Former councilman Brooks makes endorsement ahead of vote to replace him

An era in Jackson government history came to an end in November when Earnest Brooks II announced his resignation from Jackson City Council.

Brooks spent more than two decades on the Council, advocating for his constituents in District 3, which is mainly in East Jackson.

A lawyer by trade, Brooks also leveraged his visibility in the community to do other things with the main initiative being “Do the Write Thing,” a national campaign that encourages students in all 50 states to write essays addressing the problem of violence in schools. Winners are selected and have chances to advance in national competition.

Brooks resigned because he accepted a job offer to serve on the staff of the District Attorney’s office in Memphis in the 30^th Judicial District.

Because there are seven months remaining in Brooks’ current term, the procedure for the Council is for the remaining eight members to vote on a replacement based on applicants for the job who are confirmed to be in the seat’s district.

Four people have submitted applications, and the Council will vote to select one on Tuesday at their next meeting.

Here’s a list of the four applicants:

• - Anita Brooks, former City Council secretary
• Richard Donnell, senior advisor to the president at Lane College and radio talk show host on KIX 96
• Byron Elam, a former president of the Madison County Democratic Party
• Cassandra Parker, owner of Quick Bail Bonding Company

Brooks released a statement on Nov. 22 announcing his endorsement for Elam for the vacated seat and said he’d sent a letter to the eight remaining Council members.

“Byron’s leadership qualities were evident during his recent service on the City’s Redistricting Committee,” Brooks’ statement said, referring to the process earlier this year that forced the Planning Commission to take another look at drawn redistrict lines after the 2020 Census. “Byron was the only courageous dissenting vote for the current plan, on the committee – but he didn’t stop there. He singlehandedly researched and contacted noted redistricting experts.

“He then secured an avenue through which those experts could be compensated (Jackson-Madison County NAACP). Byron was able to build consensus among the council and his fellow committee members. Ultimately, the council voted unanimously in favor of redistricting, largely due to Byron’s efforts.”

The Council will meet on Tuesday at 9 a.m. in the George A. Smith Meeting Room at City Hall.

Brandon Shields, brandon@jacksonpost.news