Turner Seeks City Council Seat

[SUBMITTED] James Earl Turner has announced that he is a candidate for Mena City Council Ward 1 Position 1. He previously served two terms on the Mena City Council, serving from 2007-2010.

James Earl is a fourth generation native of Mena and Polk County.  His parents are Imogene Turner and the late Glen Turner.  His wife of 30 years is Ewanta Turner.  He has two sons, Eric with his wife Emily and their children Emma and Jacob, and Lucas with his wife Trina and their children, Bailey, Braeden, and Bracey.

In announcing his candidacy he said, “I am proud of Mena, Polk County, and Western Arkansas and I want to do all I can to help our citizens work together to make Mena an even better place to live, work, raise a family and retire.  There are some of the greatest, most talented, inventive, and hardest working people in the world living in our area. They are our biggest asset.  It takes teamwork and unity, working towards common goals, for a community to prosper and grow economically, culturally, and in quality of living.  Even though our economy is improving, we still face challenges in maintaining our city infrastructure, providing services, and making improvements to our great city.  I want to help assure that we continue in a common sense approach by again serving on the Mena City Council.

“I will work to make Mena more inviting to industry, businesses, tourists, and others that may want to visit or relocate to Mena. We need to make sure that our police department and fire department has the tools and training that they need to continue doing their jobs in the best way they can.  We need to continue the resurfacing of our city streets before they deteriorate to a point they can’t be resurfaced without rebuilding.  This year the city council appropriated money to begin replacing and adding sidewalks and handicapped ramps on the sidewalks, I think it’s important to continue this in the future.

“I believe that the Mena Regional Health System, the Mena Public Schools, and Rich Mountain Community College are essential to bringing better paying jobs to Mena and Polk County and we should work with them when possible for the overall benefit of our community.

“I want to be a part of the team working towards these goals and I ask for your vote and support in the November election.”

Turner will face incumbent Darla Martel in the race.

About Author

Jeri Pearson

Jeri is the News Director for Pulse Multi-Media and Editor of The Polk County Pulse. She has 10 years of experience in community focused journalism and has won multiple press association awards.

See author's posts