NEW MONROE MAYOR

Certainly, congratulations are in order for newly elected mayor, Friday Ellis. He comes to the position of leader of the city of Monroe as a guy with little to no administrative and management experience.

One of the major reasons that Mayo was trying to get re-elected was to maintain essential ongoing city business and to embark on newly planned innovative projects for the city. Of course, with this loss, those plans will not take place.

However, Mayo can reflect proudly on all of the accomplishments he made during his close to 20 years of experience in government in the city of Monroe. As an experienced professional, Jamie Mayo effectively managed over 1,200 employees. He was also able to financially manage a $60 million plus annual budget and maintain a 14.1 million fund balance AA Bond rating.

Certainly, Jamie Mayo will miss his interaction with city employees as well as taking care of the business of the city. City employees, who came in contact with Mayor Mayo on a regular basis, will also miss him. It will take him some time to get accustomed to the valuable time that he will have being away from all of the city responsibilities.

He will miss the headaches that go along with addressing concerns of citizens and he will miss the criticism from persons who simply want to criticize Jamie Mayo because he did not take care of things their way but in the very best interest of the city. Surely, he will find solace and peace in that deserved down time to relax and settle into a life for Jamie Mayo.

Of course, these are speculations. According to extremely reliable sources, several area businesses are attempting to add Jamie Mayo to their managerial staff. They are aware of the unique track record he has for attacking projects, large or small, and getting the job done. Whatever, his future holds, the entire city of Monroe should wish him well with appreciation for his diligence and success that he leaves behind.

As the city prepares to accept new leadership, citizens will expect nothing less than quality expertise and success with any future endeavors.