Mike Matos (Vilonia City Council Ward 1 Position 2, Arkansas, candidate 2024)
From Ballotpedia
Mike Matos (independent) ran for re-election to the Vilonia City Council Ward 1 Position 2 in Arkansas. He was on the ballot in the general election on November 5, 2024.[source]
Matos completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
[1]Biography
Mike Matos provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on October 14, 2024:
- Birth date: May 14, 1979
- Birth place: Chicago, Illinois
- High school: Lighthouse Christian Academy
- Gender: Male
- Religion: Christian
- Profession: Entrepreneur
- Prior offices held:
- City Council Member (2023-Prsnt)
- Vilonia Planning Commission (2022-2023)
- Incumbent officeholder: Yes
- Campaign slogan: "Standing Up For You"
- Campaign website
- Campaign Facebook
- Campaign Instagram
Elections
General election
General election for Vilonia City Council Ward 1 Position 2
Incumbent Mike Matos and Brandon Ayers ran in the general election for Vilonia City Council Ward 1 Position 2 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | ||
 | Mike Matos (Independent)  | |
| Brandon Ayers (Independent) | ||
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Election results
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Matos in this election.
Campaign themes
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Mike Matos completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Matos' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I was born in Chicago, IL and was raised in Beebe, Arkansas. I came to Vilonia in 2016 to open the first funeral home in Vilonia. My wife and I owned and operated the Vilonia Funeral Home until we sold the venture in April of 2023. During my time in Vilonia, I have served two terms as secretary and four terms as President of the Vilonia Lions Club, I served as a board member of the Vilonia Area Chamber of Commerce, I served on the Vilonia Planning Commission and I am currently a trustee of the Vilonia Cemetery Association. I am in my first term on the city council and have consistently fought for open and transparent government, as well as improving roads, upgrading parks and bringing fiscal responsibility to the budget. I attend Crosspoint Church and am a member of Green Grove Masonic Lodge in Conway. I am married to my wife Faith, together we have three children, and two fur babies. My oldest daughter serves overseas in the United States Air Force, and my youngest daughter is a senior cheerleader at Vilonia High School. In my spare time, I like riding my trike and spending time shooting with my only son.
- I am a Christian and a conservative. I believe in strong family values, and I love America. I believe we should take a fiscal conservative approach to our budget and I believe that while economical growth is imperative, we must carefully plan for growth to ensure that we grow responsibly.
- I opposed the crypto mine, protecting Vilonia's environment and community.
I support small business growth, fostering local economic development. I have voted for improvements to parks and roads, enhancing quality of life, and I consistently defend First Amendment rights, ensuring every voice is heard.
I am an advocate for open and transparent government, and a fierce supporter of the Freedom of Information Act. - With a strong background in business ownership, community service, and advocacy for transparency, I understand the needs of Vilonia's residents and businesses.
I believe government should be open, transparent and honest. I believe God should remain in the public square. I believe we should respect and honor our American Flag and the men and women who served defending our freedoms.
Your city council and mayor is the closest form of government to the citizens. Most of the time, everything that is passed by a city council will directly impact the lives of the citizens who live in the community.
Ronald Reagan - He was a great negotiator and understood economics.
Abraham Lincoln - He was honest
Abraham Lincoln - He was honest
I grew up listening to Rush Limbaugh. The new Ronald Reagan Movie was great.
Honesty, Integrity and transparency. Another attribute is to understand and be accessible to the citizens that you are elected to represent. It is imperative that government officials answer the telephone, respond to emails and pay a visit when necessary. Be active! Keep the citizens informed via any effective means. Keep government open for public input from citizens.
I am an entrepreneur. I started the first funeral home in Vilonia. I built that business from scratch until I sold it in 2023.
I understand what serving people is about. I understand how to deal with people when they are upset and concerned over troubling issues. I understand how to build a business on a shoe string budget and then sell that business for profit. I believe city council members should approach local government as a business. Just because we have the money doesn't mean we need to spend it.
I understand what serving people is about. I understand how to deal with people when they are upset and concerned over troubling issues. I understand how to build a business on a shoe string budget and then sell that business for profit. I believe city council members should approach local government as a business. Just because we have the money doesn't mean we need to spend it.
We are tasked with allocating monies to various departments. The city council holds the purse strings to better roads, infrastructure upgrades, equipment purchases, etc. The city council is also responsible for passing zoning ordinances and other ordinances within the city limits of Vilonia. It is imperative that council members have strong ethics, business acumen and
That I made my community, state and world brighter than I found it. I want to be known as a man of character, and that if I said I was going to do something, I tried my best to do it.
Ronald Reagans Berlin Wall speech in 1987. I was 8 years old.
A commissioned sales agent selling pre-paid funeral arrangements at a local funeral home. I then started my apprenticeship to become a funeral director. I worked in this industry for many years, as well as start other various businesses over the years.
Five Wisdoms For Entrepreneur Survival by Todd Hopkins and his other books. Todd has a unique story of how he built a cleaning franchise in the United States. How he almost went out of business and what he did to survive the storm.
Tennessee Whiskey
Realizing that dreams need funding. You can't do everything on your own. You need help and you need sound advice from others.
We only have powers as a collective body, by majority vote or 2/3 vote. We are the legislative branch of government for the city, while the mayor is the executive branch. The city council does not have direct control of any departments. We only control the budgets and are tasked with passing ordinances.
Not necessarily. You should have a working knowledge of how local government works. You should read up on Arkansas municipal law, and Roberts rules of order. Citizens with no experience entering city government can be very effective because often times they approach local government based on their personal experiences. They may have also have a better understanding of how their actions will affect those in the community.
Possessing a knowledge of business and municipal government laws in imperative. It is also imperative that you have a voice and that you speak up and speak out when necessary on behalf of your constituents.
City council members live in the same communities as their voters. We are the government that is closest to the people.
"Hello, Im from the government and I'm Here To Help" - Ronald Reagan
I believe everything should be an open book at city hall, and you shouldn't have to FOIA the main things like monthly financial statements. I believe approved monthly financial statements should be placed on the city website next to the approved monthly minutes so that citizens can easily access them and refer to them at anytime they wish.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
