HOPKINS COUNTY, KY (iSurfWKY Inc.)– In a recent interview with iSurf News, David Jackson shared a little about himself and his goals for the city of Madisonville if he achieves the position. 

On the personal side, Jackson was actually born in Henderson, Kentucky and spent the early years of his life in Sebree. At 10-years-old, Jackson’s family began to attend the Life Temple Church on Park Avenue and have been involved in the city of Madisonville since. He graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1987 and chose to make Madisonville his home.

These days Jackson is married to his wife of 23 years, Leanne, and father to two children, a boy and a girl, 10 and 8-years-old, both adopted from Guatemala. Jackson enjoys bicycling throughout the city of Madisonville, swimming at the local YMCA, piloting planes, and playing guitar. Occupationally speaking, Jackson is a certified accountant as well as Pastor of the Living Waters Church of God. 

Jackson’s views seem to be very clear-cut on particular subjects, one of these being his original reason for attempting to attain such a lofty position.

“I’m running for Mayor because I am very concerned about the financial direction that our city has been going in for some time now,” said Jackson. “It’s kind of a two tier issue for me. First, I work with a lot of businesses and have been told over and over that the city isn’t supporting the businesses, from the owners’ point of views. I just feel like the city as a whole may not be putting its best foot forward for local employers and employees.  Secondly, I deal with a lot of working people and see the negative effect that local tax issues have on workers.”

Jackson told iSurf Reporters that as a certified public accountant, he brings to the city his experience of working with numbers, finances, ability to deal with people on a one-on-one basis, and an inside understanding of local businesses that have to meet a payroll. 

“Also, having served in a ministerial position, I have the experience of serving, of being a servant, to the people, and not the other way around.” said Jackson.

When questioned regarding his already busy schedule as a Pastor and a public accountant, Jackson said that if he did achieve the full-time position of Mayor of Madisonville, he would expand the employees in his personal business to make more time to focus on local issues.

“As far as local issues go, there are several changes I would like to implement,” said Jackson. “I would like to look into immediate tax relief for small businesses. If we could offer that, we could encourage business growth instead of instantly hitting them with the tax and reporting burden. It would serve as a symbolic gesture that would let our businesses know that we want them to grow.”

Another important issue that Jackson touched upon was that of local city departmental issues and services, such as city sanitation, police, and the fire department. 

“Our local departments do an incredible job. What they need, however, is more support from the top. We should respect our city workers and value their input, as they are out there in the public, on the Madisonville streets, every single day, serving our community. We should listen to their ideas, seek them out for their input, and take them seriously. These people are the eyes, hands, and ears of our local government. They see a side of Madisonville that many of us don’t. That input would be so very valuable.”

Jackson also stated that bringing new businesses and funds into the county was also high on his list of ways to improve the community. He stated that we really need to make Madisonville a new business friendly place. 

“My Dad always said if you want to have friends, you have to show yourself friendly,” Jackson commented. “On a higher level we’ve done some things in the last few years that do not show us to be business friendly. In my job as certified public accountant, I’ve had customers tell me that if they knew how difficult it would be to grow their business in Madisonville, they would have located themselves in Webster County. We need to reach out to businesses and entrepreneurs and let them know that we really want them here.”

Jackson went on to comment that as the Mayor of Madisonville, preserving jobs and creating city-wide growth should be top on the list of priorities.

“The city’s input should not be a response to businesses when things are extreme and they are considering moving out. We should focus on them as they start and as they grow, making them feel welcome. We have to consider every level, from the business owners all the way down to the employees that are at risk of lay-offs. These are the people that I’m fighting for.”

In reference to the recent media spotlight on the Supreme Court ruling that sexual offenders convicted before 2006 being allowed to live as near to schools and daycare centers as they wish, Jackson stated that it was his belief that we should have buffer zones around our schools, a set distance where no sexual offenders could live.

“Our kids are our future. They are the next citizens and leaders of Madisonville. It’s vitally important that we protect the children in every way that we can.”

Another issue that Jackson commented on was the recent strong governmental stand against coal energy. 

“I’d like to see our city come out in strong support of coal. We need to show that, on a national level, coal is a vital part of our economy, particularly on a local level. We need to be advocates of clean coal energy.”

As government goes on a national level, Jackson commented in regards towards some of the directions in which President Obama has pointed the United States.

“I respect the position of the President, as should we all. I do, however, have concerns about where Obama is taking us from an economical standpoint. I have concerns about the healthcare reform bill, as well as Obama’s standpoint on coal power plants. I believe these issues have the potential to have a strong negative impact upon our economy.”

Jackson’s comment upon Obama’s standpoint on coal power plants stems from an interview in 2008, in which Obama stated that you can build a coal power plant if you wish, but that you will be bankrupted if you choose to do so.

Jackson finalized his interview with iSurf by saying, “I’m not a life-long politician. I’m not doing this because I’m 'into' politics. I’m running for Mayor of Madisonville because I love this town and the people that live here. Given the opportunity, I will try my very best to lead the city in the right direction. My goals are not only to provide jobs and provide current growth, but also to provide future growth so that our children can grow up here, raise their kids, and live in a prosperous community. 

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Story from iSurfHopkins - http://iSurfHopkinsCo.com