JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Amid the latest corruption scandal in the capital, a Jackson lawmaker said she’s not sure whether to reintroduce a bill next year to give voters a way to recall the elected leaders of the city.

Last week, Hinds County Prosecutor Jody Owens, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and Ward Six Councilman Aaron Banks. were indicted on corruption charges in connection with a plan to bring a convention center hotel to Jackson.

The indictments come nearly two years after District 64 Rep. Shanda Yates first introduced a bill aimed at giving voters a way to recall elected leaders.

She drafted the bill after several constituents contacted her and after realizing that state law currently has no mechanism in place to remove municipal leaders.

“It would certainly be… handy to have it on the books now.” Potentially, it would at least give the people of Jackson the opportunity to verify (whether) they thought this met the level of the standards set forth in the law,” she said, referring to the corruption scandal.

Click here to see a corruption scheme timeline.

Yates, who represents northeast Jackson and parts of southern Madison County, introduced his first recall bill in the 2023 session.

The proposal included a lengthy recall methodthis would involve submitting a petition to the governor, subjecting that petition to judicial review, and then holding a special election to vote for or against the official.

Thirty percent of registered voters are expected to sign the initial petition. For a mayor or councilor to ultimately be removed from office, a majority of registered voters would need to vote in the election, and a majority of those individuals would need to vote in favor of removal.

“The way the bill was structured … it simply mirrored the existing law on recall of county officials,” she said. “If the majority of the electorate does not show up to vote, there is no recall. And if a majority of those people don’t vote for his removal, there will be no removal.”

“So it’s an incredibly heavy burden…I can’t remember an election in the city’s history where a majority of the electorate showed up to vote for anything.”

The measure was abandoned in a close vote in the House. The following year, a similar bill never made it out of committee.

Yates said the bill failed in 2023, in part because it was an election year. She said some colleagues were also concerned about the measure’s impact on small towns.

“Their concern was that this would potentially allow recalls again and again,” she said. “In towns of 500 people…30 percent of 500 people is not a lot of people to start a petition if you’re angry at a mayor.”

She said several lawmakers told her that if the bill had been written just for the city of Jackson, it would have passed.

“If you narrow it down to Jackson, I’ll vote for it because it won’t impact my mayor and I won’t have to worry about him being mad at me in an election year,” he said. -she declared.

Jackson city leaders are up for re-election in 2025. Lumumba said several times before the indictment that he would seek re-election.

He and Banks were elected to their first terms in 2017. They are both scheduled to go on trial on January 6.

Lumumba faces five counts: conspiracy, federal program bribery, use of an interstate facility for racketeering, honest services wire fraud and money laundering. Banks is charged with conspiracy and federal program bribery. Owens is charged with eight counts: conspiracy, three counts of federal program bribery, use of an interstate facility in support of racketeering, honest services wire fraud, money laundering and forgery declarations.

Banks requested $50,000 for his support of a proposal to bring a hotel to Jackson. The mayor received $50,000 in campaign finance donations to move a date in favor of developers responding to a request for qualifications for the hotel project. He also received a free trip to Ft. Lauderdale and his expenses were paid while he was at a strip club in Miami.

(READ: ‘I don’t care where the money comes from’: Indictment details corruption scheme involving four local leaders)

Yates says even if his bill doesn’t come up for review, the mayor, district attorney and councilman should resign.

“I think it’s a bad image for the city of Jackson, for the state, I mean, even nationally,” she said. “If we have a mayor who spends his time at strip clubs and on a yacht instead of being in the city doing what needs to be done to fix the city… Yes, I think that’s a problem.”

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