Colonel_Reb
Hall of Famer
<h1>Mayor Melton Dead At 60</h1>http://www.wapt.com/mayormelton/19383863/detail.html
<t></t><table style="width: 443px; height: 2452px;" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><t><tr><td valign="top"><link href="http://www.wapt.com/css/13260803/style.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" target="_blank" target="_blank"><div>JACKSON, Miss. -- Jackson Mayor Frank Melton, 60, died at 12:10 a.m. Thursday at St. Dominic Hospital, city officials said.The mayor's wife, Ellen, was by his side, officials said.<div style="float: left;"><t></t><table class="clkImgTbl" width="240" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><t><tr><td valign="top"><t></t><table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0"><t><tr><td valign="top"><div class="imgEnlargeBtn" align="right">
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<div>Jackson Mayor Frank Melton
</div></td></tr></t></table></td></tr></t></table></div>Melton
was defeated in the Democratic primary on Tuesday. He was found
unresponsive at his Jackson home shortly after the polls closed. EMTs
were able to return Melton's heartbeat and stabilize him before
transporting him by ambulance to St. Dominic Hospital. He was listed in
critical condition and on a respirator until Thursday morning.Melton's wife arrived from Texas at about 1 a.m. Wednesday, according to city spokeswoman Goldia Revies.<div style="float: left;"><t></t><table class="clkImgTbl" width="240" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><t><tr><td valign="top"><t></t><table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0"><t><tr><td valign="top"><div class="imgEnlargeBtn" align="right">
</div>
<div>Mayor
Frank Melton was transported by ambulance to St. Dominic Hospital after
going into full cardiac arrest, according to a WAPT source.
</div></td></tr></t></table></td></tr></t></table></div>Click For Mayor Melton Special SectionIn
December, doctors testified in federal court that Melton had been
diagnosed with end-stage cardiomyopathy and that he was close to
congestive heart failure. One of Melton's doctors testified that the
mayor should have a heart transplant, but that he had declined to do so.Melton
underwent surgery to remove a blood clot in his leg in November 2008.
In January 2008, the mayor underwent surgery to have an ICD implanted
in his heart. The device delivers an electrical shock to the heart in
order to stop certain forms of rapid heart rhythm disturbances. The
mayor was first diagnosed with heart failure in 2005 and in 2007, he
underwent double bypass surgery.Melton and his former police
bodyguard, Michael Recio, were scheduled to stand trial next week in
federal court for a second time in connection with federal civil rights
charges related to a 2006 vigilante-style sledgehammer attack on a
duplex that Melton considered a crackhouse.<h2>McLemore Named Acting Mayor</h2>City Councilman Leslie McLemore was named acting Jackson mayor on Wednesday.<div style="float: left;"><t></t><table class="clkImgTbl" width="240" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><t><tr><td valign="top"><t></t><table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0"><t><tr><td valign="top"><div class="imgEnlargeBtn" align="right">
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<div>Leslie McLemore
More
</div></td></tr></t></table></td></tr></t></table></div>McLemore
was selected by the Jackson City Council during a special meeting.
