PINE BLUFF -- Five candidates, including incumbent Mayor Debe Hollingsworth, will vie for Pine Bluff's top political job in 2016.
Hollingsworth, Theodis Davis, Shirley Ruth Washington and Pine Bluff Aldermen Steven Mays and Thelma Walker all filed as Democrats for the March 1 primary election.
No Republicans filed to seek the post.
This will be the second time that Mays and Walker have taken on Hollingsworth. The aldermen, along with seven other candidates, lost to the current mayor in 2012. Hollingsworth, 63, garnered more than 5,300 votes that year, unseating Carl A. Redus Jr.
If elected to a second term, the mayor said, she would continue to focus on reducing crime in the city. She said she'd also focus on economic development.
"We have seen a marked decrease in crime statistics during my administration," Hollingsworth said. "I am proud of the progress we have made in improving the quality of life for our citizens. That was the one thing I heard during my 2012 campaign. People wanted crime reduced and their city cleaned up."
According to the Pine Bluff Police Department, crimes reported in the city have decreased about 18 percent over the past four years. Hollingsworth said she attributes the reduction to her efforts to clean up areas of the community with higher crime rates.
Hollingsworth, along with police and community volunteers, has held several cleanup dates that involve fanning out among neighborhoods and picking up trash, talking to residents and helping to beautify the area.
As for economic development, Hollingsworth said revitalizing downtown would be a key component for success. There are plans in place, she said, that will "amaze and astound people when they are announced."
Part of those plans include Simmons First National Bank, which is based in downtown Pine Bluff. Bank officials said that this afternoon, their foundation will announce economic development plans for the city that will include blueprints for growing the local tax base.
"It's an exciting time for us," Hollingsworth said. "This is going to be really big."
Davis, 71, has been critical of the Hollingsworth administration, saying, "This community deserves better than it is getting."
He called Pine Bluff's residents "progressive people with expectations, hopes and dreams of a future with a decent quality of life, predicated upon having the opportunity to live up to your God-given potential."
Davis said he would focus on jobs, business and economic growth, public safety, infrastructure development, housing, improvement in community race relations and growth in the city's population.
"Reinventing the city means growing back our population to 50,000 by the 2020 census," Davis said.
"Further, key to our successful administration and implementation of our goals and objectives will be developing a cooperative, respectful relationship with the city council."
According to the 2010 census, Pine Bluff has a population of 49,083.
Davis spent 27 years at the Gerber Products Co. and retired as vice president of marketing. He is now employed as an instructor at University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff School of Business and Management.
If elected, Davis said, his administration "will have to drive numerous initiatives simultaneously to help us catch up. This can be done utilizing our extensive management experiences, which unlike any other candidate in the race, I am the one prepared to hit the ground running Day 1."
Mays, 54, said that if he were elected, he would be a better steward of taxpayer dollars by holding city workers accountable for their jobs.
"We need to make sure everyone is giving 100 percent when they are working," the alderman said. "This city is about serving its taxpayers, and we need to make sure that issues are fixed right away when someone has a problem."
Mays added that "putting people first and maintaining our city properly will help bring in new jobs. I also want to upgrade our downtown and make it a place where people feel comfortable to gather and enjoy their lives."
Mays said he has a 10-point plan for the city that includes upgrades to public safety as well as youth programs and an arts and entertainment district.
"I love Pine Bluff," Mays said. "I just want it to be the absolute best it can be. And we are not seeing that right now."
Mays has served on the City Council since January 2011 and is employed as an automation clerk at the Pine Bluff Arsenal.
Walker, 74, who has served on the City Council for 10 years, said she would like to see pride restored to the city.
Walker said: "Pine Bluff needs reviving. We have major problems with our leadership in that we have people in high positions that are just learning on the job.
"I would not only run an administration with solid experience, but I would have a more open policy toward city workers, department heads and the citizens. As it is now, it seems like we have a secret government. No one seems to be told what is going on in the mayor's office. And when we find out, it's already something that has been done."
Walker said she would also focus heavily on education. Tying Pine Bluff's leadership to the city's three school districts is an important economic development tool, she said.
"We have to keep our kids engaged in school and keep them there," Walker said. "I have a real passion for education and want to make sure we are giving our kids the best education we possibly can."
Walker is a retired administrator for Pine Bluff Adult Day Care and spent 20 years on the Pine Bluff Civil Service Commission.
Washington, 67, said her main goals as mayor would be to create better job opportunities, reduce crime and improve education in the city. Washington is a retired principal from the Pine Bluff School District and has an extensive background in education.
In a news release, she said, "Throughout my career, I have worked with community-centered committees and organizations with the ultimate goal of seeing our community excel and our youth grow into positive and productive citizens."
Washington also said she would promote "strong community engagement and collaboration" as mayor.
She completed her undergraduate studies at the UAPB and earned a masters degree from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
Her work experience includes six years as a classroom teacher for the Wabbaseka School District, six years as an Upward Bound instructor at UAPB, 16 years as a classroom teacher and 16 years as a school administrator for the Pine Bluff School District. Washington retired in 2010.
State Desk on 11/23/2015