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Chuck Younger sits Friday in The Dispatch conference room discussing his future in politics. After 12-plus years in the state Senate, Younger announced this week he will run for Northern District transportation commissioner in 2027. Emma McRae/Dispatch Staff\t\n\t\t\tEditor\u2019s Note: District 17 Sen. Chuck Younger sat down with members of The Dispatch editorial board on Friday to discuss his legacy in the state Senate, as well as his plans to run for Northern District transportation commissioner in 2027.\nPick up the phone.\nThat\u2019s the advice Chuck Younger said he has lived by in his 12-plus years as Mississippi\u2019s District 17 senator, and it\u2019s the advice he would offer anyone seeking public office.\n\u201cHave your phone available and take care of your people,\u201d he told The Dispatch during a meeting with editorial board members on Friday. \u201cWhen somebody called me, if they needed something, I\u2019d try to get it fixed or help them out as much as I could. \u2026 That\u2019s what you\u2019re supposed to do as a public servant.\u201d\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tChuck Younger\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\nYounger, of Lowndes County, announced this week he intends to run next year for transportation commissioner for the Northern District, which includes 33 counties, following incumbent John Caldwell\u2019s announcement that he does not intend to seek reelection.\nAt age 63, Younger admitted with a chuckle, that job might come with fewer phone calls.\n\u201cI\u2019ve got grandkids, fixing to have another grandchild on the way,\u201d he said. \u201cBelieve it or not, this will be less time.\u201d\nBut it is work with which Younger is familiar, as he serves as chairman of the Senate Highways and Transportation Committee. In that role, he helps lead discussions on legislative funding for the Mississippi Department of Transportation. If elected transportation commissioner, he would join a three-member commission that would set project priority across all modes \u2013 from highway construction and rail to ports and airports.\nCaldwell, in his second term, has clashed with colleagues as well as with MDOT director Brad White during his tenure, according to reporting by Mississippi Today. Younger said that has delayed projects unnecessarily.\n\u201cI understand the process of what they do,\u201d Younger said of the Transportation Commission. \u201c\u2026 And (I) get along with people. You\u2019ve got to get along with the other commissioners, and I think that\u2019s kind of been lacking a little bit, to say the least. I\u2019m looking forward to trying to get everybody on the same page \u2026 where it will be a comfortable setting for everybody in the room.\u201d\nYounger cannot qualify to run for office until January, when the 2027 state election cycle begins, but he said he was advised to announce his intent to run early so \u201cit might discourage other candidates coming out.\u201d\n\u201cI had several people reach out to me and told me I ought to think about this. I talked about it with my wife,\u201d he said. \u201cOf course, we prayed about it. I think it\u2019s good timing, and I also think I\u2019ve got a good person that\u2019s going to fill my spot (on the Senate).\u201d\nYounger confirmed he had talked with Trip Hairston, now president and District 2 representative for the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors, about running for Senate.\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTrip Hairston\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\nWhile he was not prepared to openly endorse Hairston, Younger confidently cosigned the supervisor\u2019s qualifications.\n\u201cHe would be great in Jackson,\u201d Younger said of Hairston. \u201c\u2026 He\u2019s very knowledgeable. He\u2019s a smart guy. He\u2019s smarter than I am.\u201d\nHairston told The Dispatch he is very strongly considering a run for senator for District 17, which includes most of Lowndes County, as well as parts of Monroe and Oktibbeha counties. He plans to announce his intentions in the coming weeks.\nLegacy, unfinished business\nYounger\u2019s announcement comes at a time when the futures of Mississippi University for Women and the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, both in Columbus, are open questions.\nThe W is in search of a new president while interim Scott Tollison leads the university. This comes on the heels of thus far failed efforts on the state level to consolidate The W and Mississippi State University or at least move MSMS, a residential specialty high school, to the MSU campus in Starkville.\nYounger said he does not expect those efforts to revive in 2027, since it will be an election year, but he feels well positioned to advocate for MUW and MSMS during his final legislative session.\nHe also wants to advocate for tougher penalties for drivers who don\u2019t have liability insurance.\n\u201cWe have to do something about it because I know so many that have been hit and (the driver who hit them) will have liability insurance papers in their glove box, but they don\u2019t actually have it anymore. They\u2019ll drop it,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I know folks are poor, and a lot of folks can\u2019t afford stuff, but you need to be able to afford liability insurance if you\u2019re driving.\u201d\nAs for the landmark success of his time in the Senate, Younger points to the legislature changing the state flag in 2021, though he admitted \u201csome people may not like\u201d him saying that. The former flag, adopted in 1894, contained the Confederate battle emblem in its canton.\n\u201cI wasn\u2019t so much for it, but you know, when most of your guys are in the National Guard that are Blacks, they don\u2019t want to see the criss-cross bars, even though the history of it is the St. Andrew\u2019s Cross,\u201d Younger said Friday. \u201cBut still, all the crap that went with it from the old days, they didn\u2019t want to see that.\u201d\nYounger said he will miss leaving the Senate.\n\u201cI got along with everybody in the Senate,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve just enjoyed meeting people from all across the state and breaking bread with them.\u201d\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\tZack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n \n \n Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 30 articles to cdispatch.com. 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