He Calls It “The People’s Position”

For Konnor McKay, running for mayor is tied to a place he has never had to think twice about calling home.

McKay was born in Fort Smith shortly after babies were no longer being delivered in Waldron, but he has lived here his entire life. His memories, relationships and sense of identity are rooted in the community, including its churches, schools and Friday nights filled with Bulldog pride.

“This is home,” McKay said. “It’s always been home.”

“My love for the community is what keeps me here,” he continued. “I grew up loving the Waldron Bulldogs. Anything Waldron Bulldogs has been my hero all my life, and so I’ve got a lot of Bulldog pride.”

That pride does not require overlooking Waldron’s problems, he said. Instead, it gives him a reason to believe the community is worth staying in, serving and working to improve.
“I see the good in our community, and that gives me a desire to not only stay here, but to be a part of continuing to make things better,” McKay said. “We can either be a part of the problem or a part of the solution. My hope is to always be a part of the solution for Waldron.”

McKay, 29, said the desire to become mayor first took shape when he was about 20.

“I feel like I have the energy to do it, I feel like I have the capacity to do it, and I feel like I have the qualifications to do it,” he said.

Much of McKay’s adult life has been spent in roles that required him to listen, make decisions and work with people through difficult situations.

He currently serves in pastoral ministry. McKay has also served five years on the Waldron School Board and spent 11 years on the Waldron Housing Authority Board. He recently resigned from the Housing Authority Board to create more room for the demands of campaigning and the possibility of serving as mayor.

“I’ve basically lived my entire adult life leading people,” McKay said. “I have learned that leading people is not about being at the front. Leading people is about serving people.”

His time on the school board gave him experience with public finances, long-range planning and decisions affecting students, employees and families. His service with the Housing Authority allowed him to work closely with administrators and learn more about overseeing a public organization.

McKay does not claim those experiences have prepared him for every situation he would encounter at City Hall. Recognizing what he does not know, he said, is part of responsible leadership.

“I’m just smart enough to know that I don’t know everything,” he said. “This life is not about knowing everything. It’s about surrounding yourself with people who do.”

One concern McKay returned to throughout the interview was what he described as a sense of apathy surrounding Waldron.

“There’s a lot of apathy,” he said. “Apathy is the disconnect of purpose.”

McKay was careful not to place that feeling solely at the feet of current leaders or city employees.

“I really want to be careful how I word these things because I do not want it to sound like I’m undermining the current leadership,” he said. “I love and appreciate our leaders.”

Instead, he described an attitude that can settle over a community when people begin to believe little can change. Waldron, he said, is sometimes dismissed as “just Waldron,” both by people outside the area and occasionally by those who live here.

“I feel like there’s a disconnect between what could happen in Waldron versus what does happen based on the apathetic view of Waldron,” McKay said. “Waldron is just Waldron to so many people, especially surrounding communities, and I don’t view it that way.”

His response is one of the central ideas behind his candidacy

“What I want to do is replace apathy with empathy,” he said. “Empathy is the ability to feel, the ability to see the need of what’s going on in the community and what people need. I would say apathy is the problem and empathy is the solution.”

Some of those needs, McKay said, are difficult to miss. Aging water lines, recurring outages, damaged streets, wastewater needs and serious flooding affect residents across the city.

To explain how he would approach those problems, McKay used an illustration involving a container filled with large rocks, pebbles, sand and water. If the smallest pieces are placed inside first, he said, there may be no room for the largest and most pressing needs.

“If you put all of the little rocks and all the little things and the sand in before you put the big rocks in, then you’re never going to get your big rocks to fit in it,” McKay said. “There’s a level of priority of what we have to work on in the community.”

For him, infrastructure is one of Waldron’s largest rocks.

“Especially in the wintertime, you’re waking up in the morning and you don’t have water for a shower because your water pipes are busted,” he said. “The city’s working their tail off trying to keep water in the lines because they’re so old and outdated. We don’t even have an updated map of where these water lines are.”

McKay acknowledged that Waldron cannot simply replace an entire water system or repair every street at once. The city’s tax base and available revenue must be weighed against projects that could require large investments.

“We’ve got to constantly be working and looking and searching, meeting the right people and looking in the right avenues,” he said.

That reality is why he avoids guaranteeing that specific projects would be completed during one term.

“I can’t make a promise to our community that we’ll replace one water pipe or fix one street,” McKay said. “I can make a promise to our community that we’re going to work at it.”

Flooding and drainage are part of the same conversation. McKay said several areas experience problems too significant for temporary patches.

“We have a serious flooding issue in several parts of our community,” he said. “Little fixes are not going to work. It’s going to take a lot of money to fix it, and it’s going to take a lot of work.”

