Shumate Wants To Serve
Arab Citizens For Third Term

February 8, 2008
Ronny Shumate wants to serve the citizens of Arab for a third term and today announced his candidacy for re-election to Place 2 on the Arab City Council.  Shumate, 51, will be seeking his third term on the Arab City Council.

As a two term Arab City Council member, Ronny Shumate is proud that he is considered approachable by the citizens of Arab.  In fact he considers it to be one of his strengths.  "The citizens know that I will listen to their concerns and that I have a reputation for going out and getting opinions of those who are affected by the council's decisions." Shumate said.

When Shumate was first elected in 2000, and during his 2004 re-election campaign, his main message was he would be a "voice for Arab" Shumate says that he has accomplished just that.  "Listening to the needs of residents and business owners alike is the key to making good decisions on behalf of Arab citizens", says Shumate. "I just don't just go with the flow, I research, talk with people, and decide issues based on common sense and fiscal responsibility."

Serving the citizens of Arab brings a lot of satisfaction to Shumate.  He said that he has spent his two terms working to make Arab a great place to live, work, and raise a family.

Shumate is known for his aggressive stands on several issues.  As chairman of the Solid Waste Committee, Shumate said that has taken the lead in attempting to improve services with Arab's current solid waste carrier, Allied Waste.  Shumate said he has been heavily involved in forwarding citizen complaints to Allied Waste and assuring follow-up to see that those complaints are addressed.  "I have published my home phone number and personal email in order for citizens to report their solid waste issues and I have personally communicated those issues to the local Allied Waste representative." 

Shumate said he is also proud of his leadership as chairman of the Personnel Board.  "I kept the public involved in the interviews that led to the hiring of Arab's new Fire Chief."  He also said that he recently raised some questions over the proposed new cemetery policies. His concerns and suggestions were listened to and agreed with by his fellow council members.

Shumate is also a member of the Park and Recreation board. He said, "This board has approved several improvements for the park and recreation leagues. Some being additional practice fields for soccer, major renovations for the swimming pool, assisting the Arab High School baseball boosters by allowing an in-door batting facility to be built on city park property, and having city employees build a new fence around the baseball field used by Arab High School."  Shumate said, "the youth of Arab are very important to me as is my strong bond with Arab's senior citizens." I want to make sure the needs of these two age groups are effectively addressed, while continuing to meet the growing needs of our young families."

"I want to see Arab continue to grow and prosper in a way that retains our small town atmosphere. I feel we can expand our retail and industry potential without losing the charm that makes our mountain community so exciting to both old-timers and newcomers."

Shumate said. "Retaining and attracting the best city employees is just one of the keys to provide excellence in city services." He supports raises for employees that are comparable to other municipalities with Arab's standards. "We have really improved our city services by purchasing new police cars, new tractors with equipment, upgraded our ambulances, buying much needed equipment for our fire-medics, and expanding our animal control facility." "When we provide good pay and good equipment, we will continue to have good employees." he added.

Excellence in education is another important issue for Shumate. "I'm very proud of our school system. Everyone in my family graduated from Arab Schools, I want our schools to be the best, not just in the top five in the state." His oldest son Clint, 21, is a student at Auburn University. Seventeen-year old Cody is a senior At Arab High School.

Shumate is a member of the Arab Masonic Lodge #663, lifetime member of the Arab Football Booster Club, Racking Horse Breeders Association of America, licensed judge with the North Alabama Saddle Club Association, and provides the color commentary on the WAFN - Fun 92.7 radio broadcast of Arab High School football games.

Shumate has been employed with the Huntsville Police Department for 24 years and has received numerous awards and citations including four Meritorious Service awards along with a Distinguished Pistol Expert award.  He is a weapons of mass destruction instructor, a biological and hazardous weapons instructor, as well as a CPR and first aid instructor.  He was also a long time board member with the Alabama DARE Officers Association. He is currently assigned as the senior officer in the departments School Resource Officer program, and serves as an instructor/training officer with the departments Youth Street Gang Unit.

He and his wife, the former Denice Singleton have been married for 27 years.