Mike Parker

Republican

Mike Parker is the candidate with the downhome political TV advertisements and the wry sense of humor.

A former congressman who represented southwest Mississippi, the Republican candidate for governor wants to "keep moving forward" if he's elected as the state's next governor.

"Eight years ago, our state was a mess. And the people of Mississippi made a choice to go in a different direction," Parker says in his campaign literature, referring to Mississippians voting for Kirk Fordice for governor, the first time a Republican was voted into the governor's mansion since Reconstruction.

Parker, the son of a Baptist preacher and a native of Laurel, graduated from William Carey College with a bachelor's in English. In 1988, after working at the funeral home he owned in Brookhaven for 17 years, Parker was elected to serve the 4th District of Mississippi in the U.S. House of Representatives. Although elected as a Democrat, Parker later switched to the Republican party.

Ten years after first being elected to Congress, Parker announced he would not seek re-election, presumably because he was running for governor, which he would announce later in the year.

Parker's debates have been vague on his agenda; he instead talks generally about several issues that are included in his campaign literature. Some of those issues he frequently mentions are accountability in schools, student discipline and client-friendly government agencies.

Parker's ads are less issue-oriented than they are family-oriented. Many of his ads feature his family or his friends talking about him. While some of Musgrove's ads have been critical of Parker's voting record in Congress, Parker simply is quick to remind audiences that his competitor had promised to run a clean campaign. Said Parker: "[Tuesday] we'll find out whether people want a clean campaign or not."

One of the most talked-about issues of the campaign has been the budget and taxes. Parker advocates lowering taxes and using Mississippi's budget surplus to do it.

"There are two basic principals on how I view taxes: I believe that Mississippians are taxed too much, and that we know how to spend our money better than the state government," Parker says in campaign literature. "I went to Congress determined to balance the federal budget by putting a cap on out-of-control spending.

"Mississippi also has a budget surplus, and recently some legislators were scrambling to find ways to spend the extra money. I think they are completely off-track. Mississippi's budget surplus comes from being over-taxed, plain and simple. That is why I support [Fordice's] special session to pass a broad-based tax cut of 10 percent. If we cannot cut taxes while the economy is good, when will we ever cut them?"

Other issues Parker has discussed are:

¥ Crime. Parker advocates prevention programs to reduce juvenile crime. He supports the RID program, a boot camp for young non-violent offenders, and says the "Truth in Sentencing" law should not be repealed.

¥ The Mississippi casino industry. Parker says he would not vote for gambling in his county if it came to a vote, but that since it is here, the state should make sure it is tightly regulated by the state so that the industry in the state will be free from corruption.

¥ The economy and education in the Delta. Parker has fought for a Delta route the proposed I-69. "Economically depressed areas ... need to be connected to market, they need a skilled workforce and they need quality economic development," Parker said. He says schools must be brought up to standard in the region, new outside industries must be brought in and existing business need help expanding.

¥ Government accountability. Parker says his approach to spending would be "zero-based budgeting." This system continues funding programs only if the money and program are justified, instead of automatically re-funding programs year after year.