JONESBORO — During her inauguration ceremony on March 31, new Jonesboro Mayor Donya Sartor couldn’t help but think about the legacy she will leave.
As the first Black mayor in the city’s history, she hopes to inspire others to follow in her footsteps.
“I saw Black, white… the diversity… old or young,” she said of her thoughts during the swearing-in ceremony. “And I thought ‘this legacy will never die’… I hope to inspire.”
Sartor, who had previously served on the Jonesboro City Council, won a special election in March to fill the remainder of former Mayor Joy B. Day’s term, which expires in December 2023.
Day served as mayor on two occasions for a total of 23 years.
“We fortunately had great leadership,” Sartor said of the previous administration. “Mayor Day did an excellent job.”
However, one of the reasons Sartor originally ran for City Council and for mayor is to help make local government more diverse.
“All I wanted was the opportunity for people of color to feel comfortable running for office,” she said.
While she takes pride in being the first Black mayor, it’s not just based on race alone.
“(We) shouldn’t have representation without expertise or knowledge,” she said, adding that “I never made it about color (during the campaign)… but as a community, we should all be proud.”
When asked about what being mayor meant to her, she said, “It gives me the opportunity to do what I enjoy most —serving people.”
Sartor said some of her main priorities as mayor include increasing community engagement, keeping residents informed of all the things they need to know about local government, increasing voter turnout, making city government more efficient and customer-friendly, making sure there is affordable housing, and supporting the city’s Police Department.
She said collaboration with other…
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