McLemore, who represents Ward 2 on the Jackson City Council, is not
seeking re-election.Councilman Kenny Stokes said at the meeting
that he wanted a commitment from McLemore that he would not fire any
city employees or department heads. McLemore said he would "do the
right thing."McLemore will have the same rights, powers and duties as a regular mayor.<h2>Melton Defeated In Democratic Primary</h2>Melton was defeated in the Democratic primary on Tuesday. The mayor faced nine opponents.Former Mayor Harvey Johnson and City Councilman Marshand Crisler are headed for a May 19 runoff in the Jackson mayoral race.Melton
was out of the running in third place with 5,636 votes. Melton was
rushed to the hospital shortly after the polls closed Tuesday night.<h2>Melton's Life In The Spotlight</h2>Melton had reached almost iconic status in Jackson long before running for office.As CEO of WLBT, he was a constant critic of crime, city government and the conduct of teens."You
need to give those earrings to your sister, put your pants up on your
behind where they belong. If you're going to be a man, you need to act
like a man and look like a man,"Â Melton told a group of teens on July
27, 2004.<div style="float: left;"><t></t><table class="clkImgTbl" width="240" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><t><tr><td valign="top"><t></t><table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0"><t><tr><td valign="top"><div class="imgEnlargeBtn" align="right">
</div>
</td></tr></t></table></td></tr></t></table></div>Melton could speak from experience. Since the 80s, he had been a visible volunteer with the Farish Street YMCA.In
2002, he moved over to the public sector when Gov. Ronnie Musgrove
appointed him director of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics.Melton was visible and vocal, launching an all-out assault on street gangs.But when Gov. Haley Barbour was elected, Frank Melton was out as MBN director.In March 2004, Melton announced on 16 WAPT that he would be a candidate for Jackson mayor.Melton
beat incumbent Mayor Harvey Johnson in the Democratic primary and then
defeated former sportscaster Rick Whitlow in the general election with
88 percent of the vote."We will deal with crime in a way you have never ever seen before,"Â Melton said when he took office in 2005.He
asked for 180 days to solve the city's crime problems, but that very
night he started his own style of street sweeps that raised criticism
and questions about the role of a mayor playing police officer.Melton spent a good bit of time before a judge in his first term of office.<div style="float: left;"><t></t><table class="clkImgTbl" width="240" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><t><tr><td valign="top"><t></t><table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0"><t><tr><td valign="top"><div class="imgEnlargeBtn" align="right">
</div>
</td></tr></t></table></td></tr></t></table></div>He
eventually reached a plea deal and was given probation for a carrying a
concealed weapon to a public park and the Mississippi College School of
Law.He defended a civil suit brought by former MBN agents.He was arrested and jailed for alleged probation violation, but another judge tossed the charges.Melton
and his two bodyguards were acquitted of state charges of trashing a
duplex in 2006 on Ridgeway Street. In February, Melton's first federal
trial on civil rights charges related to the incident ended in a hung
jury. He was scheduled to stand trial for a second time in federal
court on Monday.Melton made no bones about it. He didn't care for criticism or how others thought Jackson government should be run."When
you look at the mistakes that I've made, you won't find one mistake
that I have made to benefit myself. Those mistakes were made to help
somebody else and that's it. I'm not going to change," Melton said on
Dec. 30, 2008.
</div></td></tr></t></table>
Edited by: Colonel_Reb
<t></t><table style="width: 443px; height: 2452px;" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><t><tr><td valign="top"><link href="http://www.wapt.com/css/13260803/style.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" target="_blank" target="_blank"><div>JACKSON, Miss. -- Jackson Mayor Frank Melton, 60, died at 12:10 a.m. Thursday at St. Dominic Hospital, city officials said.The mayor's wife, Ellen, was by his side, officials said.<div style="float: left;"><t></t><table class="clkImgTbl" width="240" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><t><tr><td valign="top"><t></t><table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0"><t><tr><td valign="top"><div class="imgEnlargeBtn" align="right">
</div>
<div>Jackson Mayor Frank Melton</div></td></tr></t></table></td></tr></t></table></div>Melton
was defeated in the Democratic primary on Tuesday. He was found
unresponsive at his Jackson home shortly after the polls closed. EMTs
were able to return Melton's heartbeat and stabilize him before
transporting him by ambulance to St. Dominic Hospital. He was listed in
critical condition and on a respirator until Thursday morning.Melton's wife arrived from Texas at about 1 a.m. Wednesday, according to city spokeswoman Goldia Revies.<div style="float: left;"><t></t><table class="clkImgTbl" width="240" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><t><tr><td valign="top"><t></t><table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0"><t><tr><td valign="top"><div class="imgEnlargeBtn" align="right">
</div>
<div>MayorFrank Melton was transported by ambulance to St. Dominic Hospital after
going into full cardiac arrest, according to a WAPT source.
</div></td></tr></t></table></td></tr></t></table></div>Click For Mayor Melton Special SectionIn
December, doctors testified in federal court that Melton had been
diagnosed with end-stage cardiomyopathy and that he was close to
congestive heart failure. One of Melton's doctors testified that the
mayor should have a heart transplant, but that he had declined to do so.Melton
underwent surgery to remove a blood clot in his leg in November 2008.
