The full, annotated text of Parker Wiseman's Response to the State of the State

Here's the full, annotated text of tonight's Democratic Response to the State of the State:

Mississippi Democratic Response to 2014 State of the State Address (Annotated)

Wiseman pushes for "meaningful" across-the-board teacher pay raise

From the Democratic Response to the State of the State, given by Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman (D):

"We Democrats also recognize that we cannot achieve our education goals without taking care of our teachers. We welcome the support of House Speaker Phillip Gunn and other Republicans who have expressed an interest in raising teacher pay this year. Our teachers deserve a significant across-the-board pay raise, and we can do it without raising anyone’s taxes. A meaningful teacher pay raise would make our educators’ salaries competitive among Southeastern states and help encourage our best and brightest teachers to stay in Mississippi."

I know that the figure considered by Mayor Wiseman was a $5,000 a year across-the-board pay raise, which is what House Democrats supported last year.

Right after Gov. Bryant announces plan to change State Seal, Mayor Wiseman jabs Legislature for grandstanding

Earlier this evening during his State of the State address, Gov. Bryant announced he would be supporting legislation that would add "In God We Trust" to the State Seal.

"Year after year, Republican leaders in our State Capitol spend far more time grandstanding than solving real problems. This is unacceptable. As leaders, if we are not devoting our time and efforts to solving these fundamental problems, we are failing our people, and we are holding our State back from its true potential."

It's almost like he saw the "In God We Trust" thing coming.

Watch the State of the State and Democratic Response online here

Thanks to MPB, anyone can watch the State of the State and the Democratic Response online via YouTube. You can either watch it below embedded here, or follow this link to watch on YouTube. The action starts at 5:00 p.m.

Parker Wiseman, the Democratic Mayor of Starkville, will deliver the Democratic response to the State of the State

In a break from tradition, Mayor Parker Wiseman will deliver the Democratic response to the State of the State tonight. Typically, the response is given by a legislator.

It will be aired immediately following the State of the State this evening on MPB.  You can watch it on your local MPB affiliate, listen to it via MPB Radio, or view it online at www.mpbonline.org.

I'll have the transcript of the speech up ASAP.

Wiseman declares victory in Starkville mayoral race

Mayor Parker Wiseman (D) has won reelection tonight over Republican challenger Dan Moreland.  It's shaping up to be a great night for Mississippi Democrats.

Parker Wiseman will likely win Starkville

Numbers from the ground and previous electoral trends make this look like a victorious night for Parker Wiseman in Starkville.

***BREAKING - Starkville GOP mayoral candidate, Dan Moreland, has failed to pay light bill for Starkville parks; will cost $180,000***

The Columbus Dispatch has just reported that the Starkville Parks Commission, an entity autonomous from the city, has failed to pay its light bill for quite some time.  The Commission is run by the Republican mayoral nominee Dan Moreland, who faces incumbent Starkville mayor Parker Wiseman in tomorrow's mayoral race.

The Commission will have to pay just under $180,000.00 to get current on the bills, which are reportedly at least 5 months overdue.

Talk about your bad timing.