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Steve Holland (politician)

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Steve Holland
Member of the Mississippi House of Representatives
from the 16th district
In office
January 1985 – January 2020
Preceded byA.C. "Butch" Lambert, Sr.
Succeeded byRickey W. Thompson
Personal details
Born (1955-11-05) November 5, 1955 (age 69)
Tupelo, Mississippi, U.S.
Political partyIndependent (since 2020)
Democratic (until 2020)
Residence(s)Plantersville, Mississippi, U.S.
Alma materMississippi State University

Daniel Stephen Holland (born November 5, 1955) is an American politician who served as a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1985 to 2020, representing the 16th district. He was also a contender for the Democratic nomination in 2008 Mississippi's 1st congressional district special election but he lost the primary runoff to Travis Childers.

Family, education, and career

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Steve Holland was born on November 5, 1955.[1] His father was a farmer and his mother, Sadie Holland, was active in local politics.[2][3] While serving as the elected county judge, his mother was targeted in the 2013 ricin letters incident, but she was unharmed. James Everett Dutschke, plead guilty to sending the ricin letters.[4] Dutschke attempted to frame local conspiracy theorist Kevin Curtis for the crime, but police ruled out Curtis as a suspect after investigators realized he did not know what ricin was.[5]

Holland attended Mississippi State University. Because his father was a part-owner of a local funeral home, he was able to get a job there when he was young. He worked as a funeral director for more than 40 years. He saw his work as an undertaker as being a type of local ministry or public service, especially for poorer families, to whom he offered some services on a sliding scale. He also believe that helping families during the grieving process helped his political career, as it brought him into contact with thousands of potential voters.[2]

Mississippi House

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Early in his career, Holland helped pass legislation supporting organ donations in Mississippi.[3]

In 2007, he was instrumental to the passage of a "trigger" bill which would ban abortions in the state of Mississippi, should the Supreme Court of the United States overturn its decision in Roe v. Wade, commenting that "he was 'fed up' with the multiple 'nit picky' bills anti-abortion advocates were trying to pass to limit abortions in the state. 'I thought we will settle this once and for all (by introducing legislation to ban abortions if Roe was overturned.) You don’t have to introduce another bill.'"[6] James Everett Dutschke, who target Holland's mother in the 2013 ricin letters incident, unsuccessfully ran against Holland in 2007.[7]

In 2012, Holland submitted a Bill to the Mississippi Legislature to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico—for all official uses within the state—to the "Gulf of America".[8] This bill is a reflection of Holland's sense of humor, and is his way of criticizing the priorities of the Republicans in the House. Similarly, he co-sponsored a bill in 2017 to donate $1 million to President Donald Trump's proposed border wall, the same year when Mississippi's operating budget was $300 million short.[9]

Career end

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In March 2017, Holland announced that his doctors had diagnosed him with dementia, and that he would not seek re-election at the end of his term in 2019.[10] However, in 2019 Holland announced that he would seek his 10th term for the State Legislature as an Independent.[11] He was defeated by Democratic candidate Rickey W. Thompson.

Holland's switch in party affiliation was speculated to be an attempt at avoiding a defeat to Thompson in the Democratic primaries, with the Daily Journal noting that Holland had "outspokenly identified as liberal" and, if victorious as an Independent, would have nonetheless been "certain to caucus with Democrats."[12]

Filmography

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List of documentary films
Year Title Role Ref(s)
2024 The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga Himself [3]

References

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  1. ^ "2008 Voter's Guide" (PDF). djournal.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 9, 2008.
  2. ^ a b Wilson, Charles Reagan, and David Wharton. 2015. “Death Your Way: Reflections of a Southern Undertaker.” Southern Quarterly 53 (1): 242–60.
  3. ^ a b c Long, Emily (December 13, 2024). "The Kings Of Tupelo: Who Steve Holland Is & Why Curtis Believes He's Involved In The Organ Conspiracy". Screen Rant. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
  4. ^ "Man who sent Obama ricin sentenced". POLITICO. Associated Press. May 19, 2014.
  5. ^ Levitt, Barry (December 11, 2024). "The Shocking True Story Behind The Kings of Tupelo". Time. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
  6. ^ Harrison, Bobby (June 29, 2018). "Key state Democrats helped pass 2007 law to ban abortions if Roe overturned". Mississippi Today. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  7. ^ Robertson, Campbell; Howle, Cynthia (April 24, 2013). "2 Tangled Lives Collide, Again, in Ricin Case". The New York Times. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
  8. ^ "HOUSE BILL NO. 150" (PDF). Mississippi House of Representatives. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
  9. ^ Nave, R. L. (January 31, 2017). "Lawmaker: Mississippi should give $1 million for U.S.-Mexico wall". Mississippi Today. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
  10. ^ Harrison, Bobby (March 24, 2017). "Rep. Holland vows to soldier on after dementia diagnosis". Daily Journal. Archived from the original on March 25, 2017.
  11. ^ McArthur, Danny (September 8, 2019). "Third party, independent candidates look beyond two-party dominance". Daily Journal.
  12. ^ Bedillion, Caleb (March 3, 2019). "Party switches come as qualifying ends". Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
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