Morning Edition; Shawna Ackerson

It's morning edition on KRPS. We are one week away from municipal elections taking place across Missouri. Locally, Joplin City Council elections were scheduled to take place on April 7th, but because of the pandemic, the election was shifted 60 days to Tuesday, June 2nd. Next hour, we'll turn our attention to a candidate in Zone 2, Charles Coppel. But first, we'll hear from Sean Ackerson, who was running for a general four-year seat on the Joplin City Council. Like all candidates, I first asked Sean Ackerson to introduce herself to voters. My name is Sean Ackerson, and I'm a stay-at-home mom who lives in Joplin, of course. I am wanting our town to be better on crime, and I want my kids to grow up in a town that's not full of crime, and also be able to feel like I can grow old in this town as well, so their children can be raised as well in Joplin. I am involved in our community with the schools, and I am just wanting to have a different voice on the City Council.

So, in a way, you've answered my follow-up question, which is, why are you running for City Council? Is this something that was on the radar two years ago? No. No. Two years ago, I loved who is running and wanted to support them, but I saw that they're not a lot changed, in my opinion, for some of the issues I'm wanting to change. And so, what I did was I decided, you know what? I will try to do it. I am a stay-at-home mom, I may not win, but at least I can say I tried. And my kids are important, so that's the reason why I'm running is I want them to have a better town to live in. And what are some of the issues that are important to you that you're running on? The Joplin Fire Department and the Joplin Police Department. I want them to be able to be paid fairly. I also want them to get their pensions. I would like us to be able to offer them a very competitive wage, so that way they will not go to other towns, and that we can draw more talent into Joplin as well. I want to make sure that our city keeps rebuilding in the areas that need to be rebuilt from

the tornado, and that we address our infrastructure issues that we're having, because we're going to need to address them very soon, or else we're just going to have a very following-a-part city. And I also want to make sure that we cut down on our homelessness, and I would like to eliminate panhandling. It creates a problem in our city. A lot of people are annoyed with it. I've got a lot of feedback about that. There's so much more, I wish. Oh no, the forum's yours, absolutely. And there is a lot of issues with the smell in Joplin. A lot of people are talking to me about how they don't like the way Joplin smells, and I know it too. I live over in the Stapleton school area, and there's nights where I can't go outside without wanting to vomit, because it smells so bad. And so I need that needs to be addressed as well. I would like our town to have more small businesses succeeding.

It seems like they come in, and they don't succeed very well, or they have a problem trying to start in Joplin. There's a lot of hurdles in becoming a small business in Joplin, so I would like it to be seen as an easier option for small businesses to be able to come here and make a business and run it and be able to succeed. So I'm a voter. Give me your best pitch, or why I should vote for you. Put me on the spot. I believe that we need to make sure that we have diversity in our city council. We need to have more ideas and fresh ideas and new people to make a change in Joplin. And by voting for me, you will see the difference in Joplin, because I will not stop. They will not keep me from speaking up or making suggestions or voting against or voting for something that they believe in or don't believe in and that the city believes in, because I want to be the voice of the city.

I don't want to have my own agenda, so that is why you should vote for me, because if you want your voice heard, then I will be that voice. That was Sean Accerson, who is one of four candidates running to fill a four-year general seat on the Joplin City Council. To learn more about her campaign, visit her Facebook page at Sean Accerson for Joplin City Council 2020. You can also hear this interview again, along with the rest of the candidates running for Joplin City Council this year at our news blog, krpsnews.com.