Empower Mississippi

Empower Mississippi
Type Nonprofit
Purpose School choice advocacy
Location
President
 Grant Callen[1]
Slogan Ideas to Action
Mission "We empower citizens to advocate for policies that help people thrive"
Website empowerms.org

Empower Mississippi is a 501(c)(4) political advocacy organization in Mississippi that is focused on expanding school choice. It has an affiliated political action committee and 501(c)(3) educational arm.[2] Empower Mississippi's stated goal is "to create opportunity and make Mississippi the most free and prosperous state in the nation."[3]

Activities

The group works to bring charter schools to Mississippi.[4][5] The group's first activity was to support the Equal Opportunity for Students with Special Needs Act in 2013, which provides vouchers of up to $6,500 for educational savings accounts for parents of students with disabilities. Empower Mississippi's PAC has spent money in Republican state legislative primaries, seeking to elect candidates the group views as more likely to pass school choice legislation in the Mississippi House of Representatives.[6][7]

2015 Republican state legislative primary elections

In 2015, Empower Mississippi supported challengers who unseated four Republican House incumbents in DeSoto County. The defeated incumbents, including Republican representatives Wanda Jennings and Pat Nelson, had opposed school choice measures backed by Empower Mississippi.[8] Some incumbent Republican Mississippi lawmakers, including House Speaker Philip Gunn, criticized Empower Mississippi's efforts in the primary election.[4] Gunn endorsed all four DeSoto County incumbents who lost. A number of Empower Mississippi's board members, including former state senator Charlies Ross, resigned due to conflicts over who the organization would support in the primary contests.[9]

According to Empower Mississippi president Grant Callen, the group targeted the incumbents that it did because "A handful of Republicans in the House have fought the opportunity to give parents more choice at every turn. And four of those members happened to be in DeSoto County." Republican Representative Pat Nelson, who was defeated in 2015 by an Empower Mississippi-backed challenger, stated his belief that Empower Mississippi's support came from corporations seeking software contracts with charter school organizations.[4] Empower Mississippi spent approximately $300,000 on 18 state legislative primaries in 2015.[10]

Finances

Empower Mississippi has raised $450,000 since its founding in 2014. $360,000 has come from the American Federation for Children, a Washington, D.C. school choice advocacy group. The group has also raised $30,000 from Joel Bomgar, a Mississippi software entrepreneur.[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Wolfe, Anna (November 19, 2014). "MAEP's Moral Center: Mississippi's Education Enigma". Jackson Free Press. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  2. ↑ Hampton, Paul (February 19, 2015). "Kittredge leaves Mississippi State Auditor's Office". Sun Herald. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  3. ↑ "Our Goal". Empower Mississippi. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 Long, Robert Lee (July 17, 2015). "Empower PAC Targets Races". DeSoto Times-Tribune.
  5. ↑ Maxey, Ron (July 15, 2015). "Campaign contributions questioned as DeSoto legislative races heat up". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  6. ↑ Amy, Jeff (July 4, 2015). "Challengers face Republican incumbents in DeSoto County". SF Gate. Associated Press. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  7. ↑ Maxey, Ron (July 21, 2015). "Empower Mississippi Has incumbents in line of fire". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  8. ↑ "Challengers unseat 4 DeSoto County state GOP House members". Commercial Appeal. Associated Press. August 9, 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  9. 1 2 Amy, Jeff (August 9, 2015). "Analysis: Empower Mississippi overcomes some GOP doubters". Sun Herald. Associated Press. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  10. ↑ Royals, Kate (August 5, 2015). "DeSoto incumbents unseated by PAC-supported challengers". The Clarion Ledger. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
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