บทถอดความฉบับเต็มของ A conversation with State Rep and Chairman of the MS Democratic Party Cheikh Taylor

Republican seat is up for grabs moving in but listen Jim we have to be more aggressive than that as Democrats we have to also target those seats that have maybe you know as you know there's anywhere from eight to twelve seats since I've actually been a legislator that Democrats have switched over to the Republican side through some arm wrangling and some hammering into place under the regimes of of of Gunn, under the regimes of White and Phil Bryant, you know, Democrats are switching left and right. We never did go back, especially in those minority districts, to reclaim those seats. there's an old saying, when you go to the dance with a pretty young woman, you usually should leave the dance with that pretty young woman. And and many of those guys, they decided to leave her at the steps of the of the of the party. So we have to go back and reclaim those seats. And that's the way that we we regain balance. in the house and the senate. jim newman: It Seems to me that there's I don't know a lack of interest in in not only voting but in the redistricting except in those districts that might be affected by it. But in reality, redistricting is going to affect the entire state. And Chairman Cheikh Taylor: Yes. jim newman: I think it's I understand that there's the potential that it could also affect Congressman Benny Thompson. And his district runs I think from the Tennessee border to the Gulf of Mexico. Chairman Cheikh Taylor: Right. That's right. He has the longest stretching landmass of any federal candidate. And you know, many people argue that it's unconstitutional district as far as just the sheer geography. each candidate has around seven hundred and twenty-one thousand constituents and and so they shaped his map. to be the most difficult terrain that could be covered. And and listen, we know the Congressman is in his mid-70s. And that is a a barrier to have to do and it's intentional if we're going to be matter of fact with it. Now I don't believe, Jim, that I don't believe that they will actually go after Congressman Thompson's district at this point. There's another hoop that Republicans have to jump through on the federal level to make it happen. But more importantly, if they decide to do that, they will actually weaken conservative districts and possibly create two progressive Democrat districts if they try to get rid of Congressman Thompson. So I am certain that the leadership in the Republican Party will put a pause on that, especially in the near future. Now I do believe that they want to look down ballot and redistrict state legislative seats. and eventually get down to the board of supervisors and border aldermans and and and and everywhere else democratic elected officials are. So there is a plan in place and there is political will for them to redistrict. We know that to be sure but we have a solution for that as well. jim newman: Well the whatever they come up with in the redistricting, will that require court approval? Chairman Cheikh Taylor: Well, final court approval, you're you're correct. well and and also a vote an a vote from state legislators. That's really where it's been kicked to. We would hope that if there are any additional issues that we have with redistricting that actually goes to an independent judiciary body that we come in and cover the districts themselves and keep in keep in mind pr race percentages which are BVAP's black voting populations, also performative districts, meaning that minorities can't perform good well in those districts. And listen, we don't we don't have to have an 80% black voting population and be competitive in Democratic seats. We'll be competitive at 55, 52, 50, 51. We're here, we know that this is a sport, in in a lot of ways, and we're here to compete. So just draw the maps, make sure they're competitive maps. the Democratic Party, the Black Hawks will also be offering up maps as well. very fair and and recently drawn maps. but we're ready for however they decide to do this thing, we will be successful in the end. David Olds: what would you say are some of the highlights of the legislative session in 2026? What are some of the highlights? The good things. Chairman Cheikh Taylor: No, no, no. jim newman: Ha ha. Chairman Cheikh Taylor: You know, I'm I'm David Olds: Yeah. Chairman Cheikh Taylor: odd. I'm perplexed. you know, generally David Olds: That's Chairman Cheikh Taylor: what we say, what what I've been on record saying is that we go there under that dome, we say a prayer, and we do some of the most heinous things to folks in the state of Mississippi. And so the even the even with these last special elections, I'm sorry, special sessions David Olds: Yeah. Chairman Cheikh Taylor: that we've had, they've been extremely uneventful. our last session we dealt with actually youth courts. And basically what it did, and and and this is the problem that we have, we were given a 300-page document, the bill for David Olds: Yeah. Chairman Cheikh Taylor: youth courts, literally the same day that that session started. So the bill was not put on the table beforehand. So we're given less than a couple hours to go through a 300-page document, make notes, have challenging arguments. Making sure we have amendments in place. Guys, this is not fair politics. This is not the way that it should be done. And this is not the way that if you need great representation from your community, for your community, from your district, how in the world can your legislator be prepared, Republican or Democrat, in getting this information David Olds: Good point. Chairman Cheikh Taylor: last minute and not being able to vet what's in that bill. We've seen numerous errors in these bills, whether they're punctuation flaws, whether they're numerical flaws, what have you, that makes us go back and have special sessions on things we should be doing fine with. But it's because enough people are not putting their eyes on these pieces of legislation. So essentially what

