Oath of Office 2017

Mayor Elect Quincy Rogers along with Tina Speights Holder, Audrey Young Davis and Jonathan Griffith will take the Oath of Office on Monday, July 3, 2017 at 6:00 p.m. at the Church of the Way, 884 E. Main Street, Lumberton, MS 39455. Johnny Buckley and Susan Crittenden decided to take their oath at 11:00 a.m. at City Hall with Judge Bill Anderson presiding. I'm not certain why they opted to hold a separate ceremony but it shows that there's already some division with the new board. After every election, the Board of Alderpersons always had their ceremony with the Mayor elect. I remember when Mayor Miriam Holder took her Oath of Office at the 5th Avenue Community Center, EVERY board member was in attendance. When Ben Winston was elected as Mayor of Lumberton, EVERY board member attended the swearing in ceremony at the Ben Barrett Community Center. Now that we have a board that has pledged to Work Together to Move Lumberton Forward, the two incumbents opted to hold a separate ceremony. I'm not sure if it's because of the time of the event or the fact that they were insistent upon having Anderson conduct the oath of office; whatever the case may be, it does not look like they're interested in working with the other board members.

We all have made sacrifices to get to this point and it would have been nice to have the entire board participate in one ceremony but it is what it is. I missed my grandmother's 90th birthday party in Virginia to be at Monday's ceremony. I also gave up the option to have a personal friend, Judge Gay Polk-Payton White, administer my Oath of Office because the board said we should be united and use the same judge for the ceremony. I guess others aren't as flexible when it comes to making adjustments for the sake of unity. Regardless of who attends or not, we're Moving Forward.

So much has happened on this road to the Oath of Office, but God has prevailed and will continue to guide us as we seek to Move Lumberton Forward. It has been rumored that several employees have threatened to quit because they don't want to work with this administration. Well, it they choose to leave, that is their choice. I know several employees may feel some type of way because of the things they've said on social media but OUR goal is to make choices that are BEST for the City of Lumberton. I ran on a platform of transparency and accountability and that's what I intend to do. Mayor Elect Quincy Rogers was quoted on election night saying "we need to hit the ground running" and that's exactly what we're planning to do. We cannot and will not allow detractors to hinder out plans or purpose. It is out hope that you will allow us the opportunity to serve and support our efforts to revitalize the City of Lumberton.