We the citizens of Fayetteville both value and have generally enjoyed good government. However, I have spoken with many in Fayetteville who think things are not heading in the right direction.
They think, and I agree, that the long-running establishment has lost [the] small-town vision that makes our Fayetteville special. We do not want to be like the rest of metro Atlanta; that’s why we live here. So let’s do something about it.
I am willing to step up and start looking at ways we can enhance our public safety. Let’s be honest: If you do not feel safe in the local shopping centers and in your home, then we are losing what makes Fayetteville a wonderful place to live.
Proverbs 27:17 in the New International Version reads, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” In my days of working in the A&T Butcher shop in downtown Fayetteville, we often used a sharpening steel to bring back the edge on our boning knives. Iron was quite literally sharpening iron. I’m sure many of you have applied the same principle when sharpening a mower blade or chain saw blade with a file.
Clearly the meaning of this verse is that friction is beneficial for our improvement, to cut away the rough edges and excesses.
This beneficial friction can come in several areas of life. It is a true friend who will provide constructive criticism to point out “rough edges” that you need to hone away, even at the risk of offending you.
In business, competition provides the friction that sharpens our focus and motivates us to improve our quality and productivity.
In politics, the friction comes directly from the electorate from which, according to the Declaration of Independence, governments derive their “just powers.”
This political friction can come in the form of letters, phone calls and emails to office holders and the newspapers. It is time for us to be that iron that sharpens and improves our city of Fayetteville.
Herman Cain has a line that goes something like, “if they won’t hear the people, we’ll turn up the heat till they see the light.” My candidacy affords the opportunity to turn up the heat and offers the electorate of Fayetteville another opportunity to apply the sharpening “iron” to our government.
The result, I think, is that the citizens will benefit from having a “sharper,” more responsive government. Your support is sincerely appreciated.
Greg Clifton
Candidate for mayor
Fayetteville, Ga.
