2 rivals vie for council return
Former council members Bill Brumett and Glen Brown Sr., candidates for Ward 3, Position 1, are seeking election in hopes of being able to provide solutions for Pine Bluff ’s future.
Brown, who also served 16 years on the Jefferson County Quorum Court, won the Democratic Party nomination for the Ward 3 seat, and Brumett, who served on the council for 22 years, ending his tenure in 2018, is running as an independent.
Brumett served as chairman of the Special Senior Citizens Center Committee that developed the King Center at MLK Park. He chaired the Information Technology Committee that developed the PBTV Channel 16 on cable. He served as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and Ordinances and Resolutions Committee, was chairman of the Advertising and Tourist Promotion Commission, and is a member of the Pine Bluff Area Transportation Committee.
“I will use my experience to help Mayor [Shirley] Washington continue our progress of the last few years,” said Brumett, owner of Brumett Agency Inc, Auto Express and two Tax Centers of America franchises in Pine Bluff. “I will continue to work to make things happen for small businesses in Pine Bluff.”
As vice president of the Pine Bluff Small Business Association, Brumett said he will work to improve the efforts to make residents feel safe by supporting the police and fire departments to give them the support they need to do their jobs including being an advocate for better pay.
Brown, who has lived in Pine Bluff all his life in Ward 3, is also an advocate for the police and fire department, stating that his top priority would be to change the city’s crime image.
The Watson Chapel and University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff graduate said he would work toward helping young people focus on economics and business
ownership, increasing first responder pay, and allocating more first responder funds so law enforcement officials can have the equipment they need to do their jobs efficiently.
“We are not ever going to erase crime, but we must get ahold of crime to where it is shocking to hear if something happens, because right now it’s shocking to hear when crime doesn’t happen,” said Brown. “It’s almost normal and that is what we need to change. Crime should not be normal here.”
Brown said there were a lot of plans he wanted to put into action during his terms on the City Council that are still relevant now.
“The things I would like to do is work on our streets and roads. We need to pave more streets, especially in our back-wood locations,” he said. “One of the biggest problems here is drainage. If it rains for a length of time our streets are flooded”
Brown’s concerns also lie with blight removal.
“We are tearing down houses, but I would like that every house that we tear down have a plan to build another one back,” said Brown. “If we don’t, we are going to lose that population, and then we’ll have a lot, that if the grass doesn’t remain cut, it will become a wilderness.”
Brumett said his key focus is to stay on top of the financial health of the city by being sure that officials keep the city’s reserves adequately funded. He also said he wants to make sure every dollar is spent to the benefit of the residents.
“As a certified insurance instructor and a registered professional engineer, I have the unique skills and training to evaluate the financial information and other projects to monitor and make sure the best choices are made,” he said. “I will be a voice of reason on the City Council and make my vote count for what is best and positive for our city.”
In a previous release, Brown, whose son, Glen Brown Jr. now serves on the council, said the experience and strong relationships that were built during his tenure in both the City Council and the Quorum Court puts him in a much stronger position to tackle all legitimate concerns such as are taxes, fiscal responsibility, neighborhood safety and economic development,
“I will definitely work with the mayor and other City Council members,” said Brown. “In any government, you’re always going to have disagreements, but the thing you have to do is collaborate and come up with solutions that are best for Pine Bluff.”
When it comes to collaboration, Brumett said he will work with Go Forward Pine Bluff by being an advocate for progress, but making sure decisions are best for all including the Urban Renewal efforts and The Generator to create opportunities and jobs.
As an advocate to get jobs to Pine Bluff, Brumett said he would be available to talk about issues and help neighborhood-watch and neighborhood associations achieve their goals by being there for them.
For Brown, he said his works speaks for itself, as he continued to serve the residents, even after his election defeat.
“I love being a public servant and doing for the people,” said Brown. “You cannot beat me loving Pine Bluff.”