By MARCUS MCCLAIN
NEA Town Courier
Blytheville city councilman John Musgraves formally announced his candidacy for mayor on July 8 at the Greyhound Bus Station.
Musgraves has served on the city council for 12 years and currently chairs the finance committee. He has previously chaired the code enforcement and police and fire committees as well.
As a business owner himself, Musgraves voiced his focus on recruiting more business to the city. He noted that developments, such as Ford Motor Company’s expansion into Mason, Tennessee, just under 100 miles away, should be a priority.
“The next level is about rebuilding our city; bringing back in good paying jobs from manufacturing to technology to retail. Once we bring jobs back and build the community up, the regrowth starts there. People will stay here, build here and come here,” Musgraves said.
“Back in ‘86-’87 we had the Milwaukee Tool, Magnatech and all those factories out there. Now, they are sitting there dormant. Why are we not trying to recruit business here? I know people are going to say, ‘yes we are,’ but we’re behind the time. We can’t keep saying ‘Yes, we are’ but we don’t see anything developing.”
Bringing jobs and reversing the
downward trend in population are two goals that go hand in hand for the city. By prioritizing the current population with better paying jobs, Musgraves believes the city can attract others.
“What we have now is 12,000 plus people in our city,” Musgraves continued. “We want to keep that 12,000, and rebuild from that. We can’t go back and grab the 2,800 that left in the last 10 years,” Musgraves said.
“But if we continue to allow so many people to leave every ten years, where are we going to be? There’s a little town right down the road that’s going to be bigger than us.”
While further addressing the city’s needs, he also noted qualities that he believes makes Blytheville great. He mentioned the “top-notch” golf course at Thunder Bayou, the Blytheville Sports Complex and a school system trending upward with a new superintendent.
“These are a few of the things we have to offer in our city,” Musgraves said. “And yet, we hear a lot of people say ‘I don’t want to move to Blytheville’. Well, I love Blytheville! I’m not going anywhere, I’m here to stay and I’m here to be a part of the rebuilding situation we have to go through.”
“I’m running for this seat because I feel I have the tenacity and understanding of city government to lead this city to the next level,” Musgraves said.
“It takes time to revitalize a city, but we’re going to all sit together and find ways to make Blytheville better.”
Musgraves joins fellow councilmember John Mayberry, current city human resources director Melisa Logan and community activist Juanita Jackson as mayoral candidates in the upcoming election.