happened in special session, the governor decided to appoint nine people to to become judges for youth courts that have no experience, little to no experience dealing with juveniles. And there's a potential for there to try these young folks as an adult instead of putting them through a process that has rehabilitative factors, counseling factors, and second chances. right now, it seems to be that piece of legislation may rob our young folks of the idea of a second chance. David Olds: my. I was gonna ask you that what w what was the disappointments of the legislator but legislature Chairman Cheikh Taylor: Yeah. David Olds: but but you've you kinda at least talked on one of them. any other things come to mind? Chairman Cheikh Taylor: Well, you know, there's there's a lot that comes to mind. you know, and and I think that I I think that one thing that's of topic that'll be coming out very shortly, and this has very little to do with the last session, but I wanted to touch on it very quickly if I could. data centers. Data centers are the David Olds: huh. yeah. Chairman Cheikh Taylor: hot topic, it's the hot button. And, you know, I I think this is a heck of an opportunity for Democrats to really weigh in. for a number of reasons. Democrats have been said that we're soft on actually taxation as far as explaining why we need taxation on certain things, soft on on action. data centers are going to prove to be low-hanging fruit for the state of Mississippi. Governor Tate Reese has gone on record basically saying that, hey, listen, come to Mississippi, we'll just throw away your tax issues and we'll provide you with cheap labor. Now, guys, I don't know about you, but that doesn't sound like an economic development plan for me, especially if it's going to put undue pressures that taxpayers are going to pay on our electrical grids, on our on our power grids. Also, it's the idea of all the toxins and pollutants that are going to be put in our air. so it's going to change the quality of our air around that data center. And we knew and we do know that pollution has no borders. It goes anywhere. Right. But lastly, let's talk about the abatement of these taxes that's been given. These corporations are so wealthy, and it's kind of difficult for me to describe, but they're so wealthy that they're they've been caught just buying the land and starting construction without even having any permits in some areas, because they can pay any fine or fee that you may bestow on them. So not only are we not recouping the proper taxes. But we're also being bullied by these juggernauts that are not even asking for these tax breaks. Let me tell you what it do for the state of Mississippi. I had a great conversation David Olds: Let's hear it. Chairman Cheikh Taylor: with one of our public safety commissioners who said that hey listen if I put one of these data centers in Rolling Fork, you know, just you know, a very small town that was devastated by tornadoes about three years ago. If I put one in Rolling Fork, it would generate over $30 million in taxes. And I'm blown away. But the problem is the state of Mississippi has abated recouping those taxes. So you can have an area like Rolling Fork that in a few years can compete with a Madison, Mississippi, as far as education is concerned, because of the taxes that will be pulled away from that data center. So as Democrats, we could be smart. About knowing that they're coming. They are economic juggernauts that can buy their way just about into any town. But as Democrats, we can be smarter than our Republican counterparts by imposing clean air legislation, clean water legislation that they will have to pay for and make sure that residents are not impacted by them coming to your municipality or your county. But more importantly, that we appropriate the proper taxes. So that our school districts, our hospitals, and our roads and bridges actually benefit from them being in our communities. So let's do two things at one time. Let's be smart about our environment and what our what our corporations are doing in our communities, but also have proper tax codes that we can benefit from them being there, besides just a handful of jobs that may come from other states. David Olds: Thank you for that. a lot of times, or it seems like every year we always talk about the Mississippi healthcare system and the state of disrepair that it that it is in. And it's always go back to expanding Medicaid. What Chairman Cheikh Taylor: Yeah, yeah. David Olds: what's what's your thoughts about that? I just don't understand it. You know, because we don't take that money. Chairman Cheikh Taylor: I for the life of me, this is a easy fix for the economic woes of our state. I don't understand why we have not taken a billion dollars a year, because that's what we're losing. And if I'm not mistaken, you know, if you compound the