Cooper announces state senate seat bid in 2018

Cooper announces state senate seat bid in 2018

Turrell Mayor has higher political aspirations, launches campaign for District 24 post

news@theeveningtimes.com

Turrell Mayor Dorothy Cooper has announced plans to run for the state senate seat currently held by Keith Ingram.

Cooper, who was elected mayor of that city four years ago, said she prayed hard about the decision, but decided that she can help even more people by running for the senate.

“I feel like I am running for the right reasons,” Cooper said. “Every day when I get up the first thing on my mind is who can I help today? And I mean it. I have so much love for people. And I feel deep inside that I can help others and that this is the way for me to reach out and do it.”

Cooper acknowledges that she faces an uphill battle.

Ingram has a long history of public service in elected office. He has held the District 24 seat since 2013 and currently serves as Minority Leader. Before that, he was mayor of West Memphis from 1987-1994 and represented District 53 in the Arkansas House of Representatives for two terms from 2009-2013.

Cooper said her decision to run has nothing do with Ingram personally, but rather, she is running because she believes she can make a greater difference in the lives of the people in the district. District 24 covers Crittenden County and parts of Cross, Lee, Phillips and St. Francis counties.

“I do not want to make this about anybody else,” Cooper said. “It’s about me and what I feel I have to do. Yes, it is an uphill battle. I’m not upset with anybody. Senator Ingram has done a good job. But I know what I can bring and what I can do for our citizens. This is about me and my desire to widen my service to the Lord and to be in a better position to help.”

Since becoming mayor, Cooper has been a tireless advocate for Turrell. She has become a fixture at local meetings lobbying on behalf of her city, and spreading her motto to the doors of the state capitol in Little Rock that ‘Turrell matters.’ Cooper has fixed many of the pressing needs of Turrell. In 2015, she secured a $200,000 grant from Arkansas Natural Resources Council to buy a 10,000 gallon pneumatic water tank and generator to serve as a back up for the city’s main well, which periodically broke down and forced citizens to boil their water.

Cooper also spent years working to get a library branch in Turrell which finally opened in 2016 when the county agreed to help fund a library in a donated trailer by ASU Midsouth.

This summer, Cooper cut the ribbon on a new community park which was paid for by a $45,000 FUN (Facilities for Underdeveloped Neighborhoods) grant which she helped obtain for the city. The park features a walking trail, children’s play area, pavilion, and a full basketball court.

And just recently, after years of neglect, Cooper’s efforts in Little Rock resulted in the city receiving a $345,000 grant from Arkansas Natural Resources Council to help fix the city’s crumbling sewer pond and money to construct a bridge to get better access to the pond.

“I know what I have done for Turrell,” Cooper said. “I just see this as an opportunity to move forward and be in a better position to help all of the areas in this district. If it is one thing that people know about me, it’s that if I tell them I am going to do something, that is exactly what I am going to do.”

Cooper said she understands the needs of the people in the district because she herself has struggled.

“I have some of the same needs they do,” Cooper said. “I understand their desires. I understand their struggles. And I want to help.”

Her biggest desire though in seeking the office is to help the younger generation so that they can stay in the Delta and prosper.

“I am doing this for our young people,” Cooper said. “And I feel like I have a connection with our young people. In talking with them, I got them a library and a park because I saw the need. As part of the older generation, we have got to take care of our young people and make sure they have good schools and strong communities and have opportunity.”

Cooper said she plans to campaign hard in every part of the district.

“I like to walk,” Cooper said. “I like to knock on doors. I don’t want to just hand out a pamphlet out and say vote for Dorothy Cooper. I like to get out and meet people. So I am going to do all I can to visit as many places as I can.”

The Democrat Party primary is in May 2018.

By Mark Randall