Mayoral Race Profile: Email: Jay Bryant

JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) – As Election Day approaches, Jonesboro mayoral candidates continue to make their case to voters.

Councilman LJ Bryant said his experience in city government makes him the best candidate to be the next mayor. He told K8 News about some other reasons.

Why are you running for mayor of Jonesboro?

“So I was on the city council for seven years. and in seven years I’ve seen us make a lot of progress on some things, and on others I haven’t seen us make as much progress. The city council plays a truly important role in the community. We control the budget and we control the policies. But in everyday life, the person who does everything, the person who runs everything, is the mayor. And especially in terms of what I want us to do in terms of quality of life, mosquito control and crime reduction. It’s not really about being one of twelve, it’s about being one of one and being the person who moves the ball around the court every day.”

What are the top three issues you want to focus on and why?

“Yes, of course, which is why Rex Nelson said that the cities of the future will be clean, safe and fun. And you can play with this order, but they are all very connected. Of course people want a safe community. Of course people want a clean community. And people want fun. And it all means different things to different people. I think there’s a lot of elements to it from a security standpoint, right? Like crime, of course, but there are other security elements. There is pedestrian safety and there is cyclist safety. So all these things are very important. And what’s most interesting is that there are different opinions on this matter. And we invested money, for example, in a future sports complex. But for many people, this means a comprehensive trail system. And in my seven years, we haven’t made much progress on this issue. We’ve put in a couple of miles, and if we continue at this pace, I don’t know if my grandchildren will see that we have a comprehensive trail system. And it’s important that we passed the plan in 2017, but we need to find a way to fund that plan and make meaningful progress. When it comes to cleanliness, there are many elements involved. And it’s not just litter on the side of the road, of course that’s important, but we can “get out” of it and that’s why we need to make sure we’re focused on beautification. It takes place downtown and on the streets, and since we’re sitting downtown, on Kate’s side of the building we’re sitting in, there’s not much distance between cars and pedestrians. So we have to make sure that people feel safe and that they are safe. And it all comes under the quality of life component, the fun component, and the cleanliness component.”

So, for everyone else running for mayor, what sets you apart politically, personally or otherwise? How are you different from other candidates?

“I take what I do very seriously. I mean I train for half marathons, run 60 miles a week and compete to win. And when it comes to this city, I mean I’m fighting for this city to win. And everything I talk about in my 10-point plan, about reducing crime, about bike lanes and reducing mosquitoes, I’m competing to win. I’m honest, I don’t want to be unfair, but I’m tough. This is not a game, this is not a beauty contest, this is not who will be the most beautiful person, this is not a popularity contest, this is not who will go for the most things. It should be about who can do the most, and that’s what I’m going to do. You know, I tried to highlight the contrast between me and my opponents in the discussion. I mean, essentially, the mayor and I are members of the city government. You have two people outside of city government, and so for me, in my opinion, it’s biased against myself, I think that by far I have the most experience in government, the most experience specifically in city government. And I have a clear 10-point plan of what I want to do for this city. And I think the question that Ronald Reagan said in the eighties that I would like to ask voters is, “Do you feel better than you did four years ago?” If the answer is now, it’s time to make a change. If you answer no, you can choose one of three people. Choose me. I have experience, I have a record and I have a vision to do something new.”

Why should Jonesboro residents vote for you, outside of normal politics?

“When I announced this, I promised to serve only one term. The governor of Virginia, a state of 9 million people, cannot run for re-election. You can do 12 years of work in 4 years in politics if you don’t constantly worry about pleasing people. You make difficult decisions. And in general, based on my experience in business and politics, you will have a decision: 50 to 50, in two or three years it will be 70 to 30. Many people will come to see why you made such a decision, they will give it a chance and see that We have made some progress. So we are now at a crossroads on many of the issues in our community that we have been talking about. And I think to truly focus on the work requires tough, decisive leadership, and a willingness to stop running around, make tough decisions, and make meaningful progress.”

K8 News will air profiles of all four Jonesboro mayoral candidates on K8 News at 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 28 through Thursday, Oct. 31.

For coverage of the 2024 vote and more information on Jonesboro mayoral candidates, visit kait8.com/vote2024/

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