In January 2008, the mayor underwent surgery to have an ICD implanted
in his heart. The device delivers an electrical shock to the heart in
order to stop certain forms of rapid heart rhythm disturbances. The
mayor was first diagnosed with heart failure in 2005 and in 2007, he
underwent double bypass surgery.Melton and his former police
bodyguard, Michael Recio, were scheduled to stand trial next week in
federal court for a second time in connection with federal civil rights
charges related to a 2006 vigilante-style sledgehammer attack on a
duplex that Melton considered a crackhouse.<h2>McLemore Named Acting Mayor</h2>City Councilman Leslie McLemore was named acting Jackson mayor on Wednesday.<div style="float: left;"><t></t><table class="clkImgTbl" width="240" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><t><tr><td valign="top"><t></t><table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0"><t><tr><td valign="top"><div class="imgEnlargeBtn" align="right">
</div>
<div>Leslie McLemoreMore
</div></td></tr></t></table></td></tr></t></table></div>McLemore
was selected by the Jackson City Council during a special meeting.
McLemore, who represents Ward 2 on the Jackson City Council, is not
seeking re-election.Councilman Kenny Stokes said at the meeting
that he wanted a commitment from McLemore that he would not fire any
city employees or department heads. McLemore said he would "do the
right thing."McLemore will have the same rights, powers and duties as a regular mayor.<h2>Melton Defeated In Democratic Primary</h2>Melton was defeated in the Democratic primary on Tuesday. The mayor faced nine opponents.Former Mayor Harvey Johnson and City Councilman Marshand Crisler are headed for a May 19 runoff in the Jackson mayoral race.Melton
was out of the running in third place with 5,636 votes. Melton was
rushed to the hospital shortly after the polls closed Tuesday night.<h2>Melton's Life In The Spotlight</h2>Melton had reached almost iconic status in Jackson long before running for office.As CEO of WLBT, he was a constant critic of crime, city government and the conduct of teens."You
need to give those earrings to your sister, put your pants up on your
behind where they belong. If you're going to be a man, you need to act
like a man and look like a man,"Â Melton told a group of teens on July
27, 2004.<div style="float: left;"><t></t><table class="clkImgTbl" width="240" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><t><tr><td valign="top"><t></t><table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0"><t><tr><td valign="top"><div class="imgEnlargeBtn" align="right">
</div>
</td></tr></t></table></td></tr></t></table></div>Melton could speak from experience. Since the 80s, he had been a visible volunteer with the Farish Street YMCA.In2002, he moved over to the public sector when Gov. Ronnie Musgrove
appointed him director of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics.Melton was visible and vocal, launching an all-out assault on street gangs.But when Gov. Haley Barbour was elected, Frank Melton was out as MBN director.In March 2004, Melton announced on 16 WAPT that he would be a candidate for Jackson mayor.Melton
beat incumbent Mayor Harvey Johnson in the Democratic primary and then
defeated former sportscaster Rick Whitlow in the general election with
88 percent of the vote."We will deal with crime in a way you have never ever seen before,"Â Melton said when he took office in 2005.He
asked for 180 days to solve the city's crime problems, but that very
night he started his own style of street sweeps that raised criticism
and questions about the role of a mayor playing police officer.Melton spent a good bit of time before a judge in his first term of office.<div style="float: left;"><t></t><table class="clkImgTbl" width="240" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><t><tr><td valign="top"><t></t><table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0"><t><tr><td valign="top"><div class="imgEnlargeBtn" align="right">
</div>
</td></tr></t></table></td></tr></t></table></div>Heeventually reached a plea deal and was given probation for a carrying a
concealed weapon to a public park and the Mississippi College School of
Law.He defended a civil suit brought by former MBN agents.He was arrested and jailed for alleged probation violation, but another judge tossed the charges.Melton
and his two bodyguards were acquitted of state charges of trashing a
duplex in 2006 on Ridgeway Street. In February, Melton's first federal
trial on civil rights charges related to the incident ended in a hung
jury. He was scheduled to stand trial for a second time in federal
court on Monday.Melton made no bones about it. He didn't care for criticism or how others thought Jackson government should be run."When
you look at the mistakes that I've made, you won't find one mistake
that I have made to benefit myself. Those mistakes were made to help
somebody else and that's it. I'm not going to change," Melton said on
Dec. 30, 2008.
</div></td></tr></t></table>
Edited by: Colonel_Reb