About the candidate
Greg White.
Lifetime Benton resident. Your alderman from 2006 to 2010. Running again because this town is getting more expensive and somebody ought to do the arithmetic.
Roots
I was born and raised in Benton and I never left. Benton High School, Class of 1977, where I was class president. Eagle Scout at fifteen.
I have watched this city grow from the inside for my whole life. I know which streets flood. I know which intersections got worse. And I shop the same stores everybody else in Ward 1 shops, which is where the grocery tax argument comes from. It is not a talking point I picked up somewhere. It is a receipt.
My wife Denise taught music at Howard Perrin Elementary until she retired. We raised three sons here, Leighton, Landon, and Lindley, and all three graduated from Benton High. We are members of First Baptist Church of Benton.
Work
I spent thirty-five years in sales and management. Twenty-five of those were in digital media sales and web development, with stops at KTHV and the Yellow Pages, and a stretch as a national sales director that took me across six states.
That background matters for one specific reason: I can read a budget, and I can tell when a number is being presented instead of explained. That is most of what this job is.
I hold an MBA from the University of Phoenix and a bachelor of arts in liberal arts.
2006 to 2010
Four years on the council
I served as alderman for Ward 1, Position 2, from 2006 to 2010.
- Helped establish the Advertising and Promotions Commission
- Contributed to the planning and development of Riverside Park
- Led the Drainage Committee that overhauled the city's storm water regulations
- Advocated for curbside recycling
- Advocated for utility rate reductions
- Pushed for balanced, smart commercial development
Underneath all of it: fiscal accountability, transparent governance, and city services that pick up the phone.
Why now
I am retired. I have the time this job actually takes, which is more than people think.
And Benton is getting expensive. Our families are feeling it. When the conversation turned to cutting the library to hand people back thirty dollars a year, I could not let that be the only idea on the table.
Benton is more than just where I live. It is where my roots are. Our residents deserve transparent, common-sense leadership that prioritizes local families.