Over the course of the last several weeks, the biggest question I have been asked is: "Why are you running for Mayor?"
Three words: leadership, professionalism and regionalism!
My family has lived in Huntersville since 1996. We have seen many of our neighbors come and go with job transfers, and have seen many more stay and watch their children grow. Huntersville is our home, and I feel like I have a lot to offer to make it a better place for all of us.
Over the course of my 8 years on the town board, the board has made some very good decisions, and a few very bad decisions. The bad ones have and will cost the taxpayers of Huntersville a great deal of money. For example, the Aquatic Center, with a $4.5 million debt payment and a $5 million current bill to the town that we will never see. Another example is The Discovery Place Kids project. This was supposed to be a public-private venture, but now the private part looks questionable and the cost to the taxpayer continues to grow, with very little benefit to the average citizen of Huntersville. Yet another example is The Anchor mill property, purchased almost 10 years ago and arguably worth less now than when it was purchased. Ironically, the current Mayor voted for each one of these items.
However, these bad decisions have been made, and voted upon. Now it is upon the citizens of Huntersville to make changes and move forward to actually improve the quality of life of our current and future Huntersville residents. How do we do that?
1. A major push to improve our roads. Not just our local roads, but regional roads and the road building formula. As our next mayor, I will work with our state and federal leaders to try and bring more funding to the Huntersville and Lake Norman region through the Mecklenburg Union Metropolitan Planning Organization (MUMPO) and through direct visits to Raleigh and Department of Transportation (DOT) staff, as well as our state legislators.
2. Bring business to Huntersville. There are numerous things that keep business from coming to and expanding in Huntersville. We need to improve our zoning and approval process, as this is a nightmare to anyone who has gone through it. This is also a stumbling block to new business coming to town. We have a bad reputation in this area and we need to change it. As Mayor, I will also ensure that our town board knows what the Lake Norman Economic development corporation (LNEDC) is doing for the town and its residents. As a board member information was sporadic at best. I recently met with the EDC director, Jerry Broadway, and the town board is now receiving reports of meetings with existing businesses. A small step in the right direction, with the hope more will occur once I am Mayor. The Mayor also needs to meet with prospective businesses who are considering Huntersville. We need a Mayor in these meetings who understands the business world!
3. Work collaboratively with the town board. While I have philosophical differences with some of my fellow board members, we can have open and frank discussions to understand each others perspective, and respect the others’ opinion, even if we don't always agree. This is crucial for a Mayor and is a skill that is lacking in our current Mayor.
4. Regional respect. It is critical that, in order for Huntersville to be involved and get things done on a regional level, we have respect from other towns and counties. I don’t just mean respect for the office, but respect for the person in the office. As a leader in the business community and a 4 term town board member, I have developed that respect both here and around the region, and I will leverage that with respect to better working relationships for our town.
These are the main reasons I am asking for your support on November 3rd, to be your next Mayor of Huntersville.
Brian Sisson
Mayor pro tem
Town of Huntersville