City council candidates agree: jobs are a priority

Thursday, Oct. 4, 2007

By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer

The candidates vying for two seats on the Morganton City Council agree on one thing - the community needs more high-paying jobs and a stable industry.

On Tuesday, Morganton voters will decide which of the two incumbents and two challengers they think best understands the needs of the city and how to stimulate current industry and attract more jobs.

Attorney Rob Gage is challenging 12-year incumbent and former police Officer Larry Whisnant for the District 1 seat. Carl Evans Sr., a retired warehouse manager and 20-year City Council incumbent, is facing challenger Forrest Fleming, a retired corrections officer, for the open seat in District 2.

Gage, who attended Harvard University and the UNC School of Law, and Fleming, a graduate of Western Carolina University and Livingstone College, have advocated the need to bring to a fresh perspective to the council.

"If you've been in office for 20 years you'll be saying, `Well, it's worked this way so far. Let's keep it as it is,' " Gage said. "If we are complacent and say `It's good now,' then we are missing out on the opportunity for improvement."

But Evans, who was first elected to the council in 1986, and Whisnant, who worked at the Morganton Department of Public Safety for 30 years, say their collective 32 years' experience on the City Council and knowledge of current projects make them the best candidates.
Their long tenures, they agreed, should never be considered a hindrance.

"We don't need change now," Whisnant said. "This city is making progress. You just don't change for the sake of changing."

Other issues the candidates have focused on during the race include the location of a new Wal-Mart Supercenter, the environment, self-imposed term limits, development downtown and the city-owned cable and electric systems.

But the hottest topic, as the city watches the continued exodus of furniture factories, revolves around creating a more robust economy.

Fleming
"We need to see new industry brought into Morganton," Fleming said. "All of our textile and furniture industry is literally gone, and employment is a critical issue."

Fleming, a retired Army National Guard command sergeant major and programs director at Foothills Correctional Institute, said he'd like to see the City Council find new ways to recruit kind of industry and offer incentives, including tax breaks and offering new businesses help finding property.

"We have fewer jobs now than we had 10 years ago," he said. "We need to stop focusing furniture and look toward high-tech industries, like computers."

Evans
Evans, who worked at Morganton Hardware for 44 years, has served on the City Council for two decades and said he wants to help bring more jobs into the city before he steps down.

He wants to offer incentives, including tax cuts and breaks on electric bills, he said, but hopes that businesses looking at Morganton also consider the lifestyle the city offers.

"The people around here are nice and friendly," he said. "(We have) the best recreation in the state, and people want to know what it is like to come in and live here."

Gage
Gage, who left the city government to raise his children after serving two council terms that ended in 1991, said the city needs to start thinking about industry in a way that complements the environment and the natural beauty surrounding the city.

"Presenting a beautiful downtown to potential investors and residents is crucial, but that doesn't mean that all industry needs to be downtown," he said. "The quality of life we offer businesses and their employees is our edge. That's how we're going to win this economic development game."

Gage worked on bringing the Catawba River Greenway to Morganton when he was on the council before, he said. Not only did it help preserve the city's green areas, he said, offering environmentally friendly recreation is what people look at when they are thinking of moving.

"Keeping our city and the surrounding countryside clean and green is important because that's what people want," Gage said. "They come to Morganton to be doctors or health care workers or to run factories, and they make those decisions based on what the city looks like."

Whisnant
Whisnant said the current City Council is working on several projects that could eventually bring hundreds of jobs.

"I hear lots of folks say, `Why don't you bring some industry in?' " he said. "But you just can't pick up the phone and bring in businesses. It just doesn't work that way."

Whisnant, who is on the board of directors for the Foothills Regional Airport Authority, said the council recently recruited an aeronautical engineering company. If government and private contractors follow, he said, Morganton could end up seeing 300 or 400 new jobs.

Whisnant said he would also like the city to consider pairing with the state to build a prison in Morganton.

"Jobs with the (Department of Corrections) are inflation-proof," he said, "and they offer good pay with benefits."

Where to Vote
Early voting is under way in Morganton and ends Friday. Residents can vote at City Hall between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., today and Friday. The city will hold its general election Oct. 9 at the Collett Street Recreation Center. Polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. For more information, call City Hall at 828-437-8863.

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