Open letter to Mississippians from Mike Moore

December 13, 2007

Four years ago I made a decision to leave elected public office to spend more time with my family and to build some financial security for them. We have all been very happy with that decision. I enjoyed my 26 years in public service working for Mississippi. Elected office gave me great opportunities to do a lot of good for not only my state but the whole country.


I guess I am remembered most for the Tobacco case and the billions of dollars that have flowed into public coffers in all the states. I remember that work more for how many lives have been saved and how many thousands of children will never suffer from the terrible tobacco-related diseases like heart disease and lung cancer.

I was in Washington D.C. this week to give a speech for the U.S. Justice Department to over a thousand people from all 50 states who were there to learn about how Boys & Girls Clubs and Law Enforcement can work together to stop the crisis that places millions of America’s children at risk from violence, poverty, and lack of quality education. I was the keynote speaker this year as I was at the first such gathering four years ago, although the crowd had doubled in size. They wanted to hear about what we had done and were doing in Mississippi to reduce youth crime and improve education levels, how we doubled the number of Boys & Girls Clubs, and began a program that is beginning to show positive results in the Mississippi Delta. The response was overwhelming – “inspirational” they said, - “motivating”. Hundreds pledged to do the same thing we were trying to do in Mississippi in their states. It certainly made me feel good to get that kind of response to my speech, but more importantly, it reassured me that you don’t have to be in elected office to make a difference.

Of course, I met with the leadership in the U.S. Senate while I was in town and talked with many of my friends, former attorneys general who serve their states well as U.S. Senators. The message was clear - the job of Senator is important and fulfilling; the polls show I could win; and I would have the money I needed to win the race. It all just came down to whether it was best for me and my family. The truth is I made my decision four years ago, and it has been a good one for my family and me. In the last four years I made every baseball game Kyle had, Tisha and I have had much more family time, and I have been fortunate in my law practice. From the public service perspective, I am heavily involved with Boys & Girls Clubs, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, and have recently been asked by Cal Ripken, Jr. to help grow his foundation’s work not only here in Mississippi but all across America. I am representing a large nation against the Tobacco industry, chair Mississippi’s new Tobacco Advisory Council, and we are about to kickoff a very big project in the Mississippi Delta that I think will quickly improve the lives of thousands of kids in the most impoverished area in the country. The point is I am happy doing what I am doing, my family is happy, and I look forward to making a big difference in my state and nation. I have seriously considered the U.S. Senate vacancy as my friends urged me to do, but I have always known that what I am doing now is good enough for me. I appreciate all the encouragement to run. I hope I can count on the same support and help when we ask for help for the children in the Mississippi Delta.

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