Jackson Mayor Derek Dobies, one day removed from a City Council meeting, and two days removed from their appointment of Kelsey Heck to fill the Fifth Ward vacancy, joined WKHM to talk about the appointment.

We asked about the common argument against the 26 year-old Heck, saying she lacks experience. “I would disagree with the assessment.” Dobies said. “I think she has a lot of experience, just different experience. I think everyone has different niches and different experiences to draw from.”

Heck meanwhile told WKHM that she was encouraged to go for it after not applying during the first round. We asked Mayor Dobies if he was one of those friends encouraging her to apply. “I talked to her about in the original application phase, and she ended up not applying for whatever reason, and I think that there were other council people that probably encouraged her in the next round. You know, I’m a fan of Kelsey, and I’m a fan of some of the other people that applied as well.” Dobies said.