David Chandler, former state Supreme Court Justice, also noted that Reeves’ and his wife’s ownership of “a membership share in the Oakridge Subdivision” could be a violation of the ethics clause. Hood’s office released Wednesday the 43-page report. It is the result of a 14-month-long investigation into a plan to build a frontage road to provide better access to Flowood where Reeves lives. To avoid any conflict of interest, the AG’s office asked that Chandler and Edwin Pittman, former Supreme Court Chief Justice, review the report. This is because the Democratic Hood and Republican Reeves are competing for the governorship this year. Several media outlets reported last year that plans were being made for the $2 million project. According to Melinda McGrath, the Mississippi Department of Transportation’s Executive Director, the decision by MDOT to build the $2 million frontage road was made because of “political pressure” coming from the Senate, where Reeves is a member. Parker Briden, spokesperson for Reeves, stated that Jim Hood has admitted that he did not commit any wrongdoing, and that he cannot take action after a year of loud talk. This is only a 43-page political dirty trick from Jim Hood. We now know who is behind this smear, and that lobbyist is Michael Arnemann. Arnemann was the legislative liaison for the Department of Transportation. He is currently the executive director of Mississippi Asphalt Pavement Association. Emails containing information about Reeves’ staff requesting updates on the frontage road, which was expected to cost around $2 million, are included in the report. Mississippi Today published an article that revealed the extent to which powerful Republicans kept tabs on the project’s progress. Hood began an investigation into the matter in July 2018. He requested correspondence related to this project from Reeves’ Office, State Senators, Senate Staff and MDOT employees. Hood’s frontage-road report includes several new pieces of information and separate opinions from two former state supreme courts justices: Chandler (an ex-state supreme court justice) who was appointed by Republican Gov. Phil Bryant will oversee the state’s child protection agency and Pittman. Hood stated that the judges who ran in nonpartisan elections were chosen “to provide a bipartisan reviewing of this report” and “to offer their legal opinions on the evidence.” It was reported that Reeves, and other people, refused to cooperate, making it difficult for the state’s child welfare agency to discover all the facts. According to the AG’s office, the decision to pursue civil action in order to recover the $470,000 that was spent on the frontage road and 1,740 hours of work by Transportation Department employees on it will be left up to the next attorney-general elected this November. “My opinion is that the report speaks for it self. It should be read by both the press and the public. They can then make their own judgements about the conduct and actions of Lt. Gov. Hood released a statement. This report highlights emails between Reeves officials and Reeves aides Kenny Ellis, Reeves’ legislative liaison, and Lee Weiskopf (recently, policy director). Arnemann informed Weiskopf on February 2, 2016 that they were in talks with the city of Flowood about details for the frontage road. I will be able to provide more information about it and the details of it within a few weeks.” Ellis sent an email in July 2014 to Ellis, identifying himself as the “LTG” for lieutenant governor. Hood’s report stated that Reeves’ aides discussed two phases of the Lakeland project. Phase I was a project for widening roads that was under way and Phase II was for frontage roads. The report stated that although the letter from the lieutenant Governor dated July 26, 2018 claimed no records had been found, 22 emails were exchanged between Reeves’ staff and MDOT about the topic of (Lakeland Drive Widening), 15 of which were specifically related to the frontage road. Hood also noted that Reeves signed an email stating that no communication existed between his office, and the agency. A MDOT official, whose identity is not revealed in the Hood report, stated that Willie Simmons, Senate Transportation Chairman, told him that “Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves wanted something to do about Lakeland Drive’s traffic because it was bad. It takes a long while to get from the interstate into his home. Simmons, a Democrat, recently won the central district Democratic nomination for the three-member Mississippi Transportation Commission. Unidentified MDOT employees claimed that there was influence from the lieutenant governor using his position in order to get the frontage roads. This employee also said that the whole Lakeland Drive project was moved up the department’s priority list at great cost to other projects across the state. According to the report, Gary Rhodes, the mayor of Flowood, told McGrath that if she didn’t build the frontage roads, the Legislature would. According to the report, a Mississippi Constitution provision states that no public officer or member of legislature can be directly or indirectly involved in any contract with the State, or any District, County, City, or Town thereof. This is after letters from last year’s probe were leaked. Reeves said that his office and senators are exempted from the Open Records Law of the state and could not produce such correspondence. Reeves claimed that his office did an internal investigation and found no correspondence. These findings are challenged by Wednesday’s attorney-general’s report. Reeves denied any political influence during the 14-month investigation. However, he did admit that he helped to pass the legislative mandate for MDOT to widen Lakeland Drive in his neighborhood — which is where the frontage roads plans were included. Frontage Road-Attorney Generals Office (Text) Reeves’ brother Todd, Josh Harkins, Flowood Alderman Kirk McDaniel, and many others who regularly support political campaigns were also Republican elected officials. The three-member Transportation Commission was chaired by Dick Hall, Central District Transportation Commissioner. He stopped working on the frontage road after the news articles were published last year. Hall stated that he didn’t know of any inappropriate behavior. “If I were the lieutenant governor, then I would have been interested in the project and would have made it known. After claiming vindication, Reeves presented a McGrath letter and asked few questions about the project. Reeves has maintained that he was not involved in the project, and he accused Hood of “political Grandstanding.” Hood has, however, denied any political motive behind the investigation. Chandler was elected to Court of Appeals in 2000. He also ran for and won a seat at the Supreme Court. Bryant appointed Chandler as Mississippi’s first executive Director of the Child Protection Services in 2015. He was to manage a troubled foster care system. From September 2017 to September 2017, he held that position. Bryant was one of the most vocal supporters of Reeves’s run for governor. He praised Chandler’s services upon his appointment and retirement. “Dr. Bryant stated that Chandler did a remarkable job leading Child Protection Services. He has dedicated himself to improving our most vulnerable children’s lives. His leadership has seen significant improvements in foster care, and I wish him all the best. Pittman also has a long history of political involvement in the state. From 1989 to 2004, he was a member of the state Supreme Court, including as chief justice. He was a Hattiesburg state senator and served as an attorney general, secretary, treasurer, and secretary of state in his previous state posts. To support this important work, you can make a regular donation to us today as we celebrate our Spring Member Drive.