interest of what we could have gotten from losing a billion dollars a year for the last fifteen, fifteen, sixteen years, I mean, geez, what what does that number look like? Does it look like something around forty billion dollars that we've probably could have benefited from just by saying or accepting fully funded Medicaid from our federal government? So, and the reality is Mississippi is a is a we know it's a poor state, but more importantly, it's a welfare state, which means that our federal government gives us for every dollar we collect, they actually send us five in return. So poverty, health disparities are a huge issue in the state of Mississippi. And to turn the back, turn our backs on that money and that ability to shure up nursing programs, the the quality of doctors in our area to stave off and and completely turn around our hospitals closing around the state. At one point in time, we were talking about eight hospitals closing, four. in the Delta alone. Now new reports are saying that the prediction is somewhere around 20 hospitals in the state David Olds: my. Chairman

Cheikh Taylor: of Mississippi. So so we have a problem and our problem is in a philosophy rooted in in in having folks seem to be weaker and and poor and and things of that nature. So Medicaid expansion is an easy fix. And And yes, I'm the chair of the state Democratic Party, but I would not entertain any person running for office who does not have Medicaid expansion as one of the items on top of their agenda. We can't be a healthy work. We can't be a a a great workforce if we're not healthy. And we cannot be great students if we're not healthy. And we can't have great seniors if our seniors are not healthy. So let's do the right thing and expand Medicaid. David Olds: Jim, one last qu jim newman: Yeah. David Olds: question with the elimination of the state income tax and when Chairman Cheikh Taylor: Mm. David Olds: that goes into effect, and that money that's not gonna be coming in, how is that going to affect, you know, the the state's budget? Chairman Cheikh Taylor: You know what you guys are really asking all the great questions because that was one of the worst things we've could have done as a state. and and we're sure headed for a financial you know cliff very soon. If not, we're already in it. Let let me back up and tell you how this thing materialized. David Olds: Let's hear it. Chairman Cheikh Taylor: So, you know, as part of the miss the black caucus, as part of the Democratic Caucus. We invited analysts, economic analysts from across the state, whether they're from Mississippi State, Ole Miss, the State Department, and all of them said the same thing. You know what they said? If you do nothing, you'll be better off. If you absolutely did nothing, you if if the idea of accepting this plan, which I believe it was House Bill One when it came up, David Olds: Uh-huh. Chairman Cheikh Taylor: and doing nothing, you'll be better off. Doing nothing. And you have to remember that these people are actually paid by and under the leadership of the high highest ranking Republicans in the state of Mississippi, right? So, you know, they have to be very careful on how they say these things, but then they said it very clearly, don't do it. So during this time, The Speaker of the House, Lieutenant Governor, and the Governor said, the Mississippi is flush with cash. Our rainy day funds are filled. you know, we can economic development is booming. Mississippi is having growth in in these areas, and things are looking fantastic. And within a year's time of passing HBO HB1, the rhetoric has turned from flush with cash to we gotta tighten our belts around here, guys. So what does this what does this mean for Mississippi? In the states that decided to go with removing personal income taxes, states like Florida and Texas and and and folks and places that had gaming and casinos and oil and gas and wind, and they were able to recoup this loss of revenue from all of these other things. And so they did not feel this loss like a state of Mississippi or Louisiana would. So we don't have the ability to recoup that money. We don't have any industries that are pouring into Mississippi and providing us with a surplus. But this is the other note. And this is, you know, I kind of say this a a bit in comedy, but I'm 100% serious about it. If it's so good, then why did it take a 10-year phase in? If it's David Olds: yeah. Chairman Cheikh Taylor: so good, Then why only folks who have made over $450,000 a year feel it first? And folks who made $40,000 a year are the last to fill this tax break. So again, this is a very clear illustration about how policies that we adopt in the state seem to be pointed towards those who may not need tax breaks, they may not need tax cuts, and somehow or another the emphasis is on them. instead of working class folks who actually pay their fair share and more than most corporate CEOs in the state. David Olds: Thank you for that, Jim. jim newman: Well, the state of Kansas did away with that and it didn't not it did not take them but a couple of years before they declared bankruptcy. So Chairman Cheikh Taylor: That's right. That's right. That's right. jim newman: it doesn't work. Chairman Cheikh Taylor: It doesn't work. And to give a clear illustration, jim newman: Okay. Chairman Cheikh Taylor: you know, when you're traveling past Vicksburg and you're going to Louisiana and you cross the Mississippi River, almost immediately