained the voter’s phone number, the sender has, in many instances, reportedly replied the phone number was obtained pursuant to a public records request to the Secretary of State’s Office or county election officials.

But Delbert Hosemann’s office says phone numbers provided on voter registration forms or maintained on the voter roll, are not public information and are not disseminated by the secretary of state in response to public records requests.

The Secretary of State’s Office has asked for additional training for volunteers engaged in sending text messages to end the spread of inaccurate and misleading information.

 

Original source: WTOK