News

Charles Owens IV seeks election to police jury

Charles Owens IV has announced his candidacy for election to the Lincoln Parish Police Jury, District 1, in Grambling. 

Owens, a lifelong resident of the Grambling and Mt. Olive community, said his decision to run is based on four areas of concern: a desire to serve his community; the need for greater communication between government units; and officials; better maintenance of Grambling area roads and streets; and better upkeep of parish rights of way.

Owens explained the four points in his platform:

Desire to serve – “Growing up in Grambling, I have literally been campaigning for police jury since I was a child following on the coattails of my dad,” said Owens, whose father, Charles Owens III, was on the police jury for 23 years, serving on the public works and finance committees, and several terms as vice president. 

 “Matters of civic concern in the city of Grambling and political issues in Lincoln Parish were the staple topics in our house. Include state and national issue in that mix. This is what I learned at home and grew up with. That exposure is the basis of my desire to serve the people of our community.”

Communication – “We need to improve communication among officials from the City of Grambling, Grambling State University, the parish, the state and nationally,” he said.  “As a native, I know the people, I know the players and I know the issues. On paper, the Grambling community has two juror districts. In reality, I see one. What is done for one district, essentially, is done for the other. That is why it is critical for jurors of Districts 1 and 2 to communicate. 

 “Better communication is necessary all around. I propose that all elected and appointed officials representing the Grambling area, meet face-to-face and communicate on a regular basis. 

There should be no surprises from any of these public sectors serving the Grambling area. I will take the leadership to ensure that all our elected and appointed officials communicate with one another. It is crucial for our mutual growth and development.”

Grambling road tax – “Like all incorporated areas in Lincoln Parish outside of the city of Ruston, Grambling residents pay a special tax to the police jury to maintain our roads and streets. As the second largest municipality in the parish, we have more roads than most. I will make sure that through the jury’s three-year road maintenance schedule, we get our fair share of road upkeep for the tax dollars we spend.”

Upkeep of parish roads – “Parish-wide, there is a need for better upkeep of our roads and parish rights of way. This includes potholes, roadside mowing and trash pick along our roads, especially around dumpsters.”

Owens is a graduate of Grambling State University with a bachelor’s in computer information systems. He is married to Courtnie Lewis-Owens and they have three adult children.

With more than 30 years of information technology experience, he has certified training in IT areas of education, medical, government and military systems.

Owens founded and heads Microvision, LLC of Grambling where he is chief operating officer and lead IT job contractor. He has worked in the following positions: technology facilitator, Lincoln Parish School Board; network engineer and software developer, New Living Word Ministries, Ruston; technology coordinator, Petal (MS) School Board; and network specialist, Executive Consultants, Shreveport.