Brown in lead against Brumett

Glen Brown Sr. was smiling ear to ear Tuesday night as he surveyed his lead over opponent Bill Brumett. With 75% of votes counted, Brown had 2,142 votes to Brumett’s 948 in the race for a Ward 3 position on the Pine Bluff City Council.

Although the results were not final, Brown, along with his sons, Pine Bluff Alderman Glen Brown Jr. and Gavin Brown, were pleased with the numbers as they joined their supporters at the Jefferson County Election Commission office.

“I worked harder in this campaign than I would have had to work. That’s for sure,” said Brown, who added that his opponent had name recognition.

Campaigning for the candidates, both of whom previously served on the council, had its challenges because of covid-19, but that didn’t stop either from making their presence known in the ward that they wanted to represent.

“We have knocked on every door in our ward. We made at least 600 individual letters and signed every one of them,” said Brumett, who

said he mailed out over 2,800 of them and used social media to encourage people to go vote. “Our goal was to not leave any stone unturned.”

Brown said he put boots on the ground, walking the neighborhoods as he put up his own signs. “I wanted to talk to people. I wanted the honks, blows, and the waves, as I put it,” said Brown. “That’s what you get when you put up your signs.”

Brown said that with covid-19, many were reluctant to participate. “Sometimes you get lucky and catch people outside, but because of the pandemic, if you go to their door, if they don’t know you, they are not going to open their door,” said Brown.

Brumett said there were a lot of people who were concerned and that a lot of people may have voted early because they were afraid something might happen to keep them from being able to go at the last minute.

Brumett wants to implement programs and look into the public safety of the employees, but as the results came in, he told the Pine Bluff Commercial that the race was already decided and that he couldn’t make up the difference.

In a Facebook post, he stated how disappointed he was in losing the early vote 2-to-1.

“Race is total control in Pine Bluff. We did all the basics. Judy and I went door to door and mailing to all voters. We are very sad. We put our heart and soul into this town. I’m afraid Pine Bluff will spiral toward further demise. Bless you all. Our family has hard decisions ahead. Pray for Mayor Washington,” read his post.

As the vice president of the Pine Bluff Business Association, Brumett said he will definitely be involved, win or lose.

Brown said he never stopped being active and will continue to help people. “The time I have been away, it was like I am still on the council,” said Brown. “A lot of people thought that I was, and I let them think that because I wanted to help them. I live here and am not planning on going anywhere. I can’t give up.”