Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – Aug 7, 2024 – Jeremy Terrell is running for the job of Mayor of Jonesboro. Terrell announced his intent to run earlier this year, but the 51-year-old businessman made his intentions official during the recent filing period.

Terrell, a lifelong Jonesboro resident, is married to Catherine. They have 9 children between 15 and 27.

When asked why he wanted to be mayor, Terrell replied, “When I was growing up, Jonesboro was a safe place to raise a family and start a business. We can’t really say that anymore.” He went on to say, “For some reason, it gets reported that there’s not a lot of crime. If you ask a police officer on patrol, they will tell you that their job is harder than it’s ever been before.”

“I’m going to go with what’s best for Jonesboro. Period. And I’m the only one that’s not running with special interests. I won’t accept money if it’s for special interest reasons.”

Terrell seemed to acknowledge several ongoing projects that could be centered around the “special interest groups” he referred to.

“This Sports Complex is a lose-lose-lose-lose-lose for the taxpayers of Jonesboro. First of all, we had the land donated. The committee didn’t even consider the free land. I raised my hand in the meeting and asked, ‘Why are we not choosing the free land?’ One of the reasons that came back was that we were trying to get a property as centrally located to hotels and restaurants as we can. Whether you have it out by Joe Mack or you have it in the middle of town, they’re going to stay here and eat here because there’s nowhere else to drive. So, that’s not a good argument.”

Terrell continued, “The other argument was ‘we want to centralize it so both the North and the East side of town can get to it.’ The North kids aren’t going to be able to make it. And if they are, that’s a long freakin’ haul. This is my opinion [why the land was picked] – ASU owned the property. Jerry Halsey is their agent. Jerry Halsey is really tight with the mayor.”

JRN spoke with Jerry Halsey of Halsey, Thrasher, Harpole Real Estate about these allegations. Halsey said he has not represented Arkansas State on any transaction including the sports complex property. He said he is “shocked and appalled” that Terrell would suggest that he had. “All I knew about that deal is what I heard or read in the news,” Halsey told JRN.

“We didn’t do a traffic analysis. We didn’t do a drainage analysis. We didn’t do any due-diligence in order to pick that place. That’s crazy to me. We didn’t even talk about the free land. We talked about the 70 acres beside the free land. It blows my mind. That’s a lose for Jonesboro,” Terrell said.

“The cost is $70 million. I just can’t imagine that we’re not going to go above that. So we’re on the hook as taxpayers for a $70 million project that’s only going to benefit (only) a portion of people. If I was mayor, I would’ve said ‘There’s conglomerates all over the country that are doing this. Let’s ask them if they’d be willing to put one here.’ If it’s so viable, surely we could entice somebody to come here and put in their own $70 million facility. We didn’t do that.”

Terrell went on, “Now, they want to outsource the actual running of it. So, we won’t even collect the revenue for the place. But we’re going to build it, we’re going to maintain it, upkeep, all of that stuff… and we’re not even going to collect revenue from it? That’s the biggest lose-lose I’ve ever heard of. I’ve talked to some (committee members) and they do not agree with outsourcing it… but somehow, someway it’s getting pushed through anyway.”

How would things be different with Jeremy Terrell as the mayor?

“I won’t be ribbon-cutting every day. If we’re looking for a photo-op kind of guy, I’m not it. We’re going to level the playing field for anybody and everybody that wants to open up a business. No longer is it about who you know and how much money you bring to the table.”

Terrell added, “Cope (Mayor Copenhaver) is a good dude. But nobody holds him accountable. People don’t like to say things in public. They’ll say things on social media. I will say what needs to be said. I’m not worried about whether or not you’re going to be my friend. I’m going to be the best possible person that I can be to you. At the end of the day, if you don’t like me, that’s on you and not me.”

“We’re going to devote the same amount of time to the North side of town as we do the South side of town. We’re going to divide Jonesboro up into 5 quadrants: North, South, East, West and Central. We’re going to effectively make a difference in every community.”

Terrell continued, “We’re going to develop an infrastructure that’s maintainable. We’re building sidewalks, and I think that’s great. I think they need to be a little bit smaller and a little bit longer. I would’ve started at Craighead and worked our way this way instead of these little crazy pockets. We can put a million miles of sidewalk, but if they’re not safe to walk down, nobody is going to walk down them. And the potholes. We’ve got beautiful sidewalks, but we still can’t drive on certain roads.”

“Jonesboro is not the same. And we’ve got to do a better job for the future. We’ve got to build a better tomorrow for everybody in Jonesboro.”

For more information about Terrell’s campaign, go to jeremyforjonesboro.com.