John,

Yesterday was one of the most important days of this campaign.

Standing in the Capitol, I unveiled my plans to clean up our legislature and make our state government more honest and transparent. Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves has created a swamp in Jackson -- mismanaging taxpayer money and creating policies that hurt working people in Mississippi in exchange for campaign contributions.

I’m running for governor to put a stop to the shady, backroom deals.

We need common-sense campaign finance and legislative reforms to ensure our state government is working for Mississippians, not special interests. That means:

• Requiring the legislature to be subject to the Public Records Act, like every other elected official, and disclose all of their communications and other records
• Banning gifts to legislators from lobbyists or their clients
• Banning campaign contributions during the legislative session to discourage pay-to-play politics
• Banning corporate contributions outright

Every issue I’ve prioritized in this campaign -- the chronic underfunding of schools, refusal to expand access to healthcare forcing rural hospitals to close, our crumbling roads and bridges -- comes back to this issue of lack of transparency and accountability. We need to drain the swamp that Tate Reeves has created because Mississippians deserve to know what all of their elected officials are up to. As governor, I will lead the effort to strengthen transparency in Mississippi.

Will you chip in today to support our efforts to make Mississippi’s state government more open and honest?

Sincerely,
Jim