Talking Points
· Foster harmony with all government agencies: One of the keys to a city’s success is effective communication within the government. This includes developing productive communication between the city and county governments. The many resources, businesses and services offered within the city limits of Griffin are also utilized by residents of the county. Therefore, it is vitally important to establish effective lines of communication between all government agencies within the city and county. When all government agencies work together it can save time, money and resources. One of the issues we have in Griffin is a lack of transparency. This results in delayed responses, wasted resources and uniformed citizens. As commissioner, I will work to open communication with all other commissioners including both the city and county. I would also like to see town hall meetings with the citizens of Griffin.
· Establish economic growth and expansion: I am a strong supporter of economic growth. I have spent the last 10 years of my career educating, training and developing individuals to enter the technical workforce. In addition, I have worked to establish relationships with local businesses and industries to provide employment for those trained individuals. My goal is to convince new and existing businesses that we can provide the educated and skilled workforce necessary to meet the company’s needs. So, in order for us to attract new business and industry to Griffin, we must empower our workforce through education and training. We also must make Griffin attractive to potential businesses by sending a clear message that we are serious about economic growth and expansion. We can do this by making the process of rezoning easier, welcoming communication with companies interested in locating in our city, and being open to new ideas.
Economic growth and expansion also generates tax income for the city. That’s good news for property owners because it can lower property taxes. We must utilize the advantages of Griffin’s geographical location in proximity to Atlanta and Interstate 75 for establishing growth. The leadership of Griffin must promote every asset of Griffin and market our city in ways that will make us attractive to a variety of new businesses.
I have spoken with many business owners and most of their comments are the same. They are faced with many roadblocks that have been put in place by the city. New businesses are often faced with miscellaneous fees and charges that place a financial burden on the owner. Many of these fees are not clearly explained or defined when the business is first opened and are surprise charges. We must work to remove all roadblocks for successfully establishing small businesses and attracting industry to Griffin. Our strategic plan should include specific goals for establishing new businesses each year and strategies on how we can assist and retain our current businesses.
Another pressing economic issue is the airport. I have spent time talking with the businesses located at the airport and I have listened to citizens. I understand that in order to grow, you must have the infrastructure to support it. The current airport restricts future development and hinders economic stimulus. Keep in mind that we must be able to compete with neighboring counties if we want to attract industry. I believe the airport should be relocated to the county and expanded to accommodate future economic growth.
· Build stronger, safer and cleaner communities: Most would agree that we want to live in communities where our children can safely play and where we can live in harmony with our neighbors. This can only be accomplished when the city and its citizens work together. The government can certainly take measures to build stronger and safer communities but we desperately need community organizers, civic organizations and churches to assist in this effort. The leadership of Griffin must be willing to work hand in hand with private organizations to improve our communities. We must allow these organizations to help us meet our needs.
With that said, the city also has a large responsibility to protect each community from crime, litter and pollution. We must work hard to ensure that all of our communities receive equal police services, ordinance enforcement and opportunity for improvement. We need to challenge the residents of each community to take pride in where they live by demonstrating that the leadership and the city of Griffin cares about their community.
Another one of my goals is to see the housing projects of Griffin replaced with housing communities. When I think about the term “housing projects”, I think about the many different negative words that I would like to see eradicated from our city. Words such as a lack of opportunity, poverty, racism and injustice have been associated with housing projects for years. That’s why so many cities are removing housing projects and replacing them with updated and safer communities. Together, we can make the same thing happen in Griffin. Our goal is not to take away someone’s home but it is to improve their living conditions by providing a safer, cleaner and stronger community. It’s time we empower our citizens by means of changing the mindset of our city. Building safer communities is the best way to start rebranding a city and sending a message the Griffin is serious about community improvement.
· Seek more efficiency in government: Understanding microeconomics and budgeting is a must for any city commissioner to be truly successful. Setting the city’s budget and making adjustment is a job that most do not enjoy but it must be done especially during economic times like the present. Whenever you deal with finance and budgeting, there is always room for effective and positive improvement. It is the duty of every commissioner to be good stewards of tax dollars and that means constantly searching for ways to improve financial efficiency. Research and financial monitoring are two effective methods to establish efficiency in government. It is the responsibility of a commissioner to take an active role in how the city operates and how each financial decision affects departments, performance and the lives of the citizens.
