‘Clearly the man for the job’: Judge stands behind third-party water manager

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - A federal judge is standing behind the man appointed to run Jackson’s water system, despite recent criticisms, saying he is “clearly the man for the job.”

On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Henry Wingate handed down a response to the recent complaints brought against Interim Third-Party Manager Ted Henifin, saying most of the attacks were race-based.

Wingate, who is Black, said comments made at hearings earlier this month were “reminiscent of times when African Americans have been on the receiving end” of similar criticisms.

“They have no experience in water management, and no logical rationale [as to] why an African American would be better suited to fix a lingering problem which has gone unresolved for decades by past African American leadership,” he wrote.

The judge’s comments come more than a week after he heard from community leaders who had concerns about how Henifin was running the city’s water system.

One speaker told the judge that if Henifin did not meet their demands, he should be replaced by an African American more sensitive to the needs of the community.

“Yes, Henifin is white, not African American; his detractors did get that right. And he’s not a native Jacksonian or Mississippian, for that matter. So, his critics win on that score also,” Wingate wrote. “Apparently... their victory on these two insignificant points [has] blinded them to Henifin’s color-blind passion for his mission and his success thus far over the very short time he has been on the job.”

Wingate shared his own involvement in the Civil Rights Movement during the hearing, saying he was arrested after leading a march shortly before Medgar Evers’ death. The judge told the courtroom that Evers was assassinated the same day he was supposed to visit Wingate in jail.

Henifin was appointed third-party manager as part of a federal court order taking over Jackson’s water system in November. In recent weeks, city leaders, as well as several groups with political ties to the mayor, have raised concerns about Henifin’s lack of transparency.

Henifin was criticized for everything from the racial makeup of his staff to the lack of minority participation in major water repair contracts.

In his seven-page written response, Wingate rejected those arguments and pointed to Henifin’s accomplishments, including efforts to repair a major water main break at the former Colonial Club golf course.

Wingate said the break was spewing an estimated 5 million gallons of treated water per day when it was discovered, costing the city about $6,700.

“A handy calculator flashed some disturbing numbers; five million gallons a day at $6,700 per day means a loss of $200,000 a month; $2.4 million a year; and a grand total of $16.8 million over seven years,” Wingate wrote.

City Attorney Catoria Martin countered Wingate’s claims on the leak, saying the city wasn’t always aware of it and that the leak had gotten worse over time.

Wingate again said Martin’s argument was immaterial, saying the city should have been aware.

Even so, he said, “Henifin, his round-the-clock crew, and his expeditiously procured contractor managed to fix the rupture in approximately 60 days.”

“That accomplishment, ALONE, should elevate Henifin to heroic status,” Wingate wrote. “But... the staunchest of his critics can only see race and outsider prejudice.”

Wingate went on to say that his detractors did not question Henifin’s qualifications, his resolve or commitment or the progress made on restoring the water system.

“They did not represent, nor even mention, the numerous citizens who are grateful for what Henifin has achieved over this short time,” he added.

Wingate, meanwhile, included letters from three individuals complimenting Henifin on his efforts.

Jeff Good, owner of Mangia Bene Restaurant Management Group, told Wingate he contacted JXN Water at 7 a.m. on June 4 to report low water pressure at Broad Street Baking Co. By 8:30 a.m., a break had been located, and by 10 a.m. water pressure had been restored.

“This is completely foreign to me, as I was prepared to close for business as usual when we don’t have water,” he wrote. “Judge Wingate, we have suffered twenty-nine days of closures and more than 12 total weeks of boil water notices at Broad Street over the last four years due to no water pressure, but this time we didn’t have to close; JXN Water kept us going.”

Several speakers during the July 12 and 13 status conference raised concerns about Henifin’s decision to relocate the city’s call center to Pearl.

JXN Water has contracted with Protel, Inc., to answer customers’ water questions. Since Protel took over on June 5, the center has answered 10,984 calls or an average of 313 per day.

The average wait time on those calls is one minute and 46 seconds, the judge wrote.

“Prior to this contract... Jackson city employees, aided by temporary staff, had been handling consumer calls. Their statistics were unimpressive,” Wingate wrote. “For the period of March 1, 2023, through April 1, 2023, the call center received 682 calls per day. The average ‘wait time’ was 4 hours and 9 minutes. Over 30 percent of the calls were abandoned after the callers were placed on hold longer than 10 minutes.”

Like Good, Breck Hines, co-owner and manager of the District at Eastover, had equally high praise.

“Prior to JXN Water taking over, we had little to no luck when we contacted the city of Jackson regarding water or billing issues,” he wrote. “However, since the JXN Water call center has opened, our calls have been answered on the first ring, and the call center attendees have been extraordinarily knowledgeable.”

State Sen. John Horhn also praised the third-party manager, saying he has “always shown himself to be accessible and transparent about his work and what he’s doing to right the ship in Jackson. I am aware of a number of community meetings he has attended.”

Wingate tended to agree with the sentiments of those letters, even including a list of speaking engagements in which Henifin participated since taking over the city’s water system in late November.

According to those records, Henifin spoke on 33 occasions between December 5 and June 27.

But for Wingate, the biggest example of Henifin’s success remains the Colonial Club main break. “Henifin has saved Jackson millions just for fixing ‘the leak’ alone,” the judge wrote. “But even those saved [greenbacks] have failed to clear the vision of those who can only view accomplishment through the lenses of Black and white.”

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