Road & bridge and the Southern Commissioner race

Two men are running on the Republican ticket for the position of Southern Commissioner of Howell County. The sitting southern commissioner, Billy Sexton, has decided not to run again, leaving the seat open. Bruce Williams and Jesse Wright both have experience working for the county and spoke with Howell County News on their families, work history, and goals if they are elected.

 

Going alphabetically, we start with Bruce Williams. He is a 48-year old married man, a father of two adult daughters, and a grandfather of five grandchildren, all boys. He was raised in Caulfield and graduated high school from Bakersfield R-IV in 1994. Williams went on to complete the police academy in West Plains. Since that time, he has worked for the West Plains Police Department, has had a trucking business, and currently runs a beef-and-hay operation and has worked for the Howell County Road & Bridge Department for ten years.

 

“Over the last four years, I've worked hand-in-hand with Billy Sexton on a lot of the county issues,” says Williams. “I've helped him with day-to-day operations, went out and helped the public with solving issues that they might have, working with contractors, going through the bidding process, and helping Billy anyway I could in addition to my normal work.” He normally runs an excavator for the Road & Bridge Department. 

“I believe that a lot of the guys look to me for answers,” Williams said when asked about his leadership skills. “I work out in the public the citizens of Howell County solve issues every day.” He said that as a commissioner, it's not about him, “It’s about the citizens of Howell County. What can I do to help Howell County and how can I help the citizens and make this a better place and build for the future.” Williams noted the road improvement tax and spoke on the difference it has made. “We're able to put gravel, culverts, and be able to maintain this stuff better.” He said he is hoping to build better low-water crossings “let's make them wider, bigger, and a little bit better.”

 

Next is Jesse Wright. Wright is a 35-year-old married man that lives on a farm that his family has owned for five generations. He attended Fairview R-11 for elementary and middle school and graduated from Dora R-3 in 2006. “I've just been a hometown kid all my life and I see some things I want to improve on,” Wright says. “I want to be conservative with Howell County.” He worked with Allen Pipeline for two years and worked on the Howell County Road & Bridge Department for 15 years, leaving in 2022, and currently runs a leather shop in West Plains.

 

“That's a lot of the problem with the county. It doesn't get ran as a business,” Wright said. “I feel like each job ought to have a reason to do it, an outcome, in a way that is going to save us money in the long run.”

He spoke on wanting to improve business in Howell County and wanting to help local businesses find grants that can help meet their needs. 

 

“Why band-aid everything instead of fixing it?” Wright said when asked about problems in the county. He gave a hypothetical of the county spending the money on up to 26 loads of gravel on a dirt road that is constantly needing work instead of spending the money to put in a more permanent fix. “I started working under Mark Collins and I worked under Billy when he got appointed, and then elected. I understand why we did it, but at the same time it cost us more money, and it cost us more time, and the crew couldn't get as much done.”

 

Voters will decide who gets the Republican nomination for Southern Commissioner on August 6. As there are no Democrats or Independents running for the position, the winner of primary election will likely be the winner of the November 5 election.