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Steve Simpson (Mississippi)
Stephen "Steve" Simpson was the Republican candidate for Attorney General of Mississippi in 2011. He was unopposed in the primary and fell to incumbent Democrat Jim Hood in the general election on November 8, 2011. He served as commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety from May 2008-February 2011, when he resigned to pursue his campaign for attorney general.[1]
Biography
Most recently, Simpson served for nearly three years as Mississippi Department of Public Safety Commissioner. He resigned his position after suggestions his campaign for state attorney general violated the federal Hatch Act, which prohibits administrators of federally funded programs at the state or local level from seeking elective office. Simpson previously served as a judge on Mississippi's 2nd Circuit Court from 2000-2008 and was an assistant district attorney for Mississippi's 2nd District from 1992-1996. Simpson also owned and operated a private law firm with his brother Jim, Simpson & Simpson, from 1990-1992.[2]
He holds a J.D. from the University of Mississippi Law School, as well as a B.S. and an M.Ed. from Delta State University.
Education
- B.S. - Delta State University
- M.Ed. - Delta State University
- J.D. - University of Mississippi Law School
Political career
Mississippi Department of Public Safety (2008-2011)
Simpson served as a commissioner on the Mississippi Department of Public Safety from 2008 to 2011.
Elections
| 2011 State Executive elections |
| Kentucky • Louisiana Mississippi • West Virginia |
| Gubernatorial • Lt. Governor Attorney General • Secretary of State Down ballot offices: (KY, LA, MS) |
| News • Calendar |
2011
Simpson claimed the Republican nomination for Attorney General of Mississippi unopposed in the August 2 primary. He fell to incumbent Democrat Jim Hood in the general election on November 8, 2011.
Results
General election
| Attorney General of Mississippi, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Jim Hood Incumbent |
61.1% | 536,827 | |
| Republican | Steve Simpson | 38.9% | 342,086 | |
| Total Votes | 878,913 | |||
| Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State | ||||
Campaign themes
2011
Simpson's campaign website listed six different policy priorities:[3]
- Reducing public corruption by prosecuting corrupt officials
- Prosecuting criminals and child predators
- Protecting consumers by prosecuting any "corporate wrongdoer"
- Fighting "Obamacare" and overreaching federal mandates
- Improving transparency by establishing a "request for proposal" process for state government contracts.
- Promoting disaster awareness and limiting post-disaster fraud.
Simpson criticized his opponent, Democratic incumbent Jim Hood, for failing to join the multi-state lawsuit against President Barack Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Noting that outgoing Governor Haley Barbour had opposed the law, Simpson argued it would hurt Mississippi's economy.[4]
Noteworthy events
Unpaid taxes
During his 2011 campaign for Attorney General of Mississippi, Simpson was criticized for running up $5,760 in unpaid state property taxes on his Gulfport, MS home. He ultimately paid the debt on March 13, 2011, explaining that jumbled paperwork in the wake of Hurricane Katrina kept him from paying his taxes on time. According to Simpson, after he refinanced his home mortgage in 2005, his mortgage servicer stopped including property taxes in his monthly mortgage payments without his knowledge. According to this account, he was unaware the taxes were not being paid until he received a bill for his missed payments.[5]
Possible Hatch Act violation
In the first months of his campaign, some media outlets contended that he violated the federal Hatch Act, which prohibits appointed state executives that administer federally funded programs from running in a partisan political campaign. He announced his candidacy in January 2011 while still serving as Mississippi's Commissioner of Public Safety.[6] Insisting that he was not technically a candidate because he had not yet filed registration paperwork, Simpson resigned as commissioner on February 15.[7]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Simpson and his wife, Elizabeth, have three daughters.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Steve Simpson Mississippi Governor. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine was used to recall this version of the website from January 3, 2012.
Footnotes
- ↑ WDAM.com, "Simpson resigns to run for Attorney General," February 4, 2011
- ↑ Steve Simpson for Attorney General, " Steve's story," accessed version of site from September 3, 2011
- ↑ Steve Simpson for Attorney General, "Priorities," accessed July 25, 2011
- ↑ SunHerald.com, "Hood and Simpson sound off on attorney general race," July 24, 2011
- ↑ Y'all Politics/Clarion-Ledger, "Steve Simpson satisfies tax debt to remove lien," July 28, 2011
- ↑ MS360.com, "Simpson says he’s ‘not a candidate,’ so no Hatch Act violation," January 27, 2011
- ↑ Mississippi Business Journal, "Simpson resigning as public safety commissioner," February 6, 2011
