A laundry list may be the best way to describe what Miss-Lou voters said they need in their towns and what they want to see in a their leaders.

The roads, &uot;horrible,&uot; the water &uot;deplorable,&uot; said Ferriday voter JeWanda Smith. And jobs &045;&045; &uot;We need jobs,&uot; Rosemary Watkins said.

Some voters want a complete change, an overhaul of Ferriday.

&uot;Ferriday needs to be revamped &045;&045; period,&uot; said lifelong Ferriday resident Maxine Duncan.

As voters head to the polls in Concordia Parish Tuesday, they will have many of these things on their minds as they cast their ballots, choosing the best candidate to suit what they really want. Experience, aggressive leadership, positive vision and honesty were just some of the characteristics Ferriday voters want to see in their next mayor.

&uot;I want somebody that knows this area and wants to change this area for the better, stick by their word, be truthful about the change and really wants the change,&uot; Smith said. And so did many other Ferriday voters.

And beyond finding solutions to the street and water problems, the town needs to be cleaned up, Glenn Ratcliff said, a former Ferriday alderman. &uot;The main thing is downtown Ferriday needs to be attractive,&uot; he said. But Ratcliff said it will take &uot;the whole town&uot; to clean up Ferriday.

Linda Crumb, a mother of three, is worried about all of these things, but also, about getting activities for the children.

&uot;We need to get these kids off the street,&uot; Crumb said.

Not only do voters want leaders to think about the children now by bringing in youth programs and recreation but also thinking about their future. &uot;There’s nothing to come back to,&uot; Watkins said, and that leaves lots of longtime Ferriday residents, especially young ones, looking for a new place to call home. &uot;You just can’t make a living here.&uot;

So what does a mayor need to have to bring all of these things to Ferriday and be a good leader for its people? &uot;Experience,&uot; Watkins said. She wants someone who knows what they are doing to come in and do things for the people of Ferriday.

Honesty, it may seem like one of the bare bones qualities for a leader, but it came up many times with voters.

They want someone who is &uot;not saying one thing one minute and contradicting themselves&uot; the next, Crumb said. Crumb wants politicians to &uot;stop lying to the public about what they are going to do when they get in office.&uot;

&uot;We want people that are going to work for the city,&uot; Crumb said.

Celeste Melancon wants honesty in a leader too, because &uot; most of all, you need that.&uot;

Ratcliff said he wants to see an aggressive leader take a hold of the projects for Ferriday, like the water. &uot;We’ve already seen the problem with the water. We’ve got to address that and take care of it,&uot; he said.

The mayor needs to be &uot;aggressive&uot; and want &uot;the same thing we want. Listen to the people, he said.

His wife, Mickey, wants a motivator, &uot;someone that can motivate the people to want to work together.&uot;

What else do people want? They want a better handle on crime and public assistance. And the drugs, &uot;need to go,&uot; Crumb said. But maybe most of all, people want Ferriday to have a good name, a good reputation. Smith wants the negativity about Ferriday to stop; she wants to hear the positives.

&uot;There are not enough positives, extracurricular activities for the kids,&uot; she said.

In Natchez, where qualifying for mayor and aldermen posts just concluded Friday, the main issue, given the area’s economic woes in recent years, is attracting more jobs. &uot;We need to try and get some industry in here,&uot; said resident Barbara Bruce. &uot;We need to find out what the industries are looking for and do whatever it takes to get them here.&uot;

For that reason, Bruce said, &uot;we need someone who’s a go-getter, who’s outgoing. … But we also need someone with moral values and fairness, and who’s a leader.&uot;

&uot;Jobs, jobs jobs,&uot; James Credit said when he was asked what the top issues are in this year’s campaign. &uot;To do that, we need someone who will help everyone work together, to make them cooperate &045;&045; the aldermen, the supervisors, the whole community.&uot;

Beth Richard said Natchez needs a mayor who will bring in industries and also develop tourism. &uot;Downtown is great, but you could make it more attractive and develop the bluff area,&uot; Richard said.

&uot;We need someone who is honest and will run the town like a business, someone with fresh ideas that is not worried about changing things. … Natchez needs a mayor who will not run it like a good ole boy town.&uot;

Leadership &045;&045; a quality that is admittedly hard to define &045;&045; seems to be the No. 1 quality Natchezians like to see in their elected officials. &uot;We need strong leadership, someone who will get the job done and get this place moving. It seems like it is stuck in a rut,&uot; said Christine Burns, 18, who started voting with the last county election.

&uot;(We need) someone who will execute those ideas, be able to delegate those duties to other people. The mayor can’t do it all,&uot; she said, adding that without new industries, people her age say they won’t come back to town after college.

Chris Shirey said she believes &uot;we need someone who would do good for Natchez, bring jobs (and) be friendly, honest and energetic.&uot;

Marianne Sweeney, a new Natchez resident, said there needs to be an emphasis on tourism &045;&045; but not to the exclusion of everything else. &uot;Natchez is a tourism town, it is what we rely upon for commerce, but somebody needs to remember that there are regular people here. Remember the non-tourists,&uot; Sweeney said. She said she wants more businesses and activities for the residents, not just the tourists, and would like to see more open on Sundays.

For Terry Estes, part of leadership is having a strong personality, something that can aid in everything from running the town’s business to running a board meeting. &uot;You’ve got to be able to control board meetings in a businesslike manner,&uot; Estes said. &uot;Not everyone has that ability.&uot;

In addition, Estes would like Natchez’s mayor to have knowledge about finances. &uot;We’re in a lot of debt, … and have you seen our roads? If you’re not going to have a tax increase, you have to be able to make do with what you have,&uot; he said.

A mayor should also be able to set goals with department heads and hold those directors accountable when goals aren’t met, Estes said.

If infrastructure is kept in good shape and the city’s government is running smoothly, that environment will help attract new industries, he said.

&uot;All (the candidates) promise us a loaf of bread and a goat for supper, but just get in there and balance the budget,&uot; Estes said.

Theresa Lewis said she would like to see the city’s leaders hold town meetings to brainstorm what other communities have done to attract jobs. &uot;We need someone with a competitive spirit, someone who says we should be the best town in the state,&uot; Lewis said.

But while Lewis also understands the need for more jobs, she said she likes a mayor to first have deep concern for the living conditions of the town’s people in general. &uot;Also, they need to find more money for recreation,&uot; she said.

Elicia Newman said a mayor needs to be &uot;honest, and more people-oriented than business-oriented, … someone who has good values and says ‘Is this something I can be proud of?’&uot;

&uot;Natchez is a unique town,&uot; added Natchez resident Carolyn Harper, &uot;so we need someone that is able to have a unique approach to governing.&uot;

Staff writer Julie Finley, City Editor

Nita McCann

and Louisiana Editor Jessica Waldon contributed to this report.