East Texas

By ADAM RUSSELL
Staff Writer

JACKSONVILLE — Candidates for the District 4 City Council seat believe the city remains steady, but agree more must be done to improve Jacksonville.

The District 4 seat, currently held by incumbent Phyllis Wilburn, is contested by Rob Beall, a local business owner, and James “Jimmy” Hugghins, a 52-year-old retired security officer, who hope to replace Wilburn during what all the candidates said is a critical time in the city’s development.

Wilburn said improving infrastructure, including street repairs, building a new city hall and fire station and bringing new businesses into the city top her priority list if she is re-elected. Wilburn said the city has not brought any significant employers to the area in the past few years and must focus on making Jacksonville appealing to prospective businesses. In the past year, Jacksonville has lost two businesses that employed a total of 600 people, city manager Mo Raissi said. Raissi said the impact of citizens losing their jobs has a ripple effect on the local economy from sales tax revenue to housing. Wilburn said beautification of the city would improve the city’s ability to grow in terms of industry, employment and population.

“Jacksonville was a beautiful town and can be again,” she said. “People have moved off to Houston or Dallas, to bigger and better things. (The town) is not what it was.”

Wilburn said volunteers and funding are stretched to the limit and that money from other city agencies should be funneled to projects to improve Jacksonville’s aesthetics as well as to diversify community friendly projects, including a multi-use park system. She said the city is making improvements with current plans for the new city hall and fire department, but more needs to be done.

Hugghins expressed concerns about the maintenance of city streets and infrastructure and said beautification projects are needed in the city. He said the streets in his district are in need of repair and that he was told during a recent council meeting the problem should be fixed in around 10 years. He, like Wilburn, also said the council should be working diligently to bring new industry into and around the city. He said whether it is done by giving limited tax breaks or by making the city more presentable with beautification projects, the process needs to be sped up. Hugghins, who has lived in Jacksonville for three years, said he has run unsuccessfully for city councils in Rusk, Alto and Palestine and whether he wins or loses will remain involved in civic meetings.

“I don’t want on the council to be seen,” he said. “I want to represent the citizens of my district.”

Beall, a longtime resident and business owner, said the city is at a crossroads and that he feels his experience in business and five years served on the chamber of commerce board of directors and as chairman to the Jacksonville Economic Development Corporation will make him an asset to the city if elected. He said bringing manufacturing jobs will bring other growth to the city. Luring businesses has grown more difficult, but he said he has complete faith in JEDCO and hopes that a fiscally responsible effort will be made to improve the city’s stature in the region.

“We need growth regardless of how we can get it,” he said.

He said incentives and tax abatements are a few of the tools the city have when approaching businesses and that Jacksonville’s central location leads him to believe the long-term outlook is good. He said he hopes to bring attitude back to the city while on the council.

“Back in the ‘60s, when manufacturing was taking off, there was a can-do attitude,” he said. “There was an attitude that the sky was the limit and I would like to bring that kind of attitude back to Jacksonville.”

Early voting will continue at City Hall until 5 p.m. today, resume on Monday and end at 5 p.m. Tuesday. Election Day will begin at 7 a.m. on Saturday at the Jacksonville Public Library and will end at 7 p.m.