Special judge appointed in latest Jackson trash lawsuit

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - A special judge has been appointed to preside over the latest legal battle between the Jackson mayor and city council.

On Wednesday, the Mississippi Supreme Court tapped Senior Status Judge H. David Clark to preside over the council’s latest challenge to the mayor in the fight over who will pick up residential trash.

The council filed a complaint last week seeking a declaratory judgement on whether it could move forward with choosing a trash contractor, saying Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba has refused to.

The current contract is with Richard’s Disposal, which runs out at the end of March at the latest.

Lumumba says he can’t legally move forward with negotiations with another contractor unless Richard’s steps away from the last RFP.

An RFP is a request for proposals. The requests are issued by cities seeking vendors for professional services.

Jackson’s last trash RFP was issued in late 2021.

Richard’s responded and was chosen as the preferred contractor during the RFP review process.

However, the council has rejected hiring the firm multiple times.

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