Controversial Miss. Mayor Dies After Losing Primary

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Federally indicted Jackson, Miss., mayor dies soon after losing re-election bid in primary

By HOLBROOK MOHR | Associated Press | 1 hour, 14 minutes ago in US


The mayor of Mississippi's largest city died early Thursday, less than two days after losing a re-election bid in a contentious Democratic primary that came a week before his second federal trial. He was 60.

Mayor Frank Melton died peacefully at 12:10 a.m. at a Jackson hospital with his wife by his side, city spokeswoman Goldia Revies told The Associated Press.

Melton, who had a history of serious heart problems, was taken to the hospital from his home by ambulance on Tuesday night, shortly after polls closed.

At an emergency meeting Wednesday, the City Council tapped its president, Leslie Burl McLemore, to be acting mayor.

Unofficial results show Melton came in fourth of nine candidates. The top two finishers _ Harvey Johnson, the former mayor Melton unseated in 2005, and city Councilman Marshand Crisler _ advanced to a May 19 runoff.

Next week, a second trial was set to start for Melton and a former bodyguard, who each faced two federal civil rights charges related to a sledgehammer attack on a duplex on Aug. 26, 2006, that Melton considered a crackhouse.

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