· Be responsible with our natural resources and assets: Although the city of Griffin does not have a large portion of lakes and rivers, we still must give attention to the cleanliness of the natural resources we do have. I have a vision of living in the cleanest and best maintained city in Georgia. To get there, we have a lot of work to do. We need to pay more attention to the overall health of our city. This means controlling litter, cleaning our streams and instilling a pride about the image we portray. I applaud the efforts that have been made in recent years to change the image of Griffin through various projects but there is always room for improvement.
· Set challenging yet attainable and measurable goals for our city: As an educator this is one of my largest responsibilities. I must set goals for myself as a teacher and also set goals for my students. Without measurable goals, I cannot truly measure if I have been successful as a teacher and if my students have successful gained the necessary knowledge they need. In other words, we cannot determine our future and we cannot measure our success without goals. The same goes for a city commissioner and a city. Every city must establish challenging and measurable goals. The city of Griffin has goals that have been established but we must make those goals known to our citizens and business owners. Most of our residents are not even aware of our cities goals and this is one of the many things we must change. Again, town hall meetings are a great way to discuss our goals and receive feedback from our citizens.
Here are a few of my goals for the city of Griffin:
1. Increase our business retention rate
2. Increase our local gross domestic product
3. Have the number one recycling program in Georgia
4. Replace all housing projects with new remarketed communities
5. Lower the poverty rate below the state average
6. Lower the unemployment rate below the state average
7. Remove school tax from all senior citizens
8. Better inform citizens about the City of Griffin Comprehensive Plan
9. Become the most entrepreneurial friendly city in the state
10. Increase commissioner support for special projects and institutions such as
a. The 3/50 project
b. Griffin Main Street Program
c. Griffin Downtown Council
d. Southern Crescent Technical College
e. University of Georgia, Griffin campus
f. One Town, One Goal
g. Accomplishing these without increased government and increased taxes
· Develop creative ideas to promote revenue: You must be creative to promote revenue almost anytime but especially during our current economic recession. Again, I revert back to the many years I have spent in the classroom as a college instructor. Every successful teacher must be creative in his or her teaching style and delivery otherwise you will not reach your target of changing the lives of the students. The same goes for promoting revenue in a city. We have had some tremendous opportunities in Griffin that we let slip through our hands which would have changed the entire financial landscape of our city. For example, the location of Interstate 75 and the many other “what could have been”. We can’t go and change many of those things but we can still alter our future.
Griffin is in serious need of rebranding its image. We must first determine who we are and then what we want to become. Do we want to be known as an old mill town? The mills served a great purpose back in their prime but most are gone and it’s time we move on as well. They are no longer our main revenue stream so let’s focus on something that can replace it.
Our first step should be to develop a voluntary research community made up of citizens and city planners to investigate our options. We need to answer important questions such as:
a. Who is our city marketing to?
b. What are the industry demands?
c. What have other cities done to rebrand themselves?
· Be attentive to the concerns of our residents: The first and most important role that any commissioner should perform is to listen to the residents. This is probably the simplest point but it is often the most overlooked. I really dislike the term “politician” because it is usually associated with negative connotation. I prefer the term “public servant” because service to the community is the key element of the job. I want to be the most hands-on commissioner that has ever served Griffin. I am not a person that likes to watch other people work but prefer to be the one making things happen.
· Serve the people with consistency and respect: This is my final talking point but it is the one where I share my strongest convictions. Every citizen of this city deserves the right to live, work and prosper with equal opportunity. They have the right to know that the person representing them in office is consistent and respectful in his or her decision making. It has been my experience that people who are consistent and respectful are the most trustworthy.
I was born here is this city and my family has been a part of this community for generations. My dad gave over 40 years of service to the residents of Griffin with the City of Griffin Electric Department. I am not a transplant and I will not be a transfer from the city that I have called home all of my 34 years. My family has a strong history of stability in our city, community and church. I have had the opportunity to go to other places but I have chosen to give my city every ounce of my energy to revitalize, redevelop and reach optimal success. I do not believe you will find a family that has demonstrated more integrity, stability and staying power than my family has shown.
