Meg Paul
Hattiesburg, MS
Recently, we had a very close mayoral race between the incumbent and his challenger. It was brought to light that there were many irregularities at the polls and particularly with illegal absentee ballots. The problems with process were very well documented and needed to be addressed. The only way to do this was to challenge the outcome in court. The judge ruled that we must hold a special election to determine who our new mayor will be. The incumbent (and winner by 37 votes) is African American and the challenger is Caucasian. I am fearful that this will further divide our fair city along racial lines. I am HOPEFUL that our city will look past the issues of race and work together to ensure that we can trust the voting process. I am HOPEFUL that we will all be able to trust that the city is being run by people of goodwill. I am HOPEFUL people will begin to cross racial lines with ease and embrace a common cause.
