By Carrie Stambaugh

Margaret Eubanks is going where no woman has gone before: She is running to be Mayor of Batesville.

Eubanks, who will face off in the Republican run-off race against Eddie Nabors on April 6, is the only woman to seek elected office in the city’s history. The winner of that race will face current mayor Jerry Autrey and Hal Ferrell running as an independent in June.

“No woman has ever won. No woman has ever even stepped into the arena, not even to be an alderman,” said Eubanks, noting whether she is successful or not, if she can inspire someone else to seek office in the future it will all be worth it.

“There comes a time when every voice needs to be heard. We all find something we think we can do a little better or we would like our suggestion to go to the table and have a little consideration,” said Eubanks, explain, “I’m going to step out and take that chance. Maybe down the road some younger people, maybe a younger woman, will say ‘If she can step up, learn this, risk this and put herself out there, I can too.”

Eubanks has lived in Batesville for 14 years. She moved to town after retiring from her 30-year career at Coors Brewing Company to care for her aging mother, Ruby Armstrong, who was a Duck Hill, Mississippi native and also retired to Batesville. After her mother died seven years ago from cancer, Eubanks decided to stay in town and quickly got involved with the local animal rescue organization. 

She rescued her own dog Tootie, whom she describes as “the love of her life,” from the side of the road in Batesville. The dog had been abused and was suffering from a lack of nutrition and other ailments. She nursed her back to health, and Tootie, a Black Labrador and Blue Heeler mix went from weighing just over 11 pounds to more than 70 now.

As President of the Panola Animal Humane Society, a post she’s held for the last eight years, Eubanks is often in front of Batesville and Panola County officials asking for money to support the non-profit organization. Neither the county nor the city has an animal shelter so the volunteer group rescues the animals, shelters them, spays or neuters, provides vaccinations and health care, and then finds the pets new forever homes – anywhere in the country- and taps into a national network to transports them.

At the heart of Eubanks campaign is the pledge to be a visible and accessible Mayor for all residents of the city and to listen to what every citizen has to say.  The mayor is largely a figurehead position, Eubanks explains, which puts that individual in the unique position of being the public face of the city government. The Mayor, Eubanks said, should be the go-to person, to hear citizen concerns and then help get them connected to the correct person to help their concern.

“You have to get out there and see the good and the bad,” she said. Right now, residents have to make an appointment to see the mayor if they are not a personal acquaintance of him.

She would to make sure everyone has an opportunity to speak and be heard – and that they won’t have to make an appointment or wait. Mayor Margaret would stop to listen anytime, anyplace. In a small town its hard not to see and be seen and if giving someone the opportunity to be heard means she has to pull her grocery cart over to the side of an aisle to listen for 20-minutes or an hour, she will do it.

“I think every voice benefits this city and every voice needs to be heard. If we are lacking in one area of the city, we are lacking as a city as a whole,” she noted. “I think we need to do better about listening to people and giving them an opportunity to express any issue they may have.”

Also on her agenda is increasing transparency in the city’s budgeting process. In the eight years she’s been attending meetings, Eubanks said she’s never been privy to a discussion on how the city government prioritizes its budget needs or decides what gets funded and what doesn’t.

She wants to change that. Like the public, she simply sees the budget when its posted in the newspaper after all those decisions have been made.  “I have never been privileged to see that budget. I don’t know what the figure is. That is what is most interesting to me. How much do we have and what is the most pressing priority? How much is in reserve and what constituted the allocations you have made? What goes by the wayside? And if there is an issue that has been put by the wayside for 15 years my question is why?” she said. “I don’t know the disbursement policy or who sets the standard for what is a priority. I think it has to be done by priority and you have to have something left in the pot to help every area,”

Eubanks would also ask the city to consider looking at its existing ordinances when it comes to animals and perhaps sit down and discuss and define what pet owner responsibilities should be in the city. Her work over the last decade has the town has a problem with unwanted animals, she said.

  Also on her wish list, said Eubanks, would be building some type of entertainment complex for the residents, particularly the children of Batesville. “There is absolutely nothing in the city of Batesville for the children to do,” she said, she envisions anything from a putt-putt golf course to a movie theatre of a skating rink. “Anything that the children have an opportunity to get out and burn some energy and maybe build some communities of their own” she said.

“If I do one good thing for this city it has been a win for me,” said Eubanks. “There are so many needs that have to be met. I don’t know how you prioritize them but I am willing to listen and I’m willing to take the stand.”

To learn more about Eubanks follow Margaret for Mayor on Facebook. She’s posted her platform to the page and responds to comments and questions. Eubanks is also the self-published author of 14 books. Her self-described “short stories” of fiction are available on Amazon Kindle.