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Sharon Owens, candidate for the position of Henderson Mayor, was the guest of honor on Wednesday’s edition of WIZS’ Town Talk.
Owens is running against incumbent Eddie Ellington in the October 8, 2019, City of Henderson non-partisan, municipal election.
Owens, a budget analyst with Durham Public Schools and an evangelist with Greater Refuge Church, said it was prayer and her concern for the City of Henderson that led her to file.
A Henderson native, the Montgomery Street resident said she has spent much of the past year speaking to locals from “all backgrounds” regarding their concerns for the community. “We have a diverse community, but I’ve found that everyone has the same concerns: jobs, economic growth and safety,” Owens said.
Noting the concern about crime in the city, along with reports of the difficulty local law enforcement has in recruiting and retaining officers, Owens said it is past time to find a way to adequately fund the police force.
“We’ve got to find a way to get some money so we can hire more police officers,” said Owens. “We’ve got to be competitive with salaries so they want to stay here. We can’t afford for them to come in, receive training here and then go someplace else.”
She continued, “One of my priorities is to find some money so we can keep our police, especially the good ones that don’t mind working and whose agenda is just the safety of the people.”
Owens said a combination of grants and “money that the City may have tucked away somewhere” could be the answer to both increasing the police force and increasing police pay.
Stating that her research has shown the average salary in Henderson is $26,000, Owens said boosting paychecks is essential for the economic health of the area. “People are concerned about wages and the lack of job opportunities. We have to make our city safer and more presentable so jobs will want to come here.”
Owens also said the community needs to reach out to its youth. “We’ve got to inspire our young people. There’s got to be a reason for them to want to finish school and stay rooted in Henderson. We don’t want to see our young people leaving and to see Henderson become a ghost town.”
(This is not a paid political advertisement. To offer equal coverage to political opponents, Incumbent Mayor Eddie Ellington is scheduled to participate in a Town Talk interview with WIZS on Monday, Sept. 30.)
To hear Owens’ Town Talk interview in its entirety, please click the play button below. Listen live to WIZS’ Town Talk Monday-Friday at 11 a.m. on 1450AM, 100.1 FM or online at www.wizs.com.