John Kane Ditto (born May 18, 1944) is an American politician and formerly the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

. He was born in

Bowling Green, Kentucky Bowling Green is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Warren County, Kentucky, United States. Founded by pioneers in 1798, Bowling Green was the provisional capital of Confederate Kentucky during the American Civil War. As of the 2 ...

. Ditto, a Democrat, served as Mayor of the City of Jackson from July 3, 1989 until July 1997. Ditto was previously elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives from District 66, where he served from 1987 to 1989. Before entering the political arena, Ditto practiced law for 18 years with Watkins Ludlam Winter & Stennis in Jackson. For five years he was managing partner of the firm. As a practicing attorney, his practice developed a heavy emphasis in municipal finance. Ditto proposed a new African studies institute that would foster trade and academic exchange with the continent. Ditto pushed minority-owned and small business venture financing investigations and efforts to expand medical and data-processing facilities near downtown. He wanted a spacious convention center downtown and the re-opening of Lake Hico to citizens for recreation. On May 25, 2012, he participated in a

focus group A focus group is a group interview involving a small number of demographically similar people or participants who have other common traits/experiences. Their reactions to specific researcher/evaluator-posed questions are studied. Focus groups are ...

as part of the

needs assessment A needs assessment is a systematic process for determining and addressing needs, or "gaps", between current conditions and desired conditions or "wants". Needs assessment is part of planning. It can be used to clarify problems and identify appro ...

process of the Restorative Care Hospital and the Mississippi Baptist Medical Center by meeting with other community leaders who had direct knowledge of the health service needs of disadvantaged populations in the Jackson metropolitan area.

Personal life

Ditto is married to Betsy Ditto. The couple have four children, including Raymond Ditto, President and CEO of Ditto Residential, an award-winning development firm based in Washington, DC. They have nine grandchildren. Ditto attended

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

for undergraduate studies and received a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ditto, J. Kane Living people Ditto, Kane Vanderbilt University alumni Ditto, Kane 1944 births Lawyers from Jackson, Mississippi Democratic Party members of the Mississippi House of Representatives