Mitchell seeking Ward 3 spot on Blytheville council

Jessie Mitchell is seeking the Ward 3, Position 2 position on the Blytheville City Council.

Mitchell discussed her candidacy during Saturday's Blytheville ward meeting, held the Blytheville Public Library.

Born and raised in Blytheville, Mitchell is the mother 14 and the owner of First Step Tax Service, a business she has operated for 15 years.

Mitchell said she was motivated to run for city council because of concerns on a variety of issues, including deteriorating conditions in public housing, poor pay for sanitation workers, alleged injustice regarding several police cases, declining population and high unemployment in Blytheville.

"Your concerns are my concerns. Your struggles are my struggles," Mitchell told the crowd at the ward meeting. "We need change now -- not in another 50 years. History has to continue to be made."

Mitchell said if elected, she will be persistent in her quest for community solutions.

"Either change is going to happen, or they're going to run away when they see me coming," she said.

Mitchell will face incumbent John Musgraves in the November 4 general election.

aweld@blythevillecourier.com