Monroe Dispatch - No Struggle, No Progress

District 4 Monroe City Councilman Carday Marshall Sr. held a town hall meeting with some of his district 4 constituents, leaving many who attended dissatisfied. According to sources, Councilman Marshall welcomed those who did attend the meeting and soon turned the meeting over to two of Mayor Friday Ellis' representatives, who spoke of what was going on in the downtown area as it related to economic works. Sources say that the ladies representing the city did not specifically address any issues over the entire district, only those centered around downtown Monroe which is a part of District 4. District 4 is predominately African-American and has not seen much economic development. Voters believed that with the new city hall leadership all around the city, District 4 would get its share of the economic pie. Sources alleged that whenever a question was asked, the two city representatives would direct that person to Councilman Marshall for a reply. This continued for some time before one District 4 resident asked when the district's real issues would be addressed.

Sources say that other issues in District 4 were paramount to residents. Most do not want to discuss Black/White issues regarding the race's economic gap. There has long been a gap between Districts 1 and 2 compared to Districts 3, 4, and 5. Economic development projects seem to be centered in/around the downtown area extending to Louisville Ave. and beyond. One can understand why there is dissatisfaction with voters in Districts 3, 4, and 5. Mayor Ellis' representatives didn't do much to quell those concerns, according to sources who were there. To his credit, Marshall did say that there are "pending upgrades/improvements" on South Grand and "proposed" housing development in the Plum St./Georgia St. area near the railroad track overpass heading to Jackson St., where there used to be a shopping area years ago. Marshall said that the Georgia St. pumping station project is proceeding. The money allocated for the project "is running" out, but he is hopeful that the money "will be there" so the project can be completed on time. Sources said that with last week's heavy rain over several days, flooding was reported in/around Louise's Lot, with some wondering if work on the station will be the answer to their flood problems. It appears that most District 4 residents that showed up weren't very pleased with how some things were presented. It seemed that the only issues representatives wanted to share were about downtown. Residents want Monroe Mayor Ellis to address them in their community. Voters are very disappointed with the mayor's unfulfilled promises and his inaccessibility.