Poteau, OKLAHOMA – The Poteau Chamber of Commerce’s March Lunch and Learn was held at The Donald W. Reynold’s Community Center in Poteau. The topic of this month’s meeting was a Meet the Candidates for the City of Poteau Municipal Election, which will be April 2, 2019.
Karen Wages, CEO of the Poteau Chamber welcomed everyone to lunch and invited them to get in line for the BBQ sandwiches catered by Brenda Blake owner of The Lumber Jack Café located inside Ron’s Discount Lumber in Howe. Poteau City Councilman Clay Bennett, who is running for re-election, sponsored the lunch.
After everyone had gone through the lunch line, Wages gave the invocation then introduced the candidates for each office. Jack Scott who is a mayoral candidate and city council candidates Don Harmon and Matt Lamb were not able to attend the luncheon.
Each candidate in attendance had 5 minutes to introduce himself and tell the audience what he would like to accomplish if elected to his respective position. All the candidates have good ideas about how to improve Poteau. “Change” seemed to be the common theme of all their plans.
Mayoral candidate Chris Ford said, “No matter who is elected mayor, we will see change.” Former mayor Jeff Shockley has been in office since 1999 decided no to seek re-election. Ford continued with “I want to be a part of the future of Poteau.”
Candidate for mayor, Jarrod Ridenour spoke about being a public servant. “Seeking and holding public office is a noble cause.” He said that elected officials should be accessible, and that the City need to be efficient. He believes that developing partnerships with other entities “will be a key component for the next mayor’s strategic plan.”
Mayoral candidate Scotty White said that as mayor he would “brings hearts and minds together…When tragedy strikes, we come together strong. We should do that on a daily basis.” His plans include cleaning up dilapidated buildings and trash. He said that the street department employees were “highly skilled in the specialized jobs they do whose skills shouldn’t be wasted on roadside maintenance, especially during the summer.”
City council candidate Ron Lamar said that he “likes challenges.” He said that he doesn’t quit. His plans include working on the south side trash and animal situations. He said, “We need to pitch in to make Poteau the cleanest city in LeFlore County…I’m working on it now but can’t do it by myself.”
Candidate for city council Rodney Darnell said that it would take money for Poteau to grow and adapt the economy. He said, “We need to be transparent. I will be fiscally responsible. The city’s website needs updated to include events and what the city is doing as well as what’s going on with city government.”
City council candidate Clay Bennett has 20 years’ experience in city government. He listed several improvements the city has made during his time as a city council member. “I was part of bringing the bypass to town and getting the PARC.
Over 1000 kids use the fields out there every year. We are building 2 new fields out there. We are working with KIBOIS on the purchase of property in Industrial Park to house 50 employees. We’ve signed a 100-year lease with the Boys and Girls Club for a new building. We closed the pool to decide what we needed to do. We found a business in the area that could make the liner DHS approved. That liner has been installed and we are planning to open the pool this summer. We also plan to do some improvements at the PARC and the WPA structure at the pool to make them ADA compliant.” Bennett also said that the “over 120 city employees are now self-insured” which means that only the city will decide when or if the premiums increase.” He also said that the two new fire stations and the addition of more fire-fighters has increased the ISO rating which helps anyone living within a 5-mile radius of a fire station with their home owner insurance rates.
Mick LeFevers, candidate for city council is no stranger to city goverment having served on the council and feels he can help the new mayor, having worked with three former mayors and he will be fiscally responsible.
Candidate for street commissioner, Bob Woodson said that Poteau needs three more employees in the street department and that the department’s employees need to be help accountable. He said, “they shouldn’t just drive a pick up around town and not stop to pick up trash.” He said, “Let’s all work together. Let’s get everybody working together. I’m ready to give y’all some service.”
Street Commissioner candidate Jim Seale said, “Poteau is already great. I want to make it greater. My crew works hard every day even with the challenges we face…100 miles of streets and 400 man holes.” According to Seale, “the trash problem is a lack of pride in our town.”
If you are interested in learning more about Poteau’s city candidates, plan to attend a Candidate Forum at the LeFlore County Museum (within Historic Hotel Lowrey) on March 26th to hear each candidate’s ideas for the future of Historic Downtown Poteau and the city of Poteau. The Forum begins at 7pm.
If you live in the Poteau city limits and are registered to vote, research each candidate and make an informed decision about which one you want to vote for on April 2nd. Polls will be open from 7:00 AM until 7:00 PM.
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