James Perkins, Jr. will be announcing his candidacy for Mayor of Selma on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 11:45 a.m. The community is invited to attend the announcement that will take place at City Hall Council Chamber, 222 Broad St. In addition, citizens are invited to meet and greet Perkins at a reception held that same evening, Jan. 11, 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. at the Convention Center.

Perkins, who previously held the office of mayor from 2000 to 2008, said his previous administration was able to  decrease debt and improve city operations.

“There was a separation between the tax and license and the finance department,” he said. “During my administration we combined those two department and put them under single management. That provided some reduction in cost and strengthened the financial management.”

Perkins said his administration also converted the garbage system and went from operating nine trucks per week to two trucks per week and maintained.

“That was a huge reduction in operating public works and our garbage and trash collection system,” he said.

New business also came into Selma during his tenure, Perkins said.

“One of the things that feeds into retail business growth is industrial business growth,” he said. “When you create more industrial jobs, typically your spinoff will be more retail jobs. Ten new industrial plants came into our community while I was in office over an eight-year period. The unemployment rate plunged to within 5 and 6 percent. The consequence was stores like Marvin’s and the shopping plaza next to Walmart.”

If elected, Perkins said he plans to make the people his top priority.

“The mayor must manage government operations first.  The mayor must make the people, citizens and employees, priority.  Having a bunch of parties and limo excursions at the people’s expense shows poor managerial judgment and a lack of concern for the people.  The people are and always will be my priority.”