Fourth Judicial District Attorney-elect Michael Jackson has suddenly found himself in the national limelight months before he is set to take office.

Jackson made headlines a few weeks ago after he barely beat incumbent Ed Greene to become the first black district attorney for this district, and the only black district attorney for the state.

Jackson’s victory

reached the inside pages of the prominent Jet magazine, a small, weekly periodical focusing on fashion, entertainment, lifestyles and politics in black culture.

In the June 21 edition of Jet, with Lionel and Nicole Richie on the cover, there is a brief description of the district attorney election results and a picture of Jackson in the Dallas County Courthouse.

“No one from Jet contacted me. I had no idea I was in the magazine until somebody told me,” Jackson said. “I contacted my mom, who went to the grocery store to get a copy and confirmed it.”

Jackson said the picture of him in the magazine, along with the information, must have come from a wire news service, such as the Associated Press.

This was not the first time the Selma attorney and former City Court judge has been featured in the magazine. He was also mentioned in Jet when he became judge in the early 90’s.

“I was surprised to see myself in Jet again,” Jackson said.

The attorney said there has been a lot of focus on him lately since winning the district attorney position.

Before his appearance in Jet, Jackson was also asked to speak on a Washington, D.C. radio program about his upcoming position and the case concerning a possible arson of a local radio station.

“A lot of folks took interest in the (district attorney) race,” Jackson said. “Everyone wants to know about me being the first black D.A. here and the only one in the state.”

Jackson said he has been getting lots of phone calls from family and friends who saw his face in the magazine and congratulating him on the victory.

Yet Jackson is not letting all this attention go to his head. His main focus is getting prepared to take office in January.

“I’ve been busy formulating ideas about stepping out violent crime,” Jackson said. “I’ve been meeting with people in the community and formulating ideas on what needs to be done.”

Crime has become a major problem in Selma, Jackson says, and he wants to reduce the number of crimes being committed as soon as possible.

“When I get into office, I’m going to hit the ground running,” Jackson said.

Once he does finally get in office, there could be even more media attention placed on Jackson as everyone watches to see what his first few actions will be.