JACKSON, Miss.—Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba recalled the challenges the City of Jackson has faced over his tenure and celebrated the Mississippi capital’s resilience during the final State of the City address of his second term in office.
With less than a year remaining in his current term, he delivered an impassioned speech in the Ice House in Jackson on Oct. 10, where he sought to illustrate the city’s growth since voters first elected him to the office in 2017.
“No longer are city employees on furlough. The City boasts one of the most progressive and compassionate health care plans in the state,” the mayor said, referring to monthly city-enforced employee furlough days under former Mayor Tony Yarber’s administration.
The Democratic mayor is running for a third term in 2025 but has already drawn an array of challengers, including mostly Mississippi Sen. John Horhn, D-Jackson, who launched his campaign earlier this month.
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Lumumba touted his efforts to rebuild Jackson’s long-understaffed police force, the creation of JPD’s Real Time Command Center, the emergence of the City’s Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery, and pay raises for the police and fire departments as some of his administration’s public safety and crime prevention successes.
Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba is pictured during his State of the City address on Oct. 10, 2024. Photo by Imani Khayyam ” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Mayor_Chokwe_A_Lumumba_State_of_the_City_24_IK2.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Mayor_Chokwe_A_Lumumba_State_of_the_City_24_IK2.jpg?fit=780%2C519&ssl=1″ tabindex=”0″ role=”button” src=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Mayor_Chokwe_A_Lumumba_State_of_the_City_24_IK2.jpg?resize=780%2C519&ssl=1″ alt=”Mayor Lumumba of the City of Jackson speaking at the State of the City of address 2024″ class=”wp-image-48108″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Mayor_Chokwe_A_Lumumba_State_of_the_City_24_IK2.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Mayor_Chokwe_A_Lumumba_State_of_the_City_24_IK2.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Mayor_Chokwe_A_Lumumba_State_of_the_City_24_IK2.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Mayor_Chokwe_A_Lumumba_State_of_the_City_24_IK2.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Mayor_Chokwe_A_Lumumba_State_of_the_City_24_IK2.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Mayor_Chokwe_A_Lumumba_State_of_the_City_24_IK2.jpg?resize=1568%2C1045&ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Mayor_Chokwe_A_Lumumba_State_of_the_City_24_IK2.jpg?resize=400%2C267&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Mayor_Chokwe_A_Lumumba_State_of_the_City_24_IK2.jpg?w=2000&ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Mayor_Chokwe_A_Lumumba_State_of_the_City_24_IK2-1024×682.jpg?w=370&ssl=1 370w” sizes=”(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px”>Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba is pictured during his State of the City address on Oct. 10, 2024. Photo by Imani Khayyam
Lumumba also said he saw progress in investing in the City’s infrastructure, including paving streets, acquiring federal dollars for Jackson’s long-beleaguered water system and using Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds to modernize the
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