The Rev. Glenn King wants to be Selma’s next mayor. He needs your help.

“The mayor of a city occupies an honorable position,” King said. “I will provide to you, the citizens of Selma, a man with a right direction.”

King’s campaign slogan is, “The man with the right direction for Selma.” According to King, that direction is achieved through maintaining high educational standards, expanded economic growing without further inflation or unemployment and securing government funding for housing, new sewers and police and fire protection. “These are among the real issues of 2004,” King said. “It is on the basis of these issues that the citizens of Selma must make their fateful choice for their future.”

King said he wanted to run for office because Selma needed leadership and someone to move the city and its people forward. “Selma has so much animosity,” King said. “I’ll clean it up.”

To achieve that, King said he would create unity by bringing people together. “The Bible tell us, ‘United we stand, divided we fall,'” King said. “During the past three years, I have looked deeply into the problems confronting us and have discussed in depth how to end and or alter the problems facing us under the current administration.”

King, who is affiliated with United Automobile Workers, has held several offices in the organization and currently sits on the executive board. In November, he visited Detroit and discussed the possibility of job-training programs in Selma. “They want to come,” he said of the companies. “I want to bring better jobs here. That’s the only way Selma is going to survive.”

Concerning the issue of crime, King said additional jobs, programs such as Neighborhood Watch and more police officers on the streets would provide a solution. “Idle minds are the devil’s work,” he added.

King also focused on raising wages for city employees. He said some city employees, such as sanitation and crossing guard workers, have never had a raise. “We have to look at the budget,” King said. “Those people have been lied to about the budget. I’ll make sure all city employees have a good working environment and won’t be intimidated.”

King noted that the Selma City Council has too many executive sessions. “If you stay in daily touch with the city’s operations, you don’t need that all the time,” he said. “They have them because they’re not on the same page. We need a mayor like Rev. Glenn King who’s going to have the heart to care about Selma. I love Selma.”

Other issues King plans on tackling if elected include healthcare, drug benefits and housing. “It is important for every citizen in Selma to be able to achieve the American dream of homeownership,” he said. “I’ll also work with pharmaceutical representatives to help people who can’t afford medicine and work on getting affordable housing for the elderly.”

King was born and raised in Selma. He is a graduate of Wallace Community College Selma, Wayne State University and the S.J. Williams School of Theology. He is the owner and operator of WJUS, a Marion-based radio station, which reaches 41 counties, including Dallas County. He is the pastor of Grace Temple Baptist Church as well as the public relations director for the Alabama State Sunday School and Baptist Training Union for the state.

“It is you, the citizens and businesses of Selma, who have urged me to run for mayor,” King said. “I believe that I can fulfill this historic position, that I am a man with a right direction for Selma. It is with this image that I begin this campaign.”