EDITOR'S NOTE: This is one of a series of columns written by candidates on the ballot for the May 13 primary election in West Virginia. All columns were received before the deadline published in The Herald-Dispatch, and no further columns from candidates or their supporters are being accepted for publication.
This election, we elect a mayor and city council and, as always, Huntington stands in need of change, and lots of it, not only a change in our financial state, and to do this we need to change the elected officials who haven't been able to do much to pull Huntington out of the quagmire we find ