John Horhn apologizes for disparaging ‘crumbs’ comment, claims opponent’s supporters took it out of context

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - On the eve of a runoff election that could decide Jackson’s next mayor, leading candidate State Sen. John Horhn admitted to making a demeaning comment similar to what’s being shared on social media regarding a lack of money sent to the city of Jackson from the Mississippi Legislature, but denies the comments targeted residents in the state’s largest city.

Some supporters of Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, including Danyelle Holmes, posted or shared quotes allegedly attributed to Horhn, one which read, “If we are able to get crumbs for you at the state legislature, y’all ought to be happy.”

Other variations also circulated on social media over the last few days.

Horhn’s campaign said the actual quote, which came from the state senator during a candidate forum on Farish Street, was this: “You should be satisfied getting crumbs based on your poor relationship with the Legislature.”

The campaign maintains that the quote directly referenced Lumumba, not residents, and the current mayor’s poor relationship with the Republican-led House and Senate at the Capitol.

“You know, some of it was in the heat of the moment, and I chose my words incorrectly and I was emotional,” Horhn said Monday. “I was upset because I was really -- the phrases were taken out of context. I was actually talking about how difficult it is to get anything done in a Republican-controlled majority, where they have a supermajority, and it can be very frustrating to Black legislators and Democratic legislators.”

Horhn’s campaign said his words came after the Lumumba administration went after Horhn for not helping the current mayor more.

“I apologize for the words that I used. They were mishandled and not the words I would have chosen with greater thought,” Horhn said. “But the gist of what I was trying to say, I stand by.”

One of his selling points, Horhn said last week, was his relationship with the Legislature, and he has not been shy about describing the current administration’s animus with Gov. Tate Reeves and other lawmakers, a rift that was referenced in Detroit last month at a fundraiser for Lumumba’s legal defense fund.

Lumumba, who has been named in a sweeping federal bribery scandal that also ensnared Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens and Ward 6 Councilman Aaron Banks, has pleaded not guilty to charges of bribery, money laundering and conspiracy.

Documents obtained by 3 On Your Side from the fundraiser -- first reported by WLBT -- claim the bribery indictment “serves to bolster state government efforts to undermine Mayor Lumumba’s exercise of his mayoral duties.”

The paperwork alleged the indictment is a waste of taxpayer dollars, attempting to connect a federal investigation which began under former President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice to a Republican-led Mississippi Legislature, evidenced only by lawmakers’ poor relationships with Lumumba.

It’s unclear whether the implication of Republican state lawmakers orchestrating the federal prosecution of a Democratic mayor has further eroded that relationship.

Lumumba told WLBT last week that he has friendships with Republicans at the county and Congressional level.

“I appreciate the relationship that I have not only with our Democratic representation, but with Roger Wicker. Roger Wicker was instrumental, not only in the support of the infrastructure bill, he was instrumental in the support of the money that we received through the omnibus bill,” Lumumba said. “I’ve gone to Washington with mayors from Rankin County, who are all Republican, to advocate for the interests of our city. I wouldn’t say that any of them would tell you that I’m difficult to work with.”

Lumumba’s main contention remains attempted takeovers of Jackson resources, most notably the city’s airport.

“When I am introduced into a space where I go to the state legislature and you tell me that unless I give up my airport, none of our legislative requests will be met, then I’m as diplomatic as my options,” Lumumba said.

Want more WLBT news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please click here to report it and include the headline of the story in your email.