METCALFE — Mayor-Elect Shaquita Allen’s upbringing would make the board members of the Mississippi Municipal League envious. The daughter of former mayor, now deceased Shirley Allen, Shaquita spent much of her formative years hanging around town hall absorbing the finer points of municipal government and actively assisting with the business at hand. “My mother was mayor for 16 years and I remember helping the city clerk with filing and different tasks around the office,” Allen recalled. “And I guess the voters and citizens in Metcalfe saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself at first because I finished college and started teaching in Tchula. I had no interest in municipal government at all.”
But Allen eventually moved back home and ran for the board of aldermen and got elected and re-elected. She was vice mayor of Metcalfe on a couple of occasions and was appointed as interim mayor when former mayor Walter McDavid resigned late last year.
On Monday, the voters demonstrated once again that they believe in a young woman born and bred into the life of running the town. “I still have this feeling of joy, but that word is still a bit short when it comes to the high emotions that I’m experiencing,” she said. “I’m very grateful and will do my best to serve the community that has elected me.”
Allen’s first meeting as the newly-elected mayor will be February 7. She already has plans in place to guide the early portion of her administration. Top priority will be using funds in excess of $400,000 to provide upgrades to the town’s lagoon and water infrastructure. Allen also plans to work with the board of aldermen to help develop housing on publicly-owned land. “Metcalfe is a great place to live,” Allen said. “Because of our low crime rate and close knit community many people have reached out to me over the years asking where they can find good housing in town.”
Another project that is on the new mayor’s radar is the renovation of the community center that bears her mother’s name. “Renovation of the Shirley Allen Multipurpose Center and projects like the ones local and county government are doing at the Greenville Municipal Airport are going to be instances where I look at opportunities for Metcalfe to partner with other units of government,” she explained. “After COVID, the Mayor’s Youth Council faded and we have started it back up teaching youths about community service and conducting summer enrichment programs.”
Allen is also looking to start a monthly town newsletter spearheaded by the Youth Council. “I plan to work collectively with the board and the community to build unity and to experience real growth in Metcalfe,” Allen said. “The only thing that would make this experience more complete is if my mom was here to see it all. But I know she’s smiling down on me. and Metcalfe right now.”