do you see the roads and bridges being torn up. Almost immediately do you see the infrastructure failing all around you? And when infrastructure fails and with health care fails, and when public school fails, what else do you have? The only places that you have to go look for additional revenue are in services that we hold in high regard, such as PERS, such as retirement programs, shorting our school teachers, in the areas that actually matters most. And people could say, well, this is why I moved to the state because they have great healthcare, they have great schools, they have all these other things. But when your infrastructure is crumbling around us, you have to pull that money from somewhere else. And that will be the fate of Mississippi if we don't turn around HB one, make sure that we tear that thing up and put new legislation out there that's fair fair and balance. And and actually considers the folks of Mississippi as exposing exactly the flaws that we have in our state. jim newman: I think one of the issues that doesn't get enough attention, but it's talked about quite frequently, and that's the loss of our college students that graduate and leave the state and go to work somewhere else, because they can't find employment in their chosen fields in Mississippi. It seems it just seems to me that there ought to be a way that if we are going to give These wonderful tax breaks to these large corporations, that part of the contract that they have to become part of is that they will hire a percentage of Mississippi college graduates. And that just seems I I

mean yeah. Chairman Cheikh Taylor: It seems common sense. Yeah, it it it seems like it's it shouldn't be a stretch. It seems like it should be a very reasonable thing to do. one of the one of the two things that the governor has in his in his as far as feathers in his cap would be where economic development goes and MDA, Mississippi Development Authority. So Mississippi Development Authority, of course, deals with economic development projects and actually there as a enforcement agency that when things that are outlined in the policies and when these folks come, these corporations come, that they can actually employ in employ callbacks that recoup state money if they don't reach certain bench benchmarks. when Nissan came to Jackson or to the Jackson area, clawbacks didn't seem to be to have any teeth in them. it seems that with our casinos, that the clawbacks didn't have any real teeth in them. So hopefully moving forward that when we make these huge announcements of these billion dollar investments, that the appropriate clawbacks are there so that ideas of hiring folks from the state of Mississippi that graduate from our great College and university institutions have an opportunity not only to be employed there, but actually be in leadership roles. But oftentimes what happens, Jim, is that there are only about 70 jobs that are attached with these data centers, oftentimes. And oftentimes, out of those 70 jobs, over 80% of those go to folks out of the state of Mississippi. So, you know, that's a leadership problem, and the problem is not demanding. that the clawbacks include hiring folks in state of Mississippi without any excuse because we have talented folks here too. jim newman: We've got a lot of elections coming up. we've got one for Congress, we've got one for the Senate, and we've got a couple of others, Chairman. can you give us your prognostications on how these are gonna turn Chairman Cheikh Taylor: Yes, yes. Now this this is jim newman: up? Chairman Cheikh Taylor: this this is it guys. This this is where I come alive because because David Olds: You put him on the spot, Jim. Go ahead. Chairman Cheikh Taylor: I guarantee you I eat and breathe this portion of of the interview. we have a great slate of candidates. first of all, we have Congressman Bennie Thompson who has been in office for a very long time and we hope to keep him there. His institutional Knowledge and wisdom is extremely important for us maintaining our backbone as far as Mississippians and Democrats are concerned. listen, this guy has fought the president of the United States. This guy has fought Governor Phil Bryan. This this guy is fearless when it comes to speaking truth to power, and we have to recognize that. And also is the sole source of tens of millions of dollars coming to the state of Mississippi that that actually has been rejected by our Republican counterparts. So our one lone Democrat on the federal level has sent more money back to Mississippi than our other

four members of Congress. So let's applaud Congress Thompson. Let's keep him in that seat. he's in great position to win as he always does and we want to continue him to do so. Now who's up next? Next we have Scott Colom Scott Colom and this is a very unique race. The race is against Cindy Hyde Smith, who, of course, you all know had that famous statement, this is as as much fun as being at at a hanging, at a lynching, at a hanging, something along those things. Listen, if if that sounds like fun for her, I don't know if I if if she needs to be anybody's candidate, but we have Scott Colom a young DA out of Northeast Mississippi, two term winner, has been champion and favorite nationally, and in the state we know that he has three things. that that usually works. Number one, he has a message. He has the ability to raise money. And when you have a message, money, you could create movement. And that's