Morganton's mayoral race pits 2 strong foes

Cohen, Richardson formidable

Thursday, Oct. 4, 2007

By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer

It's been a battle.

Morganton mayoral candidates Mel Cohen and Jim Richardson have argued about the city-owned cable system, the location of a new Wal-Mart Supercenter and the length of time a mayor should serve.

They've disagreed about the importance of revitalizing downtown, how new industry should be solicited and the city's involvement the Historic Morganton Festival.

But some Morganton residents say they can handle the tension, especially if it means they have a choice between two formidable candidates in Tuesday's election.

"The competition is great," said 35-year-old Donna Lindecamp, a foreign language teacher at Walter Johnson Middle School. "If there isn't competition, where is the motivation?"

The issues are clearly important to the city's vitality, Lindecamp said, but the candidates' abilities to clearly communicate why they are running is equally important in a mayoral race.

"The biggest issue is that Mel Cohen has a little competition, well, a lot of competition," she said. "Both have an easy platform to read, and that's important. It's helpful for voters to see something that is straightforward."

Cohen, who has been mayor since 1985, has won past elections with crushing margins over his opponents or has been unopposed.

In the last election, Cohen secured his ninth term by defeating challenger Tom McCurry, 920 to 263. In 1999, when he faced what many considered a formidable opponent -- Burke County attorney Dan Kuehnert -- Cohen won with 72 percent of the vote.

Since the beginning, Richardson, who led Western Piedmont Community College as president for 25 years, has made one thing clear -- he thinks it is time for a change in city leadership.

"Someone should not make a career of being mayor," he said. "Twenty-two years is too long for any politician."

Cohen, meanwhile, says that his more than two decades in City Hall could only be considered an asset to the community where he was born and has lived nearly all his life.

"It's a simple platform," Cohen said. "I love Morganton, and I want to make it a better place to work and play and live."

Change, Cohen said, should only happen when leadership has became stagnant and the community is no longer benefiting from fresh ideas and the experience of those in City Hall.

"I have never stopped and rested on my laurels," Cohen said.

Emphasis on Morganton's city center -- an 8-by-10-block downtown grid of leafy trees, stores and offices -- has generated more controversy than other issues.

During his nine-term career as mayor, Cohen said, he has been working to create a vital city center by recruiting downtown business and establishing an appealing lifestyle for residents through recreation and activities.

"Downtown is the front porch of our community," Cohen said, "but we have never concentrated on just downtown. If your downtown is not bright and beautiful and clean, your community is not looking out for its future."

But Richardson and his supporters say that Cohen thinks more about bolstering downtown through concerts and festivals than recruiting new industry to other areas of the city.

"We've got all these people without jobs, but we're still talking about downtown," Richardson said. "That bothers me."

Gary Carswell, a Burke County native, has been following the race closely and said that he's impressed by Richardson's ideas. Carswell, 62, lives just outside the city limits and won't be able to vote but said the issues don't effect just Morganton residents.

"It looks like a sleepy, little tourist town," he said, "and that's not the kind of place where people want to bring big business."

Carswell and his wife, Cynthia, said they worried that their adult children will leave the area in search for better jobs. Richardson's focus on more jobs, they said, is a strong approach.

But Bill Allman, a 74-year-old Morganton native, said Cohen's attention is in the right place and the emphasis on downtown has encouraged businesses to look at moving to the city.

The greenway, sports complex, downtown businesses and festivals, Allman said, help bolster the entire community, not just the few blocks that stem out from the Old Burke County Courthouse.

"(It's) all part of the vision plan for the area," he said. "(Cohen) loves this town so much. ... No one could do what he has done for the town."

Cam McNeely, who has lived in Morganton 15 years, owns a temporary physician staffing business downtown and said that most residents are thinking about jobs and new industry.

He's happy, he said, to see that Cohen and Richardson both have a strong vision for the city.

"We're in a good situation and have two good candidates," he said. "But the town is in a tough spot because of industry leaving, and it's going to take more than one man to fix that."

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