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Editor’s Note: This is the second of a three- part series highlighting candidates for the upcoming Town of Boone mayoral election.
by RACHEL DINKIN
Intern News Reporter
With local elections approaching quickly, Boone Mayor Loretta Clawson is campaigning for reelection.
“I decided to run for reelection this year because there are still things to work on and I want to continue what I’ve started,” Clawson said. “The point we’re at is maintaining services, not having to lay off any employees, and hoping there’s an upturn in the economy.”
While her top priorities are still to protect and preserve residential neighborhoods, and to conserve Boone’s monetary budget, Clawson’s 2009 platform puts a heavier focus on completing a new water source, promoting small local businesses, and continuing expansion of the greenway and parks.
In regards to
Boone’s fiscal budget, Clawson said the tax base for Boone has
decreased immensely since the U.S. Highway 421 project began because 28
properties have gone off the tax rolls.
Towns use tax rolls to identify every taxable property in a town’s jurisdiction.
“I am a fiscal conservative,” Clawson said. “If the town doesn’t have the money, [you] don’t spend it.”
Clawson carries support within the town.
“In my
experience with Mayor Clawson, she has always brought two important
things to the table, and those are an excitement and passion for
serving the community, and open-mindedness,” Andy Ball, Boone Town
Council candidate and senior political science major said.
Ball
said Clawson has been involved for years in developing the current UDO
ordinance, which regulates buildings around Boone, and she has
successfully lobbied Gov. Beverly Perdue to send some economic stimulus
support to Boone for the 421 widening project.
“This
type of long-term smart growth planning that Mayor Clawson has been
involved in has resulted in Boone being a great place to get a degree,
to raise and family and to start a business,” Ball said.
Concerning
Boone’s green initiatives, Clawson said she wants to continue working
with Appalachian on water intake, in which the Town of Boone borrows
water from Appalachian and vice versa.
Adrian
Tait, owner of GreenMan Studios, which provide sustainable building in
and around Boone, feels Clawson’s support of green initiatives is
beneficial for the town.
“Mayor
Clawson has shown interest in green initiatives such as making green
building and energy efficiency measures standard in new construction,”
Tait said.
Tait
said Clawson has always been a supporter of the solar club at
Appalachian, and he expects her to continue her sustainability platform.
“I think
we need an incredibly strong voice in our leadership calling for
sweeping changes across a broad range of issues that fundamentally all
come down to sustainability,” Tait said.
As far as traffic in Boone, Clawson said she does not mind the traffic downtown.
“Traffic is not bad,” Clawson said. “It’s good. It’s vibrant. It means we’re about something.”
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