With all seven city council seats on the ballot for Mobile’s municipal election, District 2 candidate Samantha Ingram met with constituents Thursday evening ahead of the August 26th election day.
The Mobile native and Former Deputy Superintendent for the Mobile County Public School System (MCPSS) joined residents at Great Day Latte to talk about the future of District 2.
An alumna of B.C. Rain, Ingram attended Auburn University before getting her Master’s, Ed.s., and PhD at the University of South Alabama. She then taught at Blount High School before moving up to Deputy Superintendent for the school system, becoming the youngest at the time.
Ingram says that during her initial years with MCPSS, after noting historically Black schools underperforming, she worked with stakeholders to create a transformation plan that was implemented at the county’s lowest-performing schools: Calloway Smith Middle School, Chastang-Fournier Middle School, George Hall Elementary, and Mobile County Training School. After three years of gutting and rebuilding, Ingram says students went on to meet standards for the first time.
Following her time with the school system, Ingram moved to South Carolina where the state recruited her for consulting due to her then-district’s status as the fastest growing in the state. She went on to become the first Black Superintendent for the Department of Defense in the southeast region–serving as Chief of the Center for Instructional Leadership
“My platform is based on my experiences,” Ingram told attendees. “It’s based on the experience of people that look just like me, but more importantly, it’s focused on the heart of the city, and District 2 is the heart of the city.”
Ingram’s campaign prioritizes five issues: affordable housing, youth opportunities, neighborhood safety, inclusive economic growth, and community-first governance. She opened the floor to residents for questions about her experience and her vision for the district.
When asked about how she’d address youth quality of life, Ingram noted that the budget for youth opportunities has diminished while youth violence is on the rise.
“There’s no way we’re going to address crime, there’s no way we’re going to address economic development if we don’t address our youth,” she shared.
She spoke about implementing school-to-workforce programs, starting in middle school, to prepare students for college. The proposal includes establishing after-school programs and leadership development.
An attendee asked about Ingram’s vision for leading the Africatown community to realize its economic potential to which she shared her approach to the topic: “How do you…bring in new people but also preserve the legacy of what’s there?”
Ingram said her plan is ‘multifaceted’ and would require private businesses to take on building and restoration projects.
“If they come in and build new homes, that allows [us to]..bring in new people into the neighborhood. We want diversity.” Ingram says her plan uses funding from new home sales to refurbish and preserve existing homes.
“We don’t need to rip people away and when we do, that creates that gentrification…”
She went on to explain that her plan means, ”If you’re in a home and you can’t afford to bring your home to a level that really revitalizes [it], then we would offer a grant for you…”
“We want to make sure that our single parents that can come there…can afford to rent a home in that area.”
Ingram says her plans for the revitalization of Africatown, in addition to offering incentives to small businesses, would boost economic development.
Lorenzo Martin, a mayoral candidate for the City of Prichard, was present, asking Ingram what her thoughts were on the relationship of neighboring cities. She responded by saying her greatest strength throughout her career has been “collaborating and starting partnerships.”
“I believe that when we have a solution to something, for us to not share it with you is critical,” she stated, detailing that her plan introduces network learning communities with monthly meetings for sharing solutions and resources.
On the topic of public transportation, Ingram said, “Public transportation is so important to my plan because I can’t have youth opportunities if they can’t get there.”
She continued saying after evaluating other cities and hearing mayoral candidates’ proposals, she thinks public transportation has to be a “collective, comprehensive decision in terms of where we go next.”
She noted that public transportation successes in other cities utilize buses smaller than those used in Mobile. “Right now that’s where I’m leaning but I can’t tell you that that’s the final decision.”
Another attendee asked, “What’s your plan to actually engage the community to get results from you and what is your expectation from [the] community?”
Ingram spoke of ongoing efforts to establish a youth forum to have conversations around “youth and democracy.”
She explained her platform focuses on proactive community engagement, noting the inconvenience of current city council meetings and detailing a desire to hold weekly Facebook Live town hall meetings where constituents can hold her and themselves accountable. She also spoke of a Google format with regular status updates on submitted issues.
“I think that in order for us to really be serious about improving District 2, we must create a structure where people can give me input but they can hold me accountable for providing solutions.”
Ingram is one of three candidates for District 2. Her running mates include Reggie Hill and William Carroll–the district’s current representative.
