A group of 75 retired educators, including former Mississippi State University faculty and local business leaders, are set to raise the temperature of the local race for the District 37 seat in the state House of Representatives between incumbent Republican Gary Chism and his Democratic opponent J.C. Patton.Chism took office in 2000 and serves on the conservation and water resources, insurance, judiciary, public property, and universities and colleges committees.
Larry Mullins, Patton’s campaign manager and financial consultant for an independent brokerage firm, said a group of concerned Starkville citizens is set to publish a letter through local media outlets claiming that Chism’s elected record shows he is not a true advocate for MSU and Starkville.
The group said Chism’s claim of securing $113 million in increased funding for MSU is not as beneficial as it seems, the letter states.
“Only $38 million [has come] from appropriations,” the letter states. “$40 million [has come] from General Obligation Bonds, which created 20 years of state debt and $35 million in increased tuition.”
Chism’s voting record in the House is questioned in the letter, as well as the fact that MSU has become a misplaced budget priority by saying state appropriations have dropped 11 percent since Chism took office in 2000.
“Gary Chism voted against increased pay for professors and support staff, against fully funding our universities and against funding the MSU Veterinary School,” the letter states. “Mr. Chism has cast votes to cut funding for MSU during every legislative session since he has been in office until this election year.”
Chism said the publication is misleading.
“It’s incorrect,” he said. “[It] says that I’m no friend of MSU; that couldn’t be anything further from the truth.”
Chism said the letter misconstrues the facts about his voting record concerning education.
“Representatives from both parties, including myself, voted not to bring the bills in question to the floor on a certain day so that we could bring them to the floor on another day,” he said. “I voted for the bills on the subsequent days. There’s no question that funding for the College Board needs to be increased, and we’re going to get more money for MSU as well as other colleges in the state.”
Chism said there are more factors at play with teacher and faculty salaries that cannot be addressed by analyzing the difference in the average Mississippi faculty salary and the SREB’s average salary.
“Wages in Mississippi across the board are below average when you compare them to the average of the Southeast as a whole,” Chism said. “We do, however, have one of the best retirement systems in the nation, bar none. I agree that they [educators] need to be funded more.”
Patton, a local Starkville attorney, said it is misleading when Chism claims to have secured money for education.
“Yes, funding has increased, but the budget has increased disproportionately since 2000 when Chism took office,” Patton said.
He said he is critical of votes to increase tuition in the state.
“That’s not securing funding,” he said. “That’s voting to get our students and their families to pay us more money. This places a heavy burden on their backs.”
Patton said he entered the race for the District 37 House seat to become an advocate for not only MSU, but also education across the board.
“You can’t just jump in and say we’re going to fully fund education immediately, but it is important to make education the first priority,” he said.
Chism said there is a lighter side to fighting for the House seat.
“There was one particular instance where I saw an altered picture that placed my head on someone else’s body,” he said. “This person happened to be wearing an Alabama Crimson Tide shirt. I thought it was insulting to do this, but then again, at least someone in my office said that I looked much slimmer.