FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 1, 2022
Information Contact:
Press@FrankScottJr.com
Little Rock, AR — On Tuesday, Feb. 1, Mayor Frank Scott, Jr. announced his intention to seek re-election to a second term. Scott made his announcement via YouTube and Facebook and spoke directly to voters in a livestreamed press conference held at 1001 Wright Ave. in the heart of the Dunbar Historic Neighborhood District outside the Ward 1 businesses Hearne Family Clinic, Pyramid Art, Books, and Custom Framing and Hearne Fine Art.
Introduced by Little Rock residents Keith Harvey and Angel Burt, Scott highlighted the successes of his first term and unveiled his campaign’s theme, Growing Forward, along with how it will guide a second term to strengthen Little Rock’s families and neighborhoods.
“I ask the residents of Little Rock to choose me again as Mayor,” Scott said. “More families and entrepreneurs are choosing Little Rock as home, to raise their children and nurture their ambitions. The city has grown to more than 202,000 residents, and we have announced more than 7,000 new jobs since I took office. We overcame the catastrophic flood in 2019. We were resilient during record-breaking snowstorms. And we are continuing to unite around COVID-19 recovery efforts. Through it all, we still made progress. And there’s so much more progress we can make, together, by transforming our city with even greater jobs growth, economic development in every part of the city and greater neighborhood safety.”
Since Scott took office, five times more jobs have been created over these three years than the previous five years. And to spur on economic development in neighborhoods south of 630 and east of 30, Scott’s economic incentives have led to the City waiving more than $1 million in permit fees. In 2022, Scott’s administration has designated $1 million for targeted development in these areas.
“Jobs growth is fueled by economic development, and economic development helps create the atmosphere for safer neighborhoods.”
Scott also stressed his plans for addressing Little Rock’s increasing crime.
“Crime doesn’t happen in a bubble,” Scott said. “It’s past time that we stop treating the symptoms and address the root causes. That’s what my administration is doing. We’ve dedicated $3 million to violence intervention and ensured our police force is fully staffed. Show me a safe community, and you’ll see that it’s flooded with jobs and access to capital.”
During his address, Scott highlighted his 2018 promises that were kept to increase accountability and transparency in policing by creating a Citizens Review Board and putting body cameras on LRPD patrol officers.
Under the Scott administration, the police department also significantly reduced the number of no-knock warrants and revised the use of force policy to protect Little Rock residents—banning chokeholds and creating an officer duty to intervene policy.
“Is our city as safe as it should be? Absolutely not. Are we throwing up our hands because this steep increase in crime is happening all across the country? Absolutely not. We’ve got more work to do… growing forward to the day we are among the safest cities in the country.”
Residents can learn more about Mayor Frank Scott, Jr.’s Growing Forward campaign and how to get involved at frankscottjr.com.
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