As a meter reader in the City of Russellville for nearly three decades, Dwight Jackson had an ace in the hole when it came to winning over angry dogs on his route—a pocket full of dog treats.
“I saw a lady at Walmart recently and she stopped me and said 'I miss you as a meter reader but my dog misses you more,'” Jackson said.
As Jackson embarks on a run for Russellville City Council District Three, he's got another secret weapon that's really not such a secret—to serve his 'customers' (Russellville residents) as councilman the same way he served them as a meter reader.
Jackson retired from Russellville Utilities January 7, 2016, after 27 years of employment. His plans at the time were to “retire and relax” but some of his customers had different ideas.
“I was not going to be a politician. I'm not a political person—I'm a people person,” Jackson said. “I had some customers encourage me to run for city council and they said they believed I could win.
“It had never crossed my mind. But it's about my customers and their future,” Jackson said.
Jackson, the son of Aire and Ruby Jackson, is a Russellville native and the father one one son, Jamie. After attending Russellville City Schools, and walking to school every day, Jackson transferred to Belgreen High School when the bus started running by his family's house on West Lawrence St. He graduated from Belgreen in 1969.
“Dr. Underwood delivered me. Russellville has always been a part of my life. The main thing I'm running on is my customers. They're still customers to me and many of them still call me their meter reader,” Jackson said.
“As a meter reader, I worked for Russellville Utilities but my customers came first. They're the one who paid my salary. They are foundation of the utility department and of this city,” Jackson added.
Jackson believes the city has operated under the direction of the same core of people serving in elected office and on several city-appointed boards, and he vows to change that if elected.
“We need to get people involved in this city to make it better rather than let it just ride on,” Jackson said. “When I get in office, I'll work to appoint board members with a fresh perspective. We need to end the days of lifetime appointments and need some new faces on these boards. The buddy system should not be in place,” Jackson said.
Jackson plans to continue “getting out among my customers” to hear what they want done in the City of Russellville.
“It's not about what I want to do. I want to do what the people of Russellville want to see done,” Jackson said.
