Platform

Jonesboro is at a pivotal time in its history. While our community has  maintained the feel of a small town; our current size means that  we have actually graduated to the status of a small city. With this change comes both positive and negative issues for us to address together. Keeping our families safe is paramount and along those lines having a top-notch police force along with other first responders is critical. Planning for the future in these departments will always be a priority with me. Having a safe environment in which to raise your family and work, live, and play involves many other quality of life issues, as well. With a city as great as Jonesboro, we need to continue moving forward with improved parks complete with integrated biking and walking trails. Continuing to develop a series of sidewalks to allow for pedestrian traffic that connect vital parts of the city is also a priority. Many of our university students do not own cars and for their safety and convenience, safe sidewalks are necessary. Sidewalks connecting neighborhoods to the city will provide access to services for many who do not have dependable transportation. As far as a long-range plan is concerned, having an aquatic center where we can host swim meets and other events can provide a revenue stream for the city that isn’t just limited to the facility itself. Athletic events hosted at an aquatic center can also produce revenue for our hotels, restaurants, and retail outlets. A city our size needs a venue such as this. I will do what I can to make sure that this amenity moves forward. Some other projects that we could consider on an even more long-term basis would be a performing arts center, botanical gardens, and a science/children’s museum. While these might seem like a stretch, they are projects that we could begin to study and determine their feasibility. If we plan for our future and maybe even dream a little, our city will be a model for progress and we will be more likely to keep our graduates and young people in the area. We do have a diverse workforce; however, we do need to work toward attracting more jobs and companies that will recruit from our university graduates. Too many of our graduates leave our area upon graduation. Providing the quality of life amenities that will attract and sustain our growing work force has to be a top priority of our city government. I am asking for your vote because I have a sincere desire to serve the community, I have the experience and education that will lend itself to the position, and I want to see Jonesboro move forward. Let’s move #ForwardTogether and work toward making Jonesboro the leading city in not only Northeast Arkansas but the entire state. #VoteMcClain

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