At just 32 years old, Joseph Whitfield, Helena-West Helena’s new mayor, has much life to offer the Delta city.

Known for its lively blues music scene and an annual blues festival that brings out people from all over the world — the King Biscuit Blues Festival — Helena-West Helena has a rich musical history, despite not receiving as much attention as places like Memphis.

Though Helena-West Helena has seen some troubles in the modern day — like a declining population and the ousting of Mayor Christopher Franklin after a slew of controversies — Whitfield recognizes the magic that remains in his hometown and aims to build something new.

After studying at Colby College in Maine and the Relay Graduate School of Education in New York City, Whitfield returned home to Helena-West Helena, where he served as a teacher and assistant principal at his alma mater, KIPP Delta Collegiate. He is also the executive director of the Phillips County Chamber of Commerce. 

Gov. Sarah Sanders appointed Whitfield as mayor in early October after a judge removed the former mayor from office following several scandals. Whitfield is eligible to run for reelection next year.

What was your reaction when you learned that the governor had appointed you as mayor?

I had a lot of reactions or emotions. I was excited in one sense, because it is exciting to think about being in a position like that, but then that emotion also quickly shared space with anxiety. I say anxiety, because growing up here, Helena has been historically disenfranchised for at least the last few decades. I’m 32 and I’ve never seen its heyday when it was optimally running with businesses, and the population was over 50-60,000 people. 

What are your largest priorities when it comes to being mayor?

When I started at the Chamber of Commerce last year, I did a strategic plan survey. I wanted to know what’s keeping people in the area, what’s making them move, how are they feeling about this place they call home, everything that you could think of and what they wanted. 

The top five [results] were what we said we will focus on, and [of] those top five items, number five was beautification. People want to look outside and take pride in what they see. Number four was public safety. People want to feel safe in the place they call home. Number three was downtown dining and retail. People want to be able to shop and spend their money at home — they don’t want to have to drive an hour to Memphis, two hours to Little Rock. Number two was better schools, so a better K-12 experience. And then number one was more job opportunities.

I think something else that wasn’t on that list that kind of needs to be addressed is, we have a debt that we need to make sure we pay down and balance the books. That is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, priority because all of those other items start to take off if you have a good financial record. 

Helena-West Helena has seen its share of recent infrastructural and financial challenges. In just the past couple of years, the city was ordered to update its outdated water system and questioned by state legislators about unauthorized withdrawals from the city’s bank account, being $604,000 over budget and $2 million in debt in 2023. How can you help counteract these issues?

I’ve had two city council meetings so far, and what I’ve learned has been that we need better systems and protocols. We need better oversight on things that you described. Helena is a small town and I think, like a lot of other small towns, politics might not be as illustrious because it’s not a big city, but it can be just as busy because your name is a lot, who you know is a lot, who you work with is a lot. And so what we have to undo here is this system of nepotism. We have to undo this system where I scratch your back, you scratch mine, and to a certain degree, can you ever really completely get rid of all of that? I don’t know, but what I have learned from experience and leadership is that the tone starts at the top, and it trickles down. So for me, being the mayor … I don’t want to be surrounded by yes people that will just go along with me. I want to be challenged. I want to be held accountable. 

In what areas do you believe Helena-West Helena has shown its greatest potential for thriving as a city?

The Mississippi River is right in our back yard, and I think for a lot of us, we’re like, “Oh, that’s just a river, that’s just the River Park,” because you’re around something so much you get a little desensitized to it. But no, I try to wake people up and say, “No, that is the river. That is the River Park,” and you can’t pay for that. There are so many cities and towns that wish they could have something like that in their backyard. So we have that going for us. We have St. Francis National Forest there, Crowley’s Ridge as well, so part of what I want to start to rebrand us as is an outdoor recreation playground where we should be having bike races, we should be having tons of natural scenic outlooks, walking paths, playgrounds that encourage healthy lifestyles. Our health statistics here aren’t great, and we stand to gain a lot from investing in outdoor recreation. 

The second thing is we have an industrial park and what we are also poised for is big industry to come in here, whether it is a data center, a manufacturing plant, an environmental plant. We have [one of] the largest blues fests, and that festival pulls an international audience. I think we can tap into that and somewhat transform our downtown into like a smaller version of Beale [Street], a smaller version of Bourbon [Street]. And it doesn’t need to be the same, where we want to shut out traffic necessarily — because we have banks downtown, we have one school — but our little flavor of it could definitely be something that could be sustained year-round, instead of just once a year.

What do you love about Helena-West Helena?

I love the people. Some of the best people I have met in my life live right here. Some of the best people, some of the hardest working people, some of the nicest people, some of the best intentioned people live right here in Helena. And also, I love the potential of what this place could be. Right now, Helena is kind of like this blank canvas waiting to be painted.

Bonus questions

What music has been inspiring you lately?

Gospel.

Favorite place to travel?

One of my favorite places that I travel to right now is literally the back roads throughout the county. I am really big into cycling right now.

A book that you’ve enjoyed lately?

“Your City Is Sick” by Jeff Siegler.