Good morning friends, followers, and citizens- As many of you know, there have been a lot of struggles faced for me as a councilwoman since I started. I came in to serve on the City Council hoping to see changes for my ward, that it would not be ignored anymore and changes for the city as a whole. The original reason that I became interested in stepping up to serve on the Poplar Bluff City Council came after my disabled mother had a ceiling in a water damaged rental home fall in on her while she was sleeping. That was the final straw after I had witnessed her and several of my friends and family get evacuated from their homes during the flooding of 2008 and 2011. This flooding was to blame for a lot of water damaged homes where citizens lived in South Poplar Bluff. I was very upset that even with the flood situation from 2008, it happened yet again with levees breaking and properties damaged and I knew then that my ward was being ignored and left behind as other projects were being pursued. I wanted to make a difference and to change things, to work for the people here. I became very interested in city government and I started to take significant notice of other things that were being either ignored or handled shamefully. Whether agree or not, one well known example of that was when the city threw out many citizen signatures for the open access petition. Myself among many others had to sign it more than once because of that. It was like our time and willingness to step up and do that meant nothing to them. I was bothered yet again by seeing little children trying to walk along the crumpled sidewalks in South Poplar Bluff. And- I was bothered by seeing more children pushing bicycles through grass growing from the ditches that were taller than their little bodies. I was bothered that the poorer areas of our city seemed to be left to deteriorate while other projects were going forward that appeared to be much more important to city leadership than the people and businesses that were already here and struggling to get by. I witnessed many people through my volunteer work to help the unemployed on the PB Help Wanted Page struggle to find work that would allow them to pay for the roofs over their heads and food to feed their kids. When I finally started campaigning during my run for city council, I met people who were tired, seemingly oppressed, and they needed a voice. I vowed to become their voice and I have not given up since. Even with all I have faced, they know I am here and though sometimes I wonder how much of the hostility I can take from those who refuse to change and accept what the people want, I wont ever stop fighting for them. I remember needing a voice to speak up for me when my family struggled and a few kind souls here and there helped me step by step to grow and build a better life. For that reason I give back to my community and that is very important for me to do. Ive had some criticism that maybe Im too bold and too blunt but to me it has become necessary otherwise, I get railroaded and chastised! I have brought my concerns to those who were there before me when I first was elected. I felt shoved off and that those I was speaking for did not matter and were seemingly a pain to the same old same old business as usual process. So Ive had to find other ways to push on for them because I was the minority on the council and they made SURE that I knew that. I believe that we have to have a good strong and fair base in our local city government for Poplar Bluff to reach its full potential. We have council members taking credit for all of the growth like they physically had a shovel and hammer to build it all! The fact is that the people here built it and the only thing in their way of making it the best it can be is the leadership that has already been in place for too long. Once the voters send them packing, we can bring more fairness, more out of the box ideas for growth, more ability to foster an even greater sense of community, and we will thrive!!! I vow to you that if citizens pick council-members that have the people in their hearts first, that Poplar Bluff will one day be a place that will thrive above and beyond what any of us expect. That is why I have put my heart and support behind the very smart and articulate Dr. Jack Rushin, the hard working average man Mr. David Johnson, and the good hearted Disaster Team Captain Peter Tinsley. They are all different politically but they all have something really good to bring to the City Council. I need their help and they need your votes on April 8th. Today is the last day to register to vote and absentee voting is going on now until April 7th. Please make sure you participate this year and I humbly ask you to vote for them so that we can serve you on the City Council. Angela Pearson
Posted on: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 16:10:09 +0000