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Date: 6/18/2015
SPRINGFIELD – Johnnie Ray McKnight believes the mayor of Springfield should be “a fearless advocate for the people,” something he believes the city is lacking at the present time.
McKnight, who works as an educator for the Department of Youth Services in Westfield, will formally announce his run for mayor at a kickoff event at 5:30 p.m. on June 26 at 11 Pearl St.
This is his first run for public office.
Facing a veteran incumbent who has several important and recent economic development accomplishments under his belt – the Chinese rail car company coming to the city, the start of the Union Station renovation and MGM Springfield – McKnight noted, “not everyone was on board” for the approval of the casino.
He said that with 40 percent of the city’s residents living below the poverty line having a casino here is “not a good idea.”
He disputed the popularity of Mayor Domenic Sarno by saying only about 6 percent of registered voters participated in the last election.
“Why is it that 80 percent [of registered voters] in the city don’t vote?” he asked.
He said the answer is “they don’t trust City Hall.”
He has been going door-to-door campaigning and said that people tell him he is the first candidate they’ve seen at their neighborhood. He noted how one retired schoolteacher told him that in 35 years of owning her home “not one politician has knocked on the door.”
He said to help bolster property taxes in the city, he would implement residency requirements and stop issuing waivers so city employees can live out of the Springfield.
McKnight believes that both the city’s poverty rate and incidence of crime stem from a lack of education in the city. He believes that practices in the schools – such as suspensions – have been pushing Latino and African American students out of the schools before graduation.
He added the violence that takes place in the city has caused too many people to ask themselves the question, “Do you really want to raise your kids here?”
Improving the city’s school system would be a priority for him.
“There’s a reason why the mayor’s daughters go to Cathedral,” McKnight noted.
If elected McKnight said he would work hard to recruit businesses to the city and said the current economic development team “does a great job.”
McKnight said he is still gathering signatures to place him on the ballot and is looking forward to candidate debates and forums with Sarno.
For information go to www.mcknightformayor2015.com.