This is the fourth in our series of interviews with mayoral candidates in Jonesboro. Previous conversations have been conducted with LJ Bryant, Jeremy Terrell and Tom Elwood. You can find them under the Elections tab at jonesbororightnow.com.

Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – Sept. 24, 2024 – Harold Copenhaver was elected mayor of Jonesboro in November 2020, and his name will be on the ballot again.

“We have momentum now,” he said. “People sense it. They see it. They believe in it and they want to be a part of it. Am I going to make everybody happy? No. Am I going to try to? I certainly have. I listen to everybody, and we do what we can do.”

The biggest part of the learning curve that Copenhaver said he faced was the sometimes overwhelming amount of sacrifice that goes with the job. There’s the feeling of being on call 24/7. There’s time missed with family. But, he says he has help. “God is with me every day. I pray to Him every morning for guidance and for this community.”

Jonesboro has a population of over 80,000 people, with over 600 city employees. This makes it the 5th largest entity in the city.

“It’s important that a community leader have the trust of his employees. I’ve learned from them what’s important and what they get out of this job. The biggest satisfaction that I have received is the compliments from my employees because I take care of them.  That’s what I have been doing and will continue to do. That is my commitment because when I take care of them, and they feel that their mayor has their back, they perform at a much higher level. And take care of the citizens. That is my continued commitment. That’s the way I lead and I feel it’s successful.”

“I’m very hands-on, but at the same time, I’m not a micro-manager. I leave it up to my (23) directors to be leading their departments and to come up with new and creative ways to make it more efficient and effective for the community. But, you have to have the right people in place and that takes time,” Copenhaver said. “Over the past four years, God has had some very talented individuals come into this office and ask for a job. If you ask a director how they feel, I believe every one of them will answer the same way. They enjoy their job and they enjoy serving the public.”

He said, for the most part, he feels he has the proper personnel in place, creating stability.

“The public needs to understand…you just can’t hit a reset button every four years because you’re going to go backwards…things will stop. The momentum will not continue with new leadership. New leadership will bring in new personnel. That new personnel has to learn their role. That puts you backwards.”

Copenhaver added that there’s been progress in many ways.

“When I first became mayor, one thing that was overwhelming was that every day we’d receive calls about how the city was unclean,” he recalled. “That was a challenge. We were understaffed in our streets and our sanitation. They were underpaid, so it was hard to get people to come to work. So, I went to Breaking Bonds Ministries (a men’s faith-based drug and alcohol rehab program) and formed a relationship with that organization. They were able to assist us, every day, to help clean up this community. Those phone calls are no longer coming in.”  

In addition to working on keeping the city clean, Copenhaver has also been working on improving city infrastructure.

“You’re seeing a major improvement…our sidewalks…there’s over eight miles of new sidewalks. You’re seeing major improvements in our overlays. We were spending a half million dollars a year in overlays on our streets, with no prioritization of what street is next. So, I implemented a study and the City Council approved it. It provided us an A, B, C or D approach to what roads should be our priorities. Then, it (the study) stated that we need to be investing $3.5 million a year just to keep them at the level they are.”

Copenhaver went on to discuss the importance of open communication with the public.

“What I found is people always want to speak to the mayor. That’s a very difficult challenge,” he said. “The first year alone, I attended or was involved in over 1,500 events. I’ve pretty much maintained that level. That’s about five different occasions every workday that I have a meeting or I’m going out to see somebody in the public. So, I put in place for my staff the ability to answer and get back with people. That way, no calls go amiss.”

“That’s the reason we have increased our communication department to be able to get the educational piece out there because people have become more accustomed to instant gratification,” he explained. “City government doesn’t work that way. I might be able to fill up your pothole or pick up your trash quickly, but I can’t change a law that is in place under city code instantaneously.”

“The unfortunate thing is I’m not going to make everybody happy. When it comes to city government, it’s not like running a business,” he said. “We have resolutions and ordinances. We have to follow guidelines.”

“The state of Arkansas was one of only five states to have a balanced budget. When I came here, we didn’t have a balanced budget. The previous administration ran it differently. I’m very comfortable with a balanced budget, so I challenged my finance department to work under a balanced budget. I’ve heard people say ‘Spending is awry’…well, a balanced budget doesn’t allow you to do that.”

“There were internal visits with all of our city council. Their input is very important to me. Then, I laid out a balanced budget. The balanced budget is being very transparent because everything is in front of you. There’s stability in a balanced budget. The people of Jonesboro need to be aware that the city is stable, and we’re committed to keeping it that way.”

“I mentioned early on when I ran for office how important it is to have relationships. I believe the community saw value in that, and I believe it’s one of the reasons that I was elected. My relationships with Senator Boozman, Senator Cotton and Congressman Crawford have grown over the years. I had the ability from the state legislature to understand the [importance of] relationships. Relationships take time, but they build trust.”

Copenhaver added that he’s excited about the future of the city.

“When I took office, there was not a plan for a sports complex. But through conversations and community people working together, we started the communication about how it could become a reality…what would it be…what type of investment would it take. What I see is the return on the investment is going to be insurmountable. We’re already seeing dividends from that and investment opportunities come into play. We’re already seeing more hotels developing in that area. The economic impact that this facility will make in our community is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. We haven’t ever made this type of investment as a city before. The Sports Plex is going to be an amazing facility. Ten years from now, people are going to say ‘Wow, I wish we’d done that years ago.’”

In the Jonesboro mayoral race, Copenhaver faces three other candidates with varying backgrounds.

“You don’t run for mayor in four months. You prepare for this role every day for years. You have to understand who this community is in order to lead this community,” he said. “I understand why they say they can do a better job. But they don’t know the budget. They don’t know the individuals that are my directors. These are things that I’ve acquired over the last four years that you can’t put a price tag on.”

“I will always remain honest and keep the integrity of this office for the people of Jonesboro. I have never, nor will I ever take a vote and put politics before the people. I will never do that. To me, that’s the strongest statement I can make.”