Pine Bluff’s nine mayoral candidates jointly addressed the public for the first time Thursday night at the Donald W. Reynolds Community Services Center in an Arkansas Community Organization-sponsored forum.
During the two-hour event verbal punches were kept at a minimum under the strict control of ACO leader Maxine Nelson and moderator Dustin Barnes, a Little Rock newscaster.
All but one of the questions were posed to each of the candidates, but incumbent Mayor Carl A. Redus Jr. was singled out on two inquiries from the audience. Redus was asked why he filed a recent lawsuit seeking an injunction against the Nov. 6 mayoral election and how statistics indicating a steadily declining crime rate are figured.
“As mayor, I must always follow the law,” he said of the suit, scheduled for a judicial hearing in Little Rock on Tuesday. He said “it’s up to a judge” to determine “why the (Jefferson County) election commission didn’t tell the public” about voting changes Redus and his attorney, Gene McKissic, believe became effective when the city’s population dipped below 50,000 in 2010. He said any additional statements should come from “my legal counsel.”
He discounted a notion that local crime statistics are somehow being fabricated, saying such numbers are “required” and “derived” through established recording procedures coordinated with the state. Redus said crime reduction here is a product of “more resources than ever before” being applied toward public safety. He said the police department has its highest-ever number of officers, “good leadership” and “state-of-the-art technology.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
But in a reply to a group question on addressing the city’s crime issue, Peter F. Daniels Jr. took an opposing view. “You don’t have to be told that crime is high,” he said, scanning the audience before adding that citizens may not be aware that “morale at the police department is low,” primarily because of “a lack of confidence in (departmental) leadership.” He said he will soon announce a 10-point plan – including “new leadership” concepts – to ensure future police improvements.
“Give them a green light,” Alderman Steven Mays said of police officers and a “zero tolerance” approach to criminals. “Somebody’s got to be in control of Pine Bluff, and it doesn’t need to be the thieves and the thugs.”
Saying the city has “a culture of crime,” John James Jr. believes law-abiding citizens must band together “to improve” Pine Bluff’s overall identification. “I want compassion instead of zero tolerance,” he said, stressing that a mayor should be more in touch with the public and citizens’ needs. “The city can’t be run from an office,” he said.
Debe Hollingsworth believes public safety requires “short-term and long-term” solutions that complement one another. She said leaders would be wise in devising plans combining research on “neighborhood needs” with firm enforcement. She thinks enhancing educational opportunities with an active partnership between the city, its three public school districts, Southeast Arkansas College and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is a “key” in breaking the crime cycle.
Alderwoman Thelma Walker feels that stronger cooperation between local police and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office would be helpful. “Together, we can do better,” she said
Clarence Davis, responding to a question on how jobs can be created here when the city has the state’s highest unemployment rate, said he figures SEARK and UAPB could also be a part of the equation in developing “the economy” and helping to create new jobs. He said employment internships involving the institutions’ students would be beneficial at all levels.
“We need to create our own jobs, grow our own jobs,” said Daniels.
“Let’s not kid ourselves. From California to New York, people have heard about Pine Bluff,” he continued, adding that those persons “don’t have a high opinion” of the city. He said job development here likely won’t occur by waiting on outside industries to locate here, but rather determining local and area needs and starting companies to satisfy them.
When asked about potential youth programs, Kent Broughton said a more immediate need might be ensuring that all of the city’s children are eating regularly. “Some children are going without meals,” he said, calling for a collaborated public/private effort in eliminating the problem. He said steps must be taken in erasing the city’s 28-percent poverty rate, which is 10 percent above the state average.
Tim Whisenhunt said more volunteers are needed to aid youth in their development, and employers can help in that endeavor by granting workers time to donate their services to community causes. Whisenhunt also said that he supports the city’s living wage ordinance and would see that it’s enforced. He said that if for any reason the city couldn’t pay its workers a living wage, he would cut his salary as mayor.
Redus said he believes he deserves to be re-elected because of the “many improvements” marked during his eight previous years in the office. He pointed out that when he first took the post, the city had only $258,000 in its reserve account and today, Pine Bluff is experiencing “financial security” with a $3.4 million stockpile. “I’m the only candidate who had overseen a $30-million budget,” he said.
Following the forum, Redus was asked if he had signed notarized paperwork associated with the filing of his lawsuit. Redus, who was attending the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on the indicated date of the signing, said his wife, Trudy, had signed in his absence and such practice is legal.