Quick, somebody call Terry Burton
By By Buddy Bynum / editor
Dec. 7, 2003
Change in Mississippi comes slowly, sometimes painfully. Nowhere is this more evident than in the hallowed halls of academia, where the status quo, the old way of doing things, is a cherished comfort.
But the political dynamics of this state are different today than they were on Nov. 3, 2003. The smart people will see the dawn of this new day as the beginning of a new era, rich with opportunity.
Strangely, given this new political climate, the person in charge of governmental relations at Meridian Community College seems intent on alienating a key legislator whose support is important to MCC's growth.
You would think, logically, that Sen. Terry Burton, R-Newton, would be high on the list of people to whom MCC wants to tell its great story and to whom MCC should identify its current and future needs.
Burton served as chairman of the Senate Universities and Colleges Committee and as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. As he prepares to enter his fourth term, he may even be under consideration by Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck as Appropriations chairman, one of the top slots in the Legislature. That decision has not been made.
What we do know is that Burton's newly-configured Senate District 31 includes about a third of Lauderdale County, as well as the counties of Scott and Newton.
Burton is exactly the kind of lawmaker MCC needs on its side as the debate intensifies over state funding for education and other issues in which MCC, indeed, all of Mississippi's community colleges, have a keen interest. Burton is in a position to help.
You would think.
But, Kathy Baxter, MCC's associate vice president and the person in charge of relations with the Legislature, has now snubbed Burton not once, but twice.
The District 31 race was an afterthought when Baxter set up so-called debates they were really much less formal than that prior to the November general election. Burton was essentially invited to come sit in the audience and watch. He declined, as did his opponents.
And then comes last week's private, invitation-only luncheon, to which Baxter invited virtually every local elected official on two legs and legislators whose districts reach into Lauderdale County. Except one Burton.
Especially now in an era of tight budgets and hot competition for dollars and a changed political climate.
This is just one observer's perspective, based on some 30 years of watching how things work. A lawmaker with Burton's credentials especially with his new district's heavier emphasis on Lauderdale County can be one of MCC's best friends. He, too, has a vested political interest in helping a great institution grow.
These sorts of exclusionary tactics tend to drain the reservoir of goodwill that community colleges traditionally enjoy with the legislators who serve their areas.
Looks to me like certain MCC officials need to swallow hard, pick up the phone and call Burton, maybe set up a briefing and tour of the campus. He's pretty easy to find.
Going into the 2004 legislative session, MCC and Mississippi's community colleges are going to need all the friends they can find.
