After finishing second in the Democratic primary race for Ward 2 of the Pine Bluff City Council and earning a spot in the runoff, Steven Shaner said he knew he was facing an uphill battle.
Appearing on the Morning Show with Greg Horne and Will Jenkins Wednesday, Shaner, who captured 62.63 percent of the total vote to win the nomination during the runoff Tuesday, said his opponent, Lloyd Franklin Jr., was a “hometown boy. He had been here his whole life and I have only been here 20 years.”
“I knew I had to get my name out there,” Shaner said.
While campaigning and at candidate forums, Shaner made no secret of the fact that he supported Mayor Shirley Washington and the Go Forward Pine Bluff initiative.
Although he still faces the possibility that an independent candidate can file for the position later this year, and win in the November General Election, Shaner said he plans to try and learn as much as he can about how the council works so on Jan. 1 he will “be ready to go.”
Shaner also said had he been on the council this week, he would have voted to extend the curfew announced by Mayor Shirley Washington.
Shaner said one of his priorities will be to try and clean up the city and improve workforce training.
He said that everyone is not going to college and for those that don’t, they need to learn a skill or trade “so they will be able to support themselves down the road.”
