Pine Bluff’s newly elected (and re-elected) officials were inaugurated yesterday, January 1, 2017; the local inauguration ceremony was held at the Pine Bluff Convention Center: Mayor Shirley Moorehead Washington and city council members Lloyd Holcomb, Jr. (Ward 1), Win Trafford, Jr. (Ward 2), Donald Hatchett (Ward 3), and Bruce Lockett (Ward 4).
Mayor Shirley Washington was elected in 2016 to her first term as mayor after a run-off with the incumbent. Washington ran on the slogan “One Pine Bluff Stronger” to make the point that all citizens, no matter their income, for example, are one when it comes to community; all are one when it comes to Pine Bluff.
Mayor Washington, who has a master’s degree from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, spent 38 years in public schools in Jefferson County as a teacher and administrator. Also, she has been involved in the community as long as anyone can remember. Key examples of her service include serving as President of the Pine Bluff Education Association and a member of the following: Board of Directors of the Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas, the Pine Bluff Beautification Facilities Board, the Jefferson County Board of Governors, and a life member of the NAACP where she serves on the Education Committee of the Pine Bluff Branch.
These experiences combined with her personable nature, sense of teamwork, and strong work ethic make her a great leader and executive. They also have given her a view of many different people in the county and the quite varied lives that even citizens in close proximity have.
When it comes to politics, though, she herself acknowledges her lack of experience in this arena. Learning to campaign and to function as a politician are still new. She apparently caught on, though. Here she is, in the photo below, in her first local inauguration ceremony.
Congratulations to these officials and the city!
Thank you to Alderman Steven Mays (Ward 4) for the photos that follow.
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