The Village of South Jacksonville is set to make history next month.
The Village is expected to confirm the very first Black trustee in the village’s history next Thursday.
Village President Mike Broaddus announced he would be appointing Jackie Killion to the open trustee position last night during committee of the whole session.
Broaddus says that all three candidates who applied are walking away with some responsibilities and new duties from the village: “I promised everybody that I would make an appointment. Jackie Killion is my appointment. We had 3 very strong candidates – very strong candidates. It was a really tough decision to make. It was pretty hard. I hope that Clerk Amy Scoggins will keeping doing what she’s doing, because you have been awesome to us. I also hope that J.D. [Saxer] will fill one of the vacancies that I have open for our Planning & Zoning Committee because they need strong leadership right now.”
Killion said during public comment that she has been a resident for about 20 years, saying her children and grandchildren had gone to school at South Elementary. Killion says she hopes to bring improvements to the village: “Like anything and anybody, there is always room for improvements – always, no matter what it is. Nothing is going to be perfect 100% of the time, and often, just as humans we are very quick to complain but not so quick to get in and make any effort to be part of the change.”
Killion says that she hopes her presence will be a part of the continued change in the village for the better: “I want to bring to the table, maybe something that hasn’t been there before. I’m pretty much a straight shooter. I don’t need the static. I don’t need the outside influence. What pertains to this [Village] is about business, and that’s what I’m about. I’m not for a lot of the other things that may or may not be personal things, things that don’t actually affect this [village]. My entire objective will be to ensure that things that go on in the Village Board Room actually benefit the people that live in this village. I see things that maybe could be improved upon, not with any individual person, but I mean in the village, around town, things that could bring in revenue, things that could make things more exciting for someone to want to live here, maybe people that could come in and be productive to help us build this community into the kind of place we know it can be.”
Killion went on to say that the village has a lot of great qualities and people, and it’s for that reason that she says she wants the job. Killion says she’s a self-admitted political novice, but she does come with a quick learning curve and has a knack for problem-solving: “I have the ability to compromise and not take it personally. I’m not going to always be right. I’m not going to always say the right things. I’m going to say what I believe is real. I’m going to say what I think needs to be, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have room to listen to what you think needs to be. That’s what you do as a team – you listen, then you react, and you don’t do it personally. There’s really no room for too much emotion. It’s not about that. It’s about business. It’s about furthering this community and trying to make the best of the opportunity with the money that we have to do just that. That’s my agenda.”
Killion hopes her ideas and perspective will continue to help grow the village in a positive direction. Her appointment is expected to be made official at the next village board meeting on Thursday, November 4th.