Two Democratic candidates for mayor of Greenwood gave their competing visions for the city Wednesday night.
Tavarris Cross and Jelani Barr spoke at a meeting of the Greenwood Voters League.
Also speaking were Democratic Ward 6 City Council member David Jordan and Ward 7 Democratic candidate Lee Edward Scott.
Cross and Barr will face each other and Kenderick Cox in the Democratic primary Tuesday.
If necessary, a runoff will be held May 16. The winner of that will face independent Mayor Carolyn McAdams and Shun Pearson in the June 6 general election.
“I humbly ask for your vote, and most importantly, your prayers. Because I know I cannot accomplish this task alone,” Cross said.
Cross, 40, said the city faces a number of challenges.
“Technology is changing the world around us daily. We must prepare our citizens and especially our children for the future,” he said.
Cross said diversifying the city’s economy can help. “We’ve got to improve our school facilities. We’ve to put people to work — jobs, jobs, jobs,” he said.
Reducing crime is an important step in the process of improving citizens’ quality of life, he said.
“We want to make Greenwood more attractive to live, work, play, and most importantly, raise a family in,” he said.
The election is critical for the city’s future, and citizens can work together to shape that future “as a community and not as groups with different agendas,” he said.
Cross said although the city remains racially divided, he believes he can bridge the gap. “I’m the person to lead the development of this whole process.”
Bringing jobs to South Greenwood is a priority, Cross said. He also said he would like to develop an African-American business district downtown.
“We’re going to have to take control of our own political destiny if we want to see our taxpayers’ dollars and our resources utilized in our communities more often,” he said.
Barr, 32, said his first priority is protecting the residents of Greenwood, and especially those living in South Greenwood.
“We can have nothing else without protection,” he said.
An important component is training police on how to interact with residents, Barr said. He also said he would require that officers live in the city and would institute foot patrols so that officers would have a better understanding of the residents living in the wards.
Barr said education is another important issue.
“We’re going to invest in our workforce. We’re going to provide certification classes; we’re going to provide training classes,” he said, adding that vocational training and adult literacy classes could be held in municipally owned buildings.
Barr said these things can be done inexpensively using volunteers: “Our problems are very inexpensive. It takes effort.”
Jordan will face Charles Edward Stevenson in the Democratic primary. The winner will face Larry “Blue” Neal, an independent
The council has five black members and two whites. Jordan said he knows some of the opposition to him comes from North Greenwood.
“We try to work together when it is feasible,” he said. “But my enemies interfere with my people. They don’t come from South Greenwood; they come from North Greenwood.”
He said Stevenson and Neal “must have been sleeping” if they say that nothing has been done to improve the ward.
“What have they been doing?” Jordan asked.
Scott, who faces fellow Democrats Carl Palmer, Rogrick Wardell and Robert Earl Wilson in the primary, said he is ready to serve.
“As a city councilman, I’m here to work for you — to represent you,” he said.
Scott, a 1980 graduate of Amanda Elzy High School and a 22-year veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, owns Quigly’s Cleaning and Maintenance Service. He promised to help the residents of Ward 7.
“We’re going to get it done one way or another,” he said.
• Contact Bob Darden at 581-7239 or bdarden@gwcommonwealth.com.
