Elected and Appointed Government Officials

Most Capitol insiders describe Philip Gunn’s job as Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives as Chief Cat Herder.  But for the first time in a century, House Republicans have gone from a legislative majority taken in 2011 to a legislative super majority in 2015.  Gunn is now the twice elected Republican Speaker and was the architect of that effort achieved through equal parts of soliciting party switching and winning key races at the ballot box.

The sea change in the House is undeniable.  Gunn’s House has landed major policy victories such as 3^rd Grade Gate, Charter Schools, a substantial teacher pay raise, the AG Sunshine Act, and moves towards performance based budgeting.  There’s been a new regime of rules established also to reduce “show” voting and to streamline legislative procedural measures aimed at slowing down the work of the body.

The policy map going forward for Gunn looks to be squarely focused around economics.  Establishment of Budget Working Groups and Tax Working Groups are aimed at overall tax restructuring and reducing wasteful spending.  But time is of the essence.  A legislative super majority is a gift that tends not to last a long time, and Gunn and his crew in the House will be hard pressed to get the big policy changes done in the next three sessions, even with the political winds at their backs.