MISSISSIPPI: Jackson Newspaper Endorses Marriage Equality Plaintiff Joce Pritchett For State Auditor

The editorial board for the newspaper in Mississippi’s state capital has endorsed marriage equality plaintiff Joce Pritchett [above left] in her bid for state auditor. If elected she would become the first openly gay person to hold office in Mississippi. From the Jackson Clarion-Ledger:

Jocelyn “Joce” Pritchett is a civil engineer and business owner with 25 years experience working with federal, state and local contracts on civil projects. She has a vast knowledge of the way state government and contracting works, and she’s intimately familiar with the government auditing process. Pritchett is clearly intelligent and driven. Her career reflects the kind of success that leads us to believe she would grow into the office just like others who came to the auditor’s office with little experience before her. Finally, Pritchett brings an outsider’s viewpoint to this important position. She is not a politician but a businesswoman. Given the controversy that has surrounded the incumbent and this office for some time now, having a fresh perspective with the mind of a small business owner would be a welcome change. We endorse Jocelyn “Joce” Pritchett for state auditor.

Previously married in Maine and represented by famed attorney Roberta Kaplan, Pritchett and her wife, as well as another lesbian couple, won their case in federal district court in November 2014. The state appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court, who stayed the lower court’s decision. The appeal was heard in January 2015, but no further action took place until Obergefell made the case moot. (Tipped by JMG reader Helen)

RELATED: According to Wikipedia, eight states have never elected an openly gay state legislator: Alaska, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, South Carolina, and Tennessee. In 2013, Marco McMillian announced his candidacy for mayor of Clarksdale, Mississippi, but he was murdered shortly afterwards.