When it comes to Jackson’s roads, Lumumba has had limited success as well. He has estimated that it would cost $2 billion just to replace the city’s torn-up roads and fix its century-old water pipes and sewers. But Jackson’s tax base has been declining for years. Meanwhile, state lawmakers killed a local 1 percent sales tax to fix Jackson’s infrastructure, even though the city council approved the tax and Lumumba has been lobbying state leaders for it; the Mississippi legislature is required to approve such tax increases in the state. A federal infrastructure bill would help, of course, but Lumumba has no control of that.

“Making sustainable models work in municipal government is the bedrock of the movement,” says Larry Cohen, chairman of the Bernie Sanders-affiliated progressive group Our Revolution, which endorsed Lumumba the first time he ran and continues to support him. “The concern is where do you get investment? … Otherwise it becomes an almost impossible challenge.”

Mississippi’s Republican Gov. Tate Reeves says he and Lumumba have a good working relationship. But Reeves says the state already invests plenty in Jackson, and that it’s up to the city to better manage its finances. “We want to be helpful. We want to do our part,” Reeves said in an interview at the governor’s mansion. He also said the city should fix its water billing issues before raising taxes: “They understand now that they have to get that fixed long before the request of asking other taxpayers throughout the state or other taxpayers throughout the nation to bail out the Jackson water system.”

Many in Jackson’s Democratic leadership have been frustrated not just by Lumumba’s vision, but by his youth, his brashness, his attitude, his confidence (or arrogance, depending whom you ask), his attempts to circumvent them, his casting them aside.

Last year, for example, Democratic presidential hopefuls sought out Lumumba as a key endorsement in the 2020 primary. In February, Lumumba held what he called a “people’s caucus,” where representatives from various campaigns spoke in Jackson, and attendees voted on the candidates. The 100 or so attendees, according to Mississippi Today, overwhelmingly voted for Sanders. Days later, Lumumba endorsed the Vermont senator. While it might have looked like Lumumba was channeling the views of his constituents, the residents of Hinds County, which includes Jackson, ended up voting overwhelming for Joe Biden in the primary. Democratic lawmakers in Jackson and in other Southern cities — like Birmingham's Randall Woodfin, who also was supported by Our Revolution — endorsed Biden, too.

The process showed that Lumumba is out of step with Jackson, says city councilperson and pastor Aaron Banks, who served as the elder Lumumba’s constituent services representative. “When it comes to a far-left approach, I don’t think that’s the best way for the city of Jackson,” says Banks, pointing out that Mississippi is still a very Republican state. “If the city is going to thrive and have success, we have to find that road in the middle.”

Lumumba pushes back, pointing out that the Mississippi primary took place a week after Super Tuesday, by which point Biden’s win was all but certain. He also stands by the process, which he said gave residents a chance to hear candidates’ platforms.

Lumumba has also earned the ire of many local Black contractors, a group of powerful enemies. Marcus Wallace, who is mayor of Edwards, a small town west of Jackson, owns a construction company that has done business with previous mayors. A few years ago, Wallace invested $200,000 in equipment to fix potholes in Jackson, but he told me he hasn’t gotten any business from the current mayor. Driving around downtown Jackson on a Saturday morning, Wallace pointed out potholes and cracked city streets that Lumumba hadn’t gotten around to fixing. He argues that Lumumba has focused on fixing highly visible streets but has neglected those where poor Black residents live.

“This administration does a lot of grandstanding,” Wallace says.

He told me he and other local construction business owners tried to recruit more candidates to jump into the mayor’s race, but few were interested in challenging Lumumba.

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