Ronnie Musgrove

Democrat

Ronnie Musgrove is running for governor because of education. The education of his two children, that is.

Musgrove says he wants his children to get a good education and build a career in Mississippi, and as governor, he wants to provide Mississippians with quality education.

"We can build on the many accomplishments of the past few years -- expanding technology in our schools, reducing class size and improving salaries to attract and keep quality teachers -- and continue to move our schools from survival to excellence," Musgrove wrote in a recent column in the Clarion-Ledger.

Born and raised in Panola County, Musgrove received his college education at Northwest Mississippi Community College and Ole Miss, where he received his bachelor's in business administration and a law degree. He was elected to the state senate in 1988, where he served until he was elected lieutenant governor in 1996.

Musgrove's campaigning has been heavy on issue- oriented campaigning, and Musgrove says his record as a politician is clear.

"When no one will talk about the issues, when no one will talk about stands, when no one will talk about directions, the only thing you can look at is the record," Musgrove said.

Musgrove's ads have been directed toward Parker and have been issue-oriented. His recent ads have criticized Parker's votes during 10 years in Congress, citing Parker's votes to cut benefits for senior citizens and health care.

Musgrove repeatedly stresses education as an important issue. He has focused on three areas he says are priorities for Mississippi's educational system: improving early childhood development; making Mississippi schools safe, secure and productive learning environments; and retaining experienced teachers to attract the state's best and brightest to a career in teaching.

"Education is the common thread that touches every level of our community," Musgrove has said. "A trained, educated person is less likely to take drugs or commit a violent crime."

From there, he says, education can lead to the creation of higher-paying jobs and the attraction of new industries.

"Any plan to improve health care, reduce crime or expand economic development that does not address public education is destined for failure," Musgrove said.

Besides education, Musgrove has focused on three areas he says demand attention: extending economic opportunity throughout the state, increasing access to medical care and keeping the state's streets safe from violent crime and drugs. Musgrove says the key to all three of these things is education.

Musgrove says he would do several things that will help the economy of the state.

"I want to review our state's economic incentives to expand and recruit businesses," Musgrove said. "Only one of Mississippi's incentive programs was written after 1990. We need to update our incentive programs to compete with [surrounding states]."

Musgrove said the state also needs to invest in workforce training to expand the economy and extend opportunity to more Mississippians.

Regarding healthcare, Musgrove favors increasing access to healthcare for all Mississippians, especially children and the elderly.

"We need to expand school nurses to every community school district as our first line of defense against childhood illness. Every elementary school should have a student counselor to help identify children in need of help and provide solutions for parents and teachers," Musgrove says in his campaign literature.

"We must improve care for seniors so that our parents and grandparents continue their lives in dignity. We should use federal long-term care funding to expand the number of nursing home beds as well as explore nursing home alternatives like home care and adult day care. Lastly, we absolutely must eliminate the sales tax on prescription drugs," Musgrove says.

To reduce crime, Musgrove advocates children prevention program to keep children from becoming criminals, building sustainable and livable communities, and remaining locking up criminals but focusing on rehabilitation to reduce the number of repeat offenders.

"Too many of our friends and family members have experienced the horrors of crime," Musgrove said. "Every Mississippian deserves the right to feel safe and secure in their own community."