What is the plan?
Editor, The Commercial: Thirty-seven days into the new year, seven homicides have occurred and of the seven, 100 percent have been Black.
I notice the many candidates wanting to run for office, and that’s a good thing. A recent article in The Pine Bluff Commercial was titled, Pine Bluff “most miserable” city. What plans do these candidates have for returning Pine Bluff to a “safe and vibrant city?”
One thing that may help would be not electing skin color or candidates who lack skills. This criterion has taken this city almost to the point of no return. Gentle readers, 38 years of voting skin color and political parties have produced the misery that others are viewing and writing about.
During the ’70s, Pine Bluff was north of 50,000 residents. We had big-box grocery stores. Downtown there were men’s and women’s clothiers, movie theaters, restaurants and hardware, department, and jewelry stores, among other businesses.
We all felt safe going out shopping downtown, eating, or just playing a fun game of pool at night. Our city was a wonderful place to come, do business or raise a family.
I recall this school nursery rhyme, “Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall, and all the King’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty together again.”
Pine Bluff was once what you could call “Humpty Dumpty,” a solid city, but today, we are a challenged city that must work extra hard to re-establish some sense of sound footing, not only downtown but in neighborhoods throughout the city.
I believe we can recapture a portion of the glory days, but it will take a changing of the guard and voting habits to make a difference. Elect those that will support and pass an ordinance requiring council members serving on the council to resign their position before seeking another city government office, i.e., mayor.
Commit to re-establishing the Civil Service Commission and giving this authority to a diverse group of Pine Bluff citizens. If we want to stop the deterioration of our city, voters must be willing to look past color and family. Running the city government requires some professional skills with critical thinking abilities.
Anyone elected to serve in 2022 should have a written skeletal plan that addresses crime, recruiting businesses, street repairs, ditches, and other infrastructure items. What’s the plan to remove and demolish dilapidated houses, and how will they correct the flooding problem?
What will they do to work with convenience stores, nail shops, restaurants and other businesses to keep the outer appearance of their businesses clean, parking lots free from potholes and unsafe conditions?
Crime always has a better chance to thrive in trashed, unclean cities where the upkeep invites illegal activity.
REV. JESSE C. TURNER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PINE BLUFF INTERESTED CITIZENS FOR VOTER REGISTRATION