Rex looked at him in disbelief and finally said, “Well, thanks for the warning. May I ask why?”
“Do I need a reason?”
“Sure you do. You have problems with the way I run my office?”
“Well, I guess you could say that. I’m sick of the corruption, Rex. Fats Bowman has been in bed with the mobsters since he took office twelve years ago. He skims from every part of the vice and doles out cash to the other politicians. Most are on the take. You know all this. He regulates the business and allows the likes of Lance Malco, Shine Tanner, Ginger Redfield, and the other club owners to do their dirty business.”
Rex laughed and said, “So you’re a reformer, another politician promising to clean up the Coast?”
“Something like that.”
“They’ve all fallen flat on their faces, Jesse. So will you.”
“Well, at least I’ll try. That’s more than you’ve done.”
Rex thought for a long time and finally said, “Okay, the battle lines are drawn. Welcome to the fight. I just hope you don’t get hurt.”
“I’m not worried about that.”
“You should be.”
“Is that a threat, Rex?”
“I don’t make threats, but sometimes I give warnings.”
“Well, thanks for the warning, but I’m not going to be intimidated by you, or Fats, or anyone else. I’ll run a clean race and I expect the same from you.”
“There’s nothing clean about politics around here, Jesse. You’re being naive. It’s a dirty game.”
“It doesn’t have to be.”
* * *
Jesse had envisioned an announcement party in which he would invite friends, other lawyers, maybe some elected officials, and a few committed reformers to declare his candidacy. This proved hard to organize because there was so little interest in such an open display of reform. Instead of launching his campaign with speeches and headlines, he decided to sort of ease into it quietly.
The day after the meeting with Dubisson, he met with a group that included several ministers, one Biloxi city councilman, and two retired judges. They were thrilled with the news that he would run and pledged their support and a few bucks for the campaign.
The following day, he met with the editorial staff of the Gulf Coast Register and laid out his plans. It was time to shut down the clubs and put the mobsters out of business. Gambling and prostitution were still illegal and he promised to use the law to get rid of them. Alcohol was now legal in the county, and, technically, the state liquor board would not grant a license to sell booze if a club allowed gambling. He was determined to enforce the law. One obvious problem was the fact that stripping was not illegal. A club with a valid liquor license could operate freely and employ all the girls it wanted. It would be almost impossible to monitor those clubs and determine when the stripping led to more illicit activities. Jesse acknowledged the challenge and was vague as to any specific plans.
The editors were delighted to have a campaign that would certainly create a lot of news, but they were skeptical of Jesse’s optimism. They had heard it all before. They pointedly asked how he planned to enforce the laws when the sheriff had little interest in doing so. His response was that not all cops were on the take. He was confident that he could gain the trust of the honest ones, lean on the state police, and get indictments. Once he had them, he planned to push hard for prosecutions and jury trials.
Jesse was careful to stay away from naming any of his potential targets. Everyone knew who they were, but it was too early to provoke outright warfare by openly challenging the mobsters and crooks. The editors pried here and there, but Jesse refused to call names. There would be plenty of time for that later.