I have a “vision” for Fairmont. It involves 3 main goals and requires that, as YOUR MAYOR, I take A.I.M. and reach these goals. They are:
I. A— ACCESSIBILITY— A plan to provide more contact and more openness between government officials and the citizens of our community.
· As Mayor I pledge to hold an ISSUE FORUM each quarter (Jan/Apr/July/Oct-4 per year).
· As Mayor I pledge to host on the 3 Tuesday nights not reserved for Town Board meetings, discussion groups of citizens from zones of our community in an easily accessible site.
· As Mayor I will initiate a new program called, “Park It With The Mayor”. On Saturday mornings any interested citizens, the Mayor, and any Commissioners will assemble in the Community Park for fellowship, refreshments, and group discussions of interest to us all. When weather is not permitting we will move inside.
· As Mayor I will write a front page article outlining those topics which are of primary concern to the citizens, with it appearing in our monthly newsletter. I also plan to find a better way of getting the newsletter out to the citizens.
· As Mayor I will work with Commissioner Charles Townsend and accept any invitation he offers to appear on his weekly radio show. I will also avail myself of the offer made by the owner of our local radio station to host a weekly show which I will call, “FOCUS ON FAIRMONT”.
· As your Mayor I will personally contact all the Mayors in our county and the Chairman of the County Commissioners and propose a monthly meeting to brainstorm and network common goals to us all.
· As your Mayor I will maintain an open door policy with every citizen and group and will make myself available to meet with any group of citizens whenever I am invited or called on to do so.
II. I—IMAGE— A plan to enhance our community image and remove unwanted negativity.
· As Mayor I will immediately, upon taking office, call the editors of both The Robesonian and The Fayetteville Observer Times and meet with both. I will offer openness to their reporters and an opportunity for them to ask any questions of me and receive answers in a timely and professional manner. Unless information is strictly forbidden under the N. C. Open Meeting Law, all requests for information and interviews will be provided to the press as soon as it is requested.
· As Mayor I will appoint a COMMUNITY ENHANCEMENT TEAM whose function will be to brainstorm ways to make our community look more pleasing to both our citizens and our visitors.
· As your Mayor I will encourage monthly cleanup competitions in each neighborhood of town with incentives going to the best job done. I will work diligently to restore neighborhood pride in all areas of town. I will also reach out to building owners for their co-operation in enhancement efforts
· One of my first actions in January 2006 as your Mayor will be to revitalize the effort which has
apparently ended toward building a COMMUNITY BUILDING. 124 individuals and groups have
donated $105,000 toward this much needed facility. They must believe it is important and I do as
well. Therefore, I will take the leadership role in trying to find the finances to achieve its completion.
III. M—MANUFACTURING, BUSINESS, JOBS— This area is my #1 priority. We have to be very aggressive in job growth and business expansion to increase our tax value and base thus removing some of the tax burden from our citizens.
· As your Mayor my very 1st act will be to appoint a Mayors Committee of 4-5 citizens with extensive experience in the fields of industry or manufacturing. Their role would be to use their extensive business contacts and recruit industry or other businesses which would be job producers for our citizens. They can achieve this through their considerable business contacts.
· As your Mayor I would focus attention on the immediate need to revitalize and refurbish our downtown business district. This could be accomplished by a downtown development task force made up of our officials, downtown business owners/operators, and Chamber of Commerce officials. An unexplored area of business and commerce is the ANTIQUE field. I will work closely with antique professionals in our community and owners of buildings to focus on the antique business and to start making our downtown the thriving center of commerce it once was. Once that occurs customers will return and our downtown business section will start to come alive.
· As Mayor I would be very aggressive in looking for new customers for our Sewer Plant. In this way we can generate revenue and lessen the burden on our town residents for water/sewer. We have to be proactive in getting our sewer lines run out to Exit 10/14 due to the increased business activity which will soon be there. Again, through the use of industrial, business, and manufacturing WEB sites we would alert those interests of the magnificent sewer facility we have for their use. WE HAVE IT, WE NEED TO LET OTHERS KNOW WE HAVE IT AND WE MUST SELL IT TO OTHERS.
These are the goals I will set for myself in my term as YOUR MAYOR. They are goals which can be attained by a very organized and highly motivated person such as myself. I PROMISE that I will work hard EACH and EVERY DAY to attain them all. I will display a copy of them in a prominent place in my office and home so that they will never be far from my view. I also pledge to be relentless in my quest for fairness and equal treatment for each and every citizen of this town and to be a CHAMPION of the rights of any CITIZEN or EMPLOYEE who does not feel they have been treated fairly by any government official.
I hope that when and if critics of my campaign, and this platform, present themselves to you and begin, what I know to be, criticism of my effort that you will at least seek me out so that I may, in the interest of fair play, give my side of the story. I am not perfect but I will work tirelessly to see that the very best government is provided for each citizen and that ALL points of view are heard. There are many “naysayers” in our community but thank goodness they don’t outnumber those of us who see endless possibilities for the future growth of our beloved community. Aren’t you tired of all the negativity? Let’s change it together.
“He can bring us together”