Paul Winfield is an opportunistic businessman. After being elected mayor of Vicksburg in 2009 — which came with an $81,000 salary — Winfield said he would continue to be attorney for the City of Port Gibson, $30,000 more a year.

Vicksburg’s charter does not forbid outside employment, but holding two jobs has not been common for city mayors. The charter states that the mayor and both aldermen “shall devote their entire time, or so much thereof as may be necessary to the operation of the civic government and the performance of their respective duties…”

Winfield, after all, had been Port Gibson’s city attorney before he became mayor of Vicksburg. He stated his professional obligation in staying on as city attorney. Two weeks ago, Port Gibson’s board of aldermen removed Winfield from the city attorney’s post, meaning Winfield has the option to devote his professional attentions to Vicksburg. Since his election, he has been given an $8,000 bump in pay and drives a city-provided SUV. Nearly $90,000 and a car in a town this size in an economy such as ours should require laser-light focus on the tasks at hand.

But in the same story that announced his release from Port Gibson duties, Winfield touted his work with other cities in the state, including Canton and with the Jackson Public Schools, but he wouldn’t elaborate. He intimated that he plans to serve as a public finance consultant for other cities.

After his election in 2009, Winfield was quoted in a story in this newspaper that he is “fully committed” to being mayor of Vicksburg, but also “fully committed” to attorney for Port Gibson. If one is fully committed to building a model airplane, can one also be fully committed to building a model of the Titanic?

Winfield’s opportunism should raise the collective eyebrows of the people in this city who elected him. It also should beg the question, “What, exactly, are you fully committed to? The city? Or yourself?”