Mississippi House 110 Race: Former Mayor Aneice Liddell wants to continue legacy of public service
MOSS POINT, Mississippi -- Running for the Mississippi House District
110 seat is just a natural progression in a lifetime of public service
for Aneice Liddell, the former Moss Point councilwoman and mayor said
Friday.
"If you look at my life, everything I've done has been a public service," the 58 year old said. "I know nothing else other than to give of my time and work with the people."
Liddell said she worked directly with the public as principal clerk at a state unemployment office in the late 1970s during her first job, and she also worked with the public while at Singing River Electric Power Association, where she worked for 15 years and eventually became office manager.
Now, she owns Paradigm Formals, which she opened in Moss Point in 1997.
"Even in my own business, I'm dealing with people, even if it is to dress them up and make them feel good for the night," she said. "I've always been a part of helping. It's nothing new for me because it's part of my everyday life."
Liddell first ran for office in 2001, when she lost her race for the Moss Point alderman at large seat by two votes.
She tried it again in 2005 and won by a large margin.
When the then-mayor decided not to run for re-election in 2009, she "decided to step up to the plate because I felt like I had more knowledge than anyone else who was coming to the table at the time," she said.
Being a part of the post-Hurricane Katrina administration boosted her confidence that "I could take the city a lot further by coming in from the inside," she said.
While mayor, Liddell helped move forward many building projects, such as getting the Sue Ellen Recreation Center and ball fields back on line, moving city offices from their temporary trailer homes to a renovated City Hall, building a new City Hall and Central Fire Station and revitalizing the downtown waterfront.
"I'm proud of what we did, and I believe that this is my calling," she said Friday from her headquarters building on Jefferson Street. "This is what I'm destined to do. If this is where you're driven and your heart is, then you have to continue to fight."
Liddell will face off against 21-year-old political newcomer Jeramey Anderson in the Nov. 26 runoff election.
The Nov. 5 special election to fill the seat that current Mayor Billy Broomfield vacated brought out five total candidates, none of whom received a majority of votes.
Anderson received a little more than 900 votes in that election, while Liddell received about 635.
If elected, Liddell said she will be focused on job creation, education, health care and regional flooding issues.
She'll support fully funding education and allocating funds for early childhood education initiatives, she said, as well as support Common Core standards.
She will also support a Medicaid expansion "because that's an economic issue as well as a public health issue," she said. "If we don't do it, we're losing jobs."
Liddell said she expects she got her heart for public service by watching her mother - who is now 92 - be a caregiver to family, friends and neighbors.
Also, her sisters - Liddell is one of 10 sisters -- influenced her to attend Mississippi State University and receive a political science degree in 1977.
"I was born during the civil rights movement, and my family was heavily involved in it," she recalled Friday. "My sisters were part of the movement, going to Washington and picketing for education and equal rights. I wanted to be a part of it, but I was too young.
"It just stuck with me that I wanted to be of service to the community," she said. "I wanted to make a difference, too."
On Tuesday, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and five precincts will be open.
Those precincts are:
"If you look at my life, everything I've done has been a public service," the 58 year old said. "I know nothing else other than to give of my time and work with the people."
Liddell said she worked directly with the public as principal clerk at a state unemployment office in the late 1970s during her first job, and she also worked with the public while at Singing River Electric Power Association, where she worked for 15 years and eventually became office manager.
Now, she owns Paradigm Formals, which she opened in Moss Point in 1997.
"Even in my own business, I'm dealing with people, even if it is to dress them up and make them feel good for the night," she said. "I've always been a part of helping. It's nothing new for me because it's part of my everyday life."
Liddell first ran for office in 2001, when she lost her race for the Moss Point alderman at large seat by two votes.
She tried it again in 2005 and won by a large margin.
When the then-mayor decided not to run for re-election in 2009, she "decided to step up to the plate because I felt like I had more knowledge than anyone else who was coming to the table at the time," she said.
Being a part of the post-Hurricane Katrina administration boosted her confidence that "I could take the city a lot further by coming in from the inside," she said.
While mayor, Liddell helped move forward many building projects, such as getting the Sue Ellen Recreation Center and ball fields back on line, moving city offices from their temporary trailer homes to a renovated City Hall, building a new City Hall and Central Fire Station and revitalizing the downtown waterfront.
"I'm proud of what we did, and I believe that this is my calling," she said Friday from her headquarters building on Jefferson Street. "This is what I'm destined to do. If this is where you're driven and your heart is, then you have to continue to fight."
Liddell will face off against 21-year-old political newcomer Jeramey Anderson in the Nov. 26 runoff election.
The Nov. 5 special election to fill the seat that current Mayor Billy Broomfield vacated brought out five total candidates, none of whom received a majority of votes.
Anderson received a little more than 900 votes in that election, while Liddell received about 635.
If elected, Liddell said she will be focused on job creation, education, health care and regional flooding issues.
She'll support fully funding education and allocating funds for early childhood education initiatives, she said, as well as support Common Core standards.
She will also support a Medicaid expansion "because that's an economic issue as well as a public health issue," she said. "If we don't do it, we're losing jobs."
Liddell said she expects she got her heart for public service by watching her mother - who is now 92 - be a caregiver to family, friends and neighbors.
Also, her sisters - Liddell is one of 10 sisters -- influenced her to attend Mississippi State University and receive a political science degree in 1977.
"I was born during the civil rights movement, and my family was heavily involved in it," she recalled Friday. "My sisters were part of the movement, going to Washington and picketing for education and equal rights. I wanted to be a part of it, but I was too young.
"It just stuck with me that I wanted to be of service to the community," she said. "I wanted to make a difference, too."
On Tuesday, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and five precincts will be open.
Those precincts are:
- Orange Grove Community Center, 9313 Old Stage Rd.
- Moss Point Recreation Center, 4400 Denny St.
- Young Men's Business Club, 3406 Dantzler St.
- Justice Court building, 5343 Jefferson Ave.
- B.E. "Mac" McGinty Civic Center, 2914 Shortcut Rd.
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