He believes Waldron should investigate possible partnerships with state and federal agencies while becoming more aggressive about pursuing outside funding.

“We need to be a grant-writing city,” McKay said.

Some grants require matching funds, he acknowledged, meaning city leaders would need to carefully consider which opportunities are realistic. Still, he believes Waldron should make the effort.

“The worst thing they can do is tell you no,” he said.

McKay’s approach to those challenges reflects the way he says he would view the mayor’s authority. Throughout the interview, he returned to the belief that the position does not belong to the person elected to it.

“My role is not to do what I want,” McKay said.

He believes the mayor should listen to City Council members, city employees and residents, then help make decisions based on public input and the city’s financial realities.

“I am the mayor to sit in that position to hear what people think, both from the City Council and from the people of this community, and make a collective decision on where I stand based on the feedback of the community,” he said.

McKay described that responsibility as stewardship rather than ownership.

“I believe I am a steward of the office of mayor,” he said. “This is not my office. This is not my position. This is the people’s position. They put me here.”

Listening does not mean every decision will please everyone, McKay acknowledged. A mayor must sometimes make unpopular choices, and he said his focus would be on what he believes is right for the community.

“I want to do the right thing, no matter who it makes upset or who it pleases,” he said. “Not who is this going to make mad or who is this going to make happy, but what’s the right thing to do?”

McKay connects that philosophy to another priority: improving transparency and communication between City Hall and the people it serves. Residents, he said, should know what the city is working on and feel that their concerns are valued.

Economic development, in his view, should also begin with relationships. Before looking elsewhere, McKay said Waldron should make sure existing businesses know their investment in the community is appreciated.

“I think it’s important to develop relationships with the businesses that you already have,” he said. “We want to let them know we appreciate them and thank them for choosing Waldron.”

His goal is not to turn Waldron into Fort Smith or Greenwood. Growth, he said, should strengthen the community rather than erase what makes it familiar.

“My goal is to help and play my part in making Waldron the best Waldron that it can be today,” McKay said.
He believes several smaller companies creating 20 or 30 jobs apiece could make a meaningful difference over time, even without attracting another employer the size of Tyson.

McKay also believes Waldron should begin planning now for the future interstate corridor and the changes it could bring.
“The interstate is coming,” he said. “I can’t tell you when, but I’m telling you it’s in our lifetime.”

Some communities grow after a new interstate arrives, while others lose businesses as traffic is redirected away from traditional routes.

“If we want Waldron to be benefited from the interstate coming through and not to be damaged, we’re going to have to think proactively,” McKay said.

His years on the Waldron School Board also shape how he views education, although the mayor does not oversee the district. McKay said he supports public schools while respecting parents’ choice of private education or homeschooling.

“Wherever we’re sending our kids to get an education,” he said, “we’ve got to make sure that we are giving kids a quality education to prepare them for the workforce and life.”

Away from city issues, board meetings and ministry, McKay’s life centers on his wife, Jasmine, and their young son, Nolan.
“A day in the life at the McKay household includes lots of diapers, bits of crying, frequent naps and just love and community,” McKay said.

His schedule often keeps him moving during the day, and he sometimes works a second job. When their evenings are free, the family tries to slow down and spend time together.

“We try to value time together,” he said. “We try to disconnect as much as we can and just spend time with one another.”

A family meal out in Waldron will often take them to Judy’s, where McKay orders the Brew Burger and chive fries. Jasmine favors the chili cheesesteak and curly fries, while Nolan is still firmly in the milk stage.

McKay is equally certain about his own drink of choice.

“If you don’t drink Dr Pepper, something’s wrong with you,” he joked before quickly adding that he was kidding.

He also describes himself as a night owl who would happily stay awake until 2 a.m. and sleep until around 8:30 when his schedule allows. McKay acknowledged that routine might have to change if he is elected.

Beneath the lighter details, he said protecting his relationship with Jasmine and his role as Nolan’s father requires constant intention.

“My family will be there for me when nobody else is,” McKay said. “I prioritize my family to make sure they know that before I’m a mayor, before I’m a pastor, before I am anything to anybody, I’m first a child of God. I’m second a husband to Jasmine, and I’m third a father to Nolan.”

When difficult decisions arise, McKay said he first turns to his faith, then to trusted mentors Ricky Hunt, Mac Davis and Travis May. These men, he said, helped him through difficult periods in his life and remain willing to give him honest advice.

“I know I can call them, and they’re going to tell me what I need to hear, whether it’s what I want to hear or not,” he said.

That willingness to listen and be corrected matters to McKay because he does not want public service to become his identity.

“I never want to get my title mixed up with my identity,” McKay said. “My identity is not found in what I do. Identity is found in who I am, and that’s something that requires constant attention and intentionality.”