Editor, The Commerial:
I attended a City Counsel meeting recently and the main topic of discussion was the mayoral election and the
fact that our population has dropped below 50,000 and the statue that will possibly have an effect on this years’ election.
The question is why has the population dropped? While the disculpatory finding of this loophole in the statue poses a Catch
22 for the city, the timing of this in favor of the present mayor seems suspicious. I guess if I were running for re-election, I
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
would be looking for loopholes, too, but the added cost to the citizens should be considered before just doing away with the
curent election that is already in process.
Continuing with the current elections and starting with a clean slate in 2014 and putting everyone’s office up for re-election would be fair to everyone, except maybe the current mayor. I feel that if he is confident and competent in the current job that he is doing, he will have no fear of his being re-elected and let the election process continue as is.
Otherwise the appearance of more shenanigans by the mayor’s office and his supporters may do more harm than good to the already shaky image of the city.
Laurell Hall
Pine Bluff