One City – Two Tales

With the upcoming mayoral election in Monroe, we are being presented with two very different tales of this one city. When you cast your vote for the person that you choose to serve the city of Monroe, consider the tales that they each tell and examine the proof of their accomplishments. Three candidates are in the race for mayor. Of those, one candidate, Betty Ward Cooper, is a first-time mayoral candidate with no city-wide or mayoral experience that can be examined for accuracy and effectiveness. However, the remaining two candidates have served as mayor of Monroe in recent years. Previous mayor Jamie Mayo, his successor Friday Ellis, and Betty Ward Cooper all propose needed improvements within the city of Monroe. Additionally, Mayo and Ellis profess accomplishments during their respective tenures that addressed crime reduction, improvements in infrastructure, and increased community involvement. However, facts regarding their terms as mayor of Monroe convey significantly different tales. Jamie Mayo served as Mayor of Monroe from 2001 to 2020. During Mayo's tenure, FBI crime statistics for the city of Monroe fluctuated. However, during the final years of his tenure, available statistics indicate that overall and violent crime rates continuously declined by 26% (3.005.42 to 2,224.74 per 100,000 population) from 2016 to 2017 and by 37% (2,224.74 to 1401.92 per 100,000 population) from 2017 to 2018. During these years, Mayor Mayo had implemented several programs designed to make Monroe's communities safer and provide Monroe's youth with positive community influences and activities. The shot-spotter program enabled law enforcement personnel to locate and respond to criminal acts more easily and quickly while they were in progress, thus discouraging such antisocial behaviors. Over 400 million dollars in infrastructure improvement were made in communities throughout the city. The OK (Our Kids) program provided Monroe's youth with community-based mentoring, exposure, and activities that were directed by members of the Monroe Police Department. The recreation center-based after school tutoring and activity program provided a safe haven for youth where certified teachers bridged the learning gap between Monroe children's school and home learning experiences. Mayo conducted a study and planned for acquisition of downtown Monroe properties to build a state of the art arena and conference center that had the potential to bring millions of tourism dollars and additional jobs to Monroe. In contrast, Friday Ellis has served as mayor for the city of Monroe since 2021. Mayor Ellis promised, and indicates that his administration has provided, increases in community-wide improvements, significant decreases in crime, and infrastructure advances. To date, his results have been mixed. Mayor Ellis has implemented downtown property buyouts and development initiatives, many of which were proposed during Mayo's tenure. Several of those proposed downtown buyouts have fallen into private hands. However, the multimillion-dollar event center that Mayo proposed was implemented in West Monroe rather than in Monroe. Citywide infrastructure improvements seem to ignore large swaths of predominantly African American neighborhoods. FBI crime statistics that are available during the Friday Ellis mayoral tenure indicate that in 2022, violent crimes in Monroe increased from 2021 to 2022 by 13.8% (reflected by 2737 offenses per 100,000 population, a rate that is 640% higher than the national average.) Additionally, overall crime rates in Monroe are 307% higher than the national average and have increased annually by 3.2%. In 2022, Monroe had the distinction of being in the bottom 10% of US cities that reported crime which reflected a 1 in 37 chance of YOU being a victim of a violent crime. The OK program was discontinued during the Ellis administration, and educational resource programs for youth all but died. Whose tale of Mayoral accomplishments best serves you and your community? When you cast your vote for Mayor of Monroe, remember that anyone can spin a tale that states what they plan to do or have done for you and your community. However, the facts described above demonstrate what each of these candidates ACTUALLY HAVE DONE for the city of Monroe. Cast your vote wisely! Election 2024, Vote Saturday March 23, 2024 from 7am till 8pm.

Photo Jamie Mayo