news-record.com

Rick Wallace

Office you seek: Mayor, Town of Pleasant Garden

Occupation: Plant Supervisor, Unitex Chemical Corporation

Age: 46

Education: Attended Vincennes University, Vincennes, In., GTCC, Greensboro

Address: 6404 Manorhaven Place, Pleasant Garden

Web site/blog/email address: REWmhp@aol.com

Previous elective experience: 2005 to present on Pleasant Garden Town Council, 2005-2007 as Mayor of Pleasant Garden, candidate for Guilford County Commissioner District 5 (2008)

Other relevant experience: President of Pleasant Garden Community Center (2003-2004), U.S. Army Veteran, National League of Cities (2009), Finance, Administration and Intergovernmental Relations Committee

Why have you chosen to run for this office? I made the motion for the position of mayor to be elected by the people of Pleasant Garden. This is where the leadership in the council begins. The people of Pleasant Garden want the right to chose who the mayor will be, not settle for a vote amongst five council members. I believe that the mayor must be of strong character. The mayor must be willing to listen to all the people, all points of views and be able to make intelligent and difficult decisions. Pleasant Garden needs someone who will lead by example and keep the office of the mayor a respectable entity. This is why I have chosen to run for mayor.

Key qualifications you would bring to the job: My past experience as mayor provides me a two-year knowledge of what to expect and how to manage the day-to-day business. My ability to work with people and build bridges amongst stake holders in the community. My experience with the budget and ability to make difficult decisions to maximize investments. The understanding of how important it is to include all council members and staff.

Family: Wife, Kelly; children, Madison, Austin, Brandon and Mary Grace; family pet, Sho-Poo, Nick

What distinguishes you most from your opponents: Openness. I am receptive to all opinions and input on any issues. I will listen and make decisions based on facts, the law and the will of the people. I will not be manipulated or controlled by special-interest groups.

Please list the top three issues in Pleasant Garden and your stances on those issues:

1. Communication — I believe it is very important to share and distribute information amongst council members. In Pleasant Garden, there is no newspaper. We need a vehicle to relay information about town government to the people. The best way to keep people involved is to keep them informed.

2. Safety — We need to continue to keep drugs and gangs out of Pleasant Garden. This is not a problem in Pleasant Garden, but it is in nearby communities. The time to prevent these issues is before they become problems. We must continue to educate how to identify trends, characteristics and signs of drug abuse and gang association to prevent this in Pleasant Garden.

3. Financial Stability — The Town of Pleasant Garden is in an excellent financial position. With the state of the economy, it is imperative that we be responsible stewards of the town’s monies. This will continue to minimize taxes. And preserve a positive quality of life for the residents of Pleasant Garden.

If you were to give Pleasant Garden a letter grade on its effectiveness in managing growth, what would it be? B+, Pleasant Garden has a moderate growth rate, which is good for our type of community. This will keep the housing market in Pleasant Garden competitive with the surrounding communities. I would like to see a vision with new ideas for Pleasant Garden Road in the business district.

What vote or decision of the current council would you overturn? Why do you disagree with the decision? I disagree with the decision of replacing the town attorney. The town had a very qualified attorney, who was recently elected as North Carolina state senator. The explained issue was he may not be able to attend meetings. This was a non-issue to the attorney; he explained this would not affect his attendance. It would have been beneficial to have accurate knowledge of current business in the state Senate. This attorney was not told goodbye or acknowledged for his 11 years of service to the town. I was very disappointed with this decision.