Robinson hopes to be first black woman elected Newport mayor

When Latasha Robinson moved to Newport in 2013 she began her own business, All That I Am Books Publishing Company, and she joined several boards and economic development organizations. She hadn’t put a lot of thought into political office until her daughter, Kelsie, graduated from high school and had no economic opportunities to stay in the largest city in Jackson County.

Robinson, 36, told Talk Business & Politics she will seek to become the first minority woman to be mayor in the Mississippi Delta town. Her primary goal is job development in a city with a little more than 7,700 residents.

“We have to cultivate an environment where our youth want to stay here and it’s feasible for them to stay here,” she said. “Many of our youth have never been outside of Newport and they don’t know what they can do right here. … If you haven’t seen it, you can’t dream it,” she said. “We have to find ways for them to make a living.”

Newport is located in the center of Northeast Arkansas. U.S. 67 runs through the city. It’s about an hour drive to Jonesboro to the north and a little more than an hour to Little Rock to the south. Newport has an annual operating budget of about $5 million, according to the city. The mayor is David Stewart.

Robinson believes the city’s strategic location could entice industries to locate in the city. She is in charge of the entrepreneurial development programs for the Newport Economic Development Commission and Communities Unlimited, an organization that helps to develop impoverished rural communities. Each month she puts together programs to aid would be business owners.

Illegal drug use and crime are problems Newport has to solve, she said. Young people don’t have anything to do, and this has to be addressed, she said. Robinson has met with the Boys and Girls Club of America, and she hopes the organization will open a branch in the city.

Robinson also works as an ordained minister and she’s a CASA volunteer, she said. The county uses her as its marriage aficionado, meaning if someone wants to get married, they can stop by her business and she can perform the legal ceremony. She sits on numerous boards including the Arkansas State University Board of Development, and she works with several other organizations.

Robinson has been active in the community and word has spread that she might seek the mayor’s office. She plans to officially kick her campaign off in March, and begin the process of knocking on doors and asking for votes.

How does she feel about leaving Memphis to come to Newport?

“It’s the best decision I’ve ever made,” she said.