Over the past month, the three candidates for mayor of Greenwood have addressed a wide range of topics, including education, infrastructure and division between North and South Greenwood, to name a few.
But during a candidate forum hosted by the Greenwood-Leflore County Chamber of Commerce Tuesday, they focused on what makes each of them different.
Greenwood’s Democratic candidates will meet in the primary next Tuesday.
About 150 people attended the forum at the Leflore County Civic Center, where candidates each had five minutes to speak. The order of the speakers was decided at random.
Jelani Barr, a Democrat and political newcomer running for mayor, first took the helm, saying he was pushing for social equality and justice.
“Greenwood is very, very inconvenient for the majority of the people who live here,” he began. “Not for everyone. For most of you, Greenwood is doing just fine.”
Barr went on to say that most of the people in attendance were “pillars of the community” but added that policy makers and community leaders have failed the city. He said that the only options for many Greenwood residents are low-paying jobs and that politicians fail to address the problem of black-on-black crime, though they readily magnify racial tensions.
Barr has been assisting the team defending Dr. Arnold Smith, the Greenwood oncologist accused of plotting unsuccessfully to kill attorney Lee Abraham. He briefly mentioned that case to support his claim that elected officials don’t recognize tension, saying that “a black man gets shot execution-style on Market Street and you keep your mouth closed.”
He was referring to the death of alleged hitman Keaira Byrd, who was shot and killed by an investigator from the state Attorney General’s Office in April 2012 at Abraham’s office.
Barr said that leaders in Greenwood are constantly vying for power and that the city has failed because “the decisions that you made to hurt each other only ended up hurting the people who you are supposed to be representing.”
Incumbent Carolyn McAdams said her message would be what she has done, not what others have not done.
McAdams said her administration has renovated City Hall and extended employee benefits, including a 3 percent raise for city workers. She spoke about the various ways she has worked to make Greenwood healthier, with projects such as a $350,000 grant to repair broken sidewalks in town and bike lanes.
She said she is proud of the recycling program her administration pioneered — the first in the Delta. “Our recycling center has kept more than 300 tons of recyclables from ending up in our landfill,” she said.
She also cited the grants to help beautify Greenwood’s downtown and announced the receipt of a $1.1 million grant from the Department of Transportation to renovate Main Street from Johnson Street to Front Street.
McAdams said she would intentionally leave the Howard-Johnson streetscape project off her list of accomplishments, “because that project was started during Mayor Harry Smith’s administration, even though my administration made some significant changes and implemented the entire project.”
Sheriel Perkins, a Democrat who served as mayor for two and a half years before McAdams defeated her in 2009, said she thanked God daily for the opportunity to be mayor. She opened her presentation by quoting the book of Matthew: “Wisdom is shown to be right by its results.”
Perkins said she demonstrated her accessibility with an open-door policy and lunchtime chats. She said she had demonstrated leadership in her ability to manage a sound budget without laying off any employees or cutting city services.
The first mayor’s youth council was also on the list of ways Perkins said she has proven her devotion to Greenwood.
She said there were other projects she helped ignite but had to see another administration carry through. She said she laid the foundation for repaving Strong Avenue, Poplar Street and Claiborne Avenue as well as the groundwork for the Howard Street improvements, making sure the city “met all our obligations so we could receive the funds and implement Howard Street successfully.”
She also said the work being done to improve Baptist Town had been her vision, although she did not get the chance to carry it out.
“I will ask that you look at the ripple effect of one mayor’s vision with no strings attached,” said Perkins.
McAdams, an independent, will face the Barr-Perkins winner in the general election on June 4.
Some candidates for the City Council also spoke.
Margaret Clark, a Democrat, is running against Ward 3 incumbent Ronnie Stevenson in Tuesday’s primary. She said she would focus on resolving the flooding issues there and would vote for competent school board members.
Marcus Cooper, a Democrat facing incumbent Charles McCoy in Ward 4, said he was running because he believes in the ward. Among the fresh ideas he would bring are a Facebook page and website “to keep residents of Ward 4 informed.” Cooper also said he would provide a Ward 4 grant, funded by a portion of his first-year salary, to make improvements there.
Stevenson and McCoy did not attend the forum.
Two of the three Ward 5 candidates spoke: Andrew Powell and Norman Smith, both Democrats. The third candidate, Dorothy Glenn, did not attend. They are seeking the seat held by Tennill Cannon, who is not running again.
Powell said military service helped instill in him the importance of hard work. “We can attract jobs and industries, but when they get here, we must have our citizens prepared for those jobs and industries,” he explained.
Smith said he wanted to “stem the tide of outward migration of our young people.” He lamented the fact that young people educated in the school system often go off to serve other communities instead of coming back home.
“We can’t go on like this,” he said.
For Ward 6, Sen. David Jordan defended his 28 years as City Council representative. He said he hoped Greenwood can look more like one city, specifically regarding infrastructure in South Greenwood. “Downtown Greenwood looks nice, but South Greenwood doesn’t,” he said. “People will come here ... I want the grass cut. I want dilapidated houses moved.”
Larry “Blue” Neal, a Democrat running against Jordan, said it’s time for a change in Greenwood and “time for our leaders to stop fighting each other.”
Neal said that although he respects and loves Jordan “like a brother and a father,” he sees a need for new leadership.
Neither candidate from Ward 7 was present, but Elcue Sloan spoke on behalf of Democrat Willie Preastly, who is running against incumbent Carl Palmer.
Sloan said that he had worked with Preastly when she was manager of Popeyes and that she is a kind but firm leader who would serve Greenwood well.
• Contact Jeanie Riess at 581-7235 or jriess@gwcommonwealth.com.
