Being home to Mississippi State University, Starkville is struggling to position itself as a 'progressive' city in order to attract industry and young professionals. However, the 'old guard' still clings to the past and recently elected a city council that seems at odds with most of the younger and more liberal, or progressive, citizens.
This has been demonstrated recently in the firing of Chief Administrative Officer Lynn Spruill, who by all accounts was a very capable and dedicated public servant.
No reason was given for her firing, other than one given by alderman Ben Carver: (from the Starkville Dispatch) -- 'Aldermen neither went behind closed doors to discuss the personnel move, nor gave a public reason beyond Carver's admission that he "prayed about it" and "made his mind up years ago."
"This is what the Lord wants me to do," he said in the meeting. "We have the right under state law to craft and create ... the team we want to work with for the next four years. I hope as a community, we can move past this. You'll see great things in the next four years. The sky isn't falling."
Most comments from the public deride the excuse that 'the Lord wanted him to do it', with one editorial comparing Mr. Carver to Moses and the Burning Bush. Most people feel the board did not agree with Ms. Spruill's 'personal life'.
Starkville is struggling hard to get out from under the thumb of the 'hard religious right' that so dominates the Mississippi GOP. This unwarranted firing appears to be a step backwards.
http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=25777
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