Annette Taylor of Monticello, has announced that she will run for State Representative for District 94, on the Democratic ticket.
“I wasn’t blessed to be born in Arkansas, but I got here as soon as I could,” Taylor said.
Taylor grew up in a small town, much like those in District 94. She lived in big cities for over 30 years, but she said that she missed the small-town life, and when the opportunity to move to Monticello presented itself, she jumped on it. Taylor’s husband is a Monticello native, so it just made sense for them to settle in Drew County.
Taylor graduated college in her 40s with a Bachelor’s Degree and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration and Marketing.
In her professional life, Taylor spent many years working in Construction Sales. She said that she truly loved that line of work, but the number of jobs in the field was limited whenever she moved to Monticello. Taylor said opening her own business was the next logical step.
Taylor said that one area she wants to work to improve in the district is making the infrastructure of all of the towns better and more viable.
“A lot of the work on infrastructure in the area is going with what has been being done for the last 100 years,” Taylor said.
Taylor said that there are government funds out there to be used for upgrades to the infrastructure of the towns in the district, and she plans to pursue those. Taylor said one area she is passionate about, in particular, is helping all citizens in the district get access to high-speed internet, which she feels is something that should be available here, but unfortunately, a large number of citizens cannot get high-speed internet to their homes.
Taylor also would like to see more jobs in the area that would keep University of Arkansas at Monticello graduates in the area.
“We graduate some great minds from our university, but a large number of them leave to go elsewhere because there are no jobs for them in the area,” Taylor added.
Taylor added that she is passionate about education in the area. She said that she is grateful for the educators in the schools throughout the district. She feels that some areas of the LEARNS Act need to be restructured and that the teachers should have been consulted before the Act was pushed through without being on a ballot.
Taylor said that whenever she moved to the area she noticed that there wasn’t anywhere where people could just come hang out without being judged, and that was her goal when opening Monticello Coffee Company. Taylor said her mission, and one of her core values is to create a sense of community and inclusion, her goal is to make the community better.
“It’s been great doing that in Monticello for the last five years, but I feel that I can make a bigger impact, on a larger area, if I get into politics,” Taylor said. “I look forward to talking to the people and seeing what they need and want.”
