Tales from the Trail: Paul Winfield

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Though his own political career came to an abrupt pause, former Vicksburg, Miss. Mayor Paul Winfield has words of encouragement for young people seeking careers in public service.

“Be able to filter a high volume of information, stay grounded, stay focused and avoid the pitfalls that come with leadership,” he said.

Winfield believes that many young men and women have an opportunity to grow something beyond what everyone else sees. He says it is incumbent for the older generation to support younger people working to secure a place in the political sphere. 

His advice for Mississippi is “different factions should take the time out to support one another and stop allowing a cultural divide to prevent us from having positive dialogue.”

Elected in 2009 at the age of 34, Winfield was the youngest mayor in the history of the city known for one of the Civil War’s most crucial battles. He states that one of the challenges of being mayor at such a young age was “getting up to speed before making judgement calls that would affect us for the next 10, 20 or 30 years.” 

The city definitely saw some changes during Winfield’s time in office. He said that his team focused on building up the Clay Street corridor, introducing new businesses, branches, restaurants, etc. The domino effect of these newfound commodities saw more jobs being brought into town, along with more businesses that out of town visitors would be familiar with. During his time in office, the hotel occupancy was at the highest it had been since the mid-90s; likely an effect of the aforementioned businesses his team helped guide to the city.

Another positive about his time in office; Winfield’s administration inherited an estimated 12 unsolved murders. Winfield remembers his team worked and successfully solved all but one of those cases. He contributes the success to the fact that his administration contributed city resources to promote youth development.

Inspiration

Winfield lists his father, late attorney James Winfield, as his main inspiration for pursuing a career in public service. James Winfield was the first African-American attorney from Vicksburg to return and practice law in Vicksburg. Paul cites James as a powerful force in the Vicksburg community. James taught Little League Baseball and mentored young men in the community. Growing up and seeing the positive impact his father had on his community, Paul decided to follow in his footsteps and worked to become an advocate for the people of Vicksburg.

Education

Winfield is a Vicksburg native. He graduated from Warren Central High School and attended the University of Mississippi for a political science degree. He also has a juris doctorate from Southern University in Baton Rouge. He says he pursued his law degree in order to advocae for people in Vicksburg and surrounding areas.

Experience

Before being elected as mayor, Winfield operated a law office in his hometown. He later became the first African-American board attorney for Warren County in 2005, a position he held until he was elected mayor.

Advice

When asked how he dealt with negative press that he received while in office, Winfield responded by quoting an old saying, “If you don’t have people who dislike you, then you’re probably not doing anything right.”

No one will be able to please everyone, and Winfield has always been aware of that. 

-Interviewed by Aaron Terrett