I am writing to all my wonderful friends and neighbors in the great city of Fayetteville to announce my candidacy for mayor of our historic city.
My name is Greg Clifton and I’m ready to put the focus of our local government back on the citizens of Fayetteville.
I thank the current mayor for his over two decades of service, but I believe it’s undeniably time for a different focus from our municipal leadership.
The longer any politician holds an office, the more they take their powers for granted and they seem to cater less to the will of the people and more to the whims of the special interests.
Our current mayor has already served in city government for a couple of decades; isn’t that long enough? If not, how long would be? Should we elect him as Mayor for Life?
A lot of us have become distressed with our city and county leaders pushing us more towards the “Atlanta” model and away from the rural city with the great quality of life we appreciate so much.
My father was among the first Delta Airlines pilots to see the potential of Fayetteville and Fayette County; we settled here when most pilots lived on the north side of Atlanta.
My dearly departed parents began raising my two brothers and me, and a few years later, my sister, in Fayette County when I was only 3 years old. In fact, our first home in the county, over 50 years ago, was a three-room log cabin just west of the present Frank’s Restaurant (the old mill) on Ga. Highway 54. This was before the first home was built in Peachtree City.
In my turn, God has blessed me with a wonderful wife of 29 years, and counting, and five smart, good-looking, talented and wonderful children that we also raised in Fayetteville. With the youngest approaching 21, they are pretty much “out of the nest” now, freeing up my time to devote to public service.
I have always been employed by small businesses or myself so I understand and appreciate the struggles of small business. For the past 23 years I have worked for the same small computer company.
During my early high school years I worked for local surveyor David Soper. We surveyed much of the northwestern and central part of the county in those days.
Later, before going off to college at UGA, I worked for a couple of years in the butcher shop at the old A&T Supermarket, which stood where the current Muslim Center of Atlanta now stands. From these experiences, I really got to know the area and people and to appreciate the place we all call home.
Obviously, I’ve seen a lot of changes in our fair city. Sadly, the changes I’ve witnessed over the last 10 or so years have caused me to feel we are losing the allure of a small town with strong values that attracted my family here in the first place.
The original city limits was a one-mile radius from the old courthouse. Have you looked at a map of the city limits lately?
I oppose mass transit for Fayetteville and Fayette County, which the current mayor has supported in the past, because it is always a huge money waste and is out of character for our way of life.
In addition, I’m totally opposed to our being part of a regional mass transit system where our hard-earned tax dollars will go to propping up MARTA, which has experienced a decrease in ridership even as the metro Atlanta population has greatly increased.
Many of us don’t understand why our current mayor and council feel it is so important to accelerate housing development in the center of the county. It will only cause more traffic problems and strain on city infrastructure.
We are all alarmed about the violent crime our city is experiencing, and I think our mayor and council should be spending more time on ways to fight crime in the city rather than such things as mass transit and supporting the West Fayetteville Bypass.
Like you, I’m worried about the overdevelopment spurred by the current mayor and council. Our small businesses are being overrun in Fayetteville. Our fair city is blighted with empty store fronts on all sides. I think we need to look into ways to encourage businesses to reoccupy these spaces, including tax incentives and perhaps relaxing signage restrictions.
I want you to know that I’ll be honest with you and I’ll do what I promise. If you will do me the honor of casting your vote for me, please know that my administration will be characterized by favoritism towards none and fairness towards all.
Let’s make Fayetteville a better place to work and live for everyone.
Your vote does count; past city elections have been decided by as few as 600 people voting out of a voter pool of over 9,000.
If you are a resident of the city of Fayetteville and not yet registered to vote, you have until Oct. 11 to register for this election. I can’t win this without your help. Please let me know if I can count on your support.
Election is Nov. 8. Please vote for a change.
Your neighbor,
Greg Clifton
Candidate for mayor
Email: clifton4mayor@hotmail.com
Twitter: @clifton4mayor
Facebook page: clifton4mayor
Fayetteville, Ga.