what we have with Scott Colom who can actually bring who's projected to raise somewhere around sixteen to seventeen million dollars to to defeat Cindy Hyde Smith in the midterms so we are very hopeful in that candidate and and taking over that that Senate seat. He'll actually be the first African American to assume that position since Reconstruction. So that's another highlight to add to the historic run of Scott Colom Now if we're going to start in the first congressional district, a good friend of mine, and I'm telling you, and and when I say good friend of mine, I've just fallen in love with him. this is Cliff Johnson. Cliff Johnson, he speaks to the multitude in a way that I just have not heard from many candidates. He has he knows how to meet people where they are. He knows where the issues are, and he is a fighter. It must be that that civil rights attorney training that he has that that allows him to be such a wonderful fighter that he is. And so his messaging is on point. this guy. has has the look, he has the tone, and he has the demeanor to do something incredibly well in politics. we're very hopeful that he wins the CD1's federal race. but if anything else happens, we know that Cliff Johnson, we're gonna make sure that he sticks around and make sure that he benefits the state of Mississippi. Moving on down, we talked about Scott Colom in CD two, CD three, we have Michael Shicario. I'm sorry, Sheradio. Sheradio, let me say it three times. Shiradio. The reason being is because, listen, he's from out of town. He has a funny name. The guy is, you know, he doesn't have that southern twang. But one thing about him that is so endearing is that he's a Mississippi farmer. And he understands the woes that farmers have been hit under these tariffs and under the Trump administration. So If you need someone to go to Congress to fight for farmers, to fight for public education, and to fight for folks, small business folks, you need to send Michael Sheradio to Congress. Lastly, in the fourth congressional district, my colleague, my friend, if I'm in a foxhole, I want to be with this guy because he's probably about 6'12, 300 pounds. David Olds: Yeah. Chairman Cheikh Taylor: this guy is a tank of a gu of a man. He doesn't even need an AR fifteen. He has two of them on his arms, trust me. yeah, so Jeffrey Hullum. Jeffrey David Olds: Mm-hmm. Chairman Cheikh Taylor: Hullum. Sergeant Major Jeffrey Hullum. State legislator Jeffrey Hullum. This guy has a very powerful message that will make even the most avid person stand at attention when he comes into the room because you know you're talking to a man that has several tours of duty. he's defended this country. all over the world. He has led troops and led great men in his capacity. He has sp spoken to generals and and and high ranking officials across across the country as well. And he is held in high regard, not only in the military, but also as a state legislator. He defends and fights for the Golden Gulf Coast. I don't know where they came up with that term. But from the Golden Gulf Coast, like no one else. And he's one of the guys that I would definitely go to war with because he understands what's at at risk and he fights for folks like no one I've ever seen before. So we have an incredible slate of candidates. And with those slate of candidates, the only thing that Mississippians need to do to turn around the state of Mississippi is to show up on election day and vote for Democratic candidates across the board. we have answers. We don't Just point out problems, we have solutions. And I am challenging every candidate to come in, hold their promise to the people, but also to have very long-range and sweeping policies that are like home run swings every time we get up to bat, so that folks across the state that understand that we're here for action and we're here fighting for small businesses and children and families across the state. And and Democrats are the answer to move Mississippi for. David Olds: Chairman, thank you so much for this. This has been a great conversation. and and we do need to get together again on this and especially after the elections. And and it's this it's good to see you and good to talk to you again. Jim, let's Chairman Cheikh Taylor: Same here. David Olds: thank you. Jim, let's talk about donations and subscribers. jim newman: Yes, David, I think you need to pay some more money. David Olds: Well, thank you. Okay. in that case, go ahead. jim newman: no, putting aside, our podcasts are not s somebody's gotta pay for And David and I are doing are the best we can. And we are a nonprofit five one C three, so any contributions are tax deductible. And any change you've got in your pocket, we'd appreciate. And David can tell you where to send your money. David Olds: Absolutely. Cash App, which is the dollar sign MS Happenings. Also at PayPal, which is the at sign MS Happenings. We do appreciate you listening. We do appreciate you subscribing. Yes, we don't we do need more subscribers. Yes, we do need donations to keep this going. But this is something that Jim and I have a passion on. We have a passion about. And We want to hear from you. We want to hear what you think that what you think about what we're doing. please drop us an email at mshappenings1 at gmail.com. That's mshappenings, the number one at gmail.com. So we do appreciate it. Thank you so much. And may we never become indifferent to the suffering of others. Thanks so much.