Mayor Melinda Mitchell
Three times is the charm for Mayor Melinda Mitchell of St. Martinville, LA
By Renarda Williams
By Renarda Williams
After three tries, Melinda Mitchell has beat a longtime incumbent to become the first elected female mayor of St. Martinville, LA.
Mitchell beat Thomas Nelson by capturing 54 percent of the votes in the April 28, 2018, election. Her previous bids to unseat Nelson, who’d been in office for 12 years, came in 2010 and 2014.
Mitchell said it was a spiritual prophecy she’d received that influenced her to run for mayor the first time at the age of 39. “The second time, I felt like the city [had] a need for growth and development ... I thought it had great potential."
Mitchell said the vision God had given her augmented her decision to run that second time as well as the third.
"In 2010, I had 40 percent [of the vote]; and 2014, I made the runoff,” with 45 percent, she said. "And those numbers kept going up — to 54 percent, which finally led me to win ... Perseverance and endurance played an important role.”
The major things Mitchell hopes to improve in St. Martinville are the economy, education, health, and community development.
"St. Martinville should be a place where citizens can live, work, and raise a family,” she said, citing such goals as "building and attracting new businesses and establishing entrepreneur programs; strengthening our education system for children by providing better resources so they can be effective, as for learning; building a proper drainage for our water (we had an issue with that, when we had the 'big flood’), developing evacuation routes, and building [quality] shelters.” Building a dependable infrastructure, period — which goes back to health and safety — is of the utmost importance to her.
During a year that has seen a “recordbreaking” number of women running for office and winning primary elections, according to a recent story at Huffingtonpost.com, Mitchell said it is very important to inspire women and girls to achieve goals what may once have at least seemed unattainable. She recalled an 8-year old girl who recently told her she wants to be mayor like her which she grow up.
"It is the utmost importance to inspire all females to not limit themselves,” Mitchell said. “Women's voices are really needed because we bring different perspectives, and new ideas, into politics.
"My message is to inspire women that they should not be fearful to run for office. I believe women should be more fearful of what will happen to our cities if we don't run."
As the Juneteenth Holiday approaches, she adds, "I [see] my victory as a celebration of great joy ... inspiring everyone to look ahead and rejoice where God has taken us from!”
Now 47, Mitchell is basking in the support of her community. She also enjoys the support of her family, which includes her husband of 25 years; two grown daughters and a teenage son; and four grandchildren (soon to be five). "All of our children are proud of me!” she says.
Mitchell beat Thomas Nelson by capturing 54 percent of the votes in the April 28, 2018, election. Her previous bids to unseat Nelson, who’d been in office for 12 years, came in 2010 and 2014.
Mitchell said it was a spiritual prophecy she’d received that influenced her to run for mayor the first time at the age of 39. “The second time, I felt like the city [had] a need for growth and development ... I thought it had great potential."
Mitchell said the vision God had given her augmented her decision to run that second time as well as the third.
"In 2010, I had 40 percent [of the vote]; and 2014, I made the runoff,” with 45 percent, she said. "And those numbers kept going up — to 54 percent, which finally led me to win ... Perseverance and endurance played an important role.”
The major things Mitchell hopes to improve in St. Martinville are the economy, education, health, and community development.
"St. Martinville should be a place where citizens can live, work, and raise a family,” she said, citing such goals as "building and attracting new businesses and establishing entrepreneur programs; strengthening our education system for children by providing better resources so they can be effective, as for learning; building a proper drainage for our water (we had an issue with that, when we had the 'big flood’), developing evacuation routes, and building [quality] shelters.” Building a dependable infrastructure, period — which goes back to health and safety — is of the utmost importance to her.
During a year that has seen a “recordbreaking” number of women running for office and winning primary elections, according to a recent story at Huffingtonpost.com, Mitchell said it is very important to inspire women and girls to achieve goals what may once have at least seemed unattainable. She recalled an 8-year old girl who recently told her she wants to be mayor like her which she grow up.
"It is the utmost importance to inspire all females to not limit themselves,” Mitchell said. “Women's voices are really needed because we bring different perspectives, and new ideas, into politics.
"My message is to inspire women that they should not be fearful to run for office. I believe women should be more fearful of what will happen to our cities if we don't run."
As the Juneteenth Holiday approaches, she adds, "I [see] my victory as a celebration of great joy ... inspiring everyone to look ahead and rejoice where God has taken us from!”
Now 47, Mitchell is basking in the support of her community. She also enjoys the support of her family, which includes her husband of 25 years; two grown daughters and a teenage son; and four grandchildren (soon to be five). "All of our children are proud of me!” she says.
Mitchell said the issues that are important to solve in the city are: building a dependable infrastructure, which goes back to health and safety ... “and that goes back to water and more police patrols ... ,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell was sworn was in office on June 30. Mitchell officially took office on July 1, 2018, where she is eager to get to work!
