NEW ALBANY NEWS EXCHANGE
Hoseman would push for voter ID, more accountable school funding as secretary of state
30 October 2007
Republican secretary of state candidate Delbert Hoseman was in town this past week stumping and hand-shaking. He stopped by our office for a visit as well.
It’s probably tougher to run for an office like secretary of state in that it is not high-profile like governor or even attorney general and does not generate a lot of policy. Elections and business regulation are important but hardly exciting stuff on a day-to-day basis.
Add to that the fact that Hoseman is seeking to replace Ed Clark, who is not running for re-election and appears to have done a credible job for years.
Hoseman has no incumbent to unseat, nor a need for sweeping radical change.
His primary issue is election fraud, specifically a plan to require voters to present some sort of valid ID when voting. His polling data says nearly nine in 10 Mississippians believe voter fraud is a problem, 97 percent of voters already have an appropriate form of ID and 90 percent would support legislation requiring the use of an ID to vote.
I’ve never understood the objection anyway; we already have to present identification for all sorts of transactions that are ultimately less important than voting, so why not prove you are legitimate at the polls as well.
Another issue of his is a bit more problematic for people in this part of the state. He says he wants to get an accurate inventory of 16th Section land (which he adds does not exist now) in order to better manage the income from it.
Rental from 16th Section land is used to fund education in much of Mississippi but some of the leases were established locally decades ago or even further back than that and for very little money. He thinks that needs to change.
We don’t get 16th Section income here because we are part of what is called the Chickasaw Cession. That more or less means the government got rid of our land a long time ago so we get a payment in lieu of 16th Section income. Hoseman pointed that that better 16th Section management is still important to us, though, because that’s what our payment is currently based on.
Hoseman’s third major plank is even more difficult to get a handle on for many people in that he wants to create better business law in the state so it will be more industry friendly. I am not sure exactly what constitutes business law but plan to look it up and his certainly sounds like a laudable goal.
He fielded some questions on partisan politics, the immigration issue and Toyota (he represents three tier-one suppliers for Nissan, so he did have some relevant comments there), but the three issues, above, were the meat of what he said.
Hoseman is a UM lawyer and the political ranks are more than sufficiently filled with those, but he also is a Notre Dame grad and has a post-graduate degree in taxation law from New York University, which makes him more appealing. He also works for a reputable firm and has a good background in various forms of service, community and otherwise. He has been voted one of the best lawyers in America for several years, develops real estate, is hunter and marathon runner.
Ultimately, he seems to be a good politician in the best sense of the word. He knows what he is talking about and appears to genuinely enjoy conversing with people and providing service to the state. I even think his somewhat goofy "Forrest Gump" TV ads are likable.
His opponent, Rob Smith, may be an excellent candidate as well but he has not stopped by for a visit. He is welcome any time.
But based on what was presented to us, it looks like Delbert Hoseman would be good for the job of secretary of state. He is assured, easy-going and likable, and that says a lot.
JLW