At the forum, candidates for Thomasville City Council and mayor, as well as one candidate for Trinity City Council, fielded questions from a panel of Realtors.
Six candidates seeking a seat at on the City Council – Jackie Jackson, David Yemm, George Burton, Jay Browning, Scott Styers and Carl Shatley – joined Joe Bennett and Earl Harrison, both seeking the mayor’s seat, at the forum. Robin Russell was the lone Trinity City Council candidate to attend the forum.
On revitalizing Thomasville, Bennett, an incumbent for mayor, said efforts to improve the city’s downtown already are under way. He noted that People Achieving Community Enhancement, a city committee, is currently building a downtown amphitheater that will be finished by the end of this month.
“We are all in the same thinking process of the need to revitalize, in particular, our downtown,” Bennett said. “There have been quite a bit of efforts made in that … Some of the folks sitting here who are candidates have been instrumental through these committees. This is going back to team effort.”
Yemm, an incumbent Thomasville councilman, said a lot of his focus has been on revitalizing downtown Thomasville to make sure it is vibrant and active so other parts of the town will do the same.
Shatley, a political newcomer, said his first experience with revitalization of downtown Thomasville was with the Thomasville Farmers Market, which PACE helped create. While others told him it would take three or four years to get the market, he said nine months later the farmers market was established in the Chair City.
“I could not accept this long-term commitment to get something done,” he said.
Jackson, a former Richmond, Va., councilwoman, said the Thomasville Area Chamber of Commerce has played a key role in being located in downtown Thomasville. With the chamber’s office moving to Randolph Street, she said it’s important for Thomasville officials to find something to put in the chamber’s current location.
“This requires us to do some smart planning.”
dignasiak@hpe.com | 888-3657
WANT TO GO?
Piedmont Crossing Retirement Community in Thomasville will hold a candidates forum from 10:15 a.m. to noon today. Candidates running for Thomasville’s municipal election will be on hand for a question and answer session to address street improvement, crime, unemployment and school mergers. Piedmont Crossing is located at 100 Hedrick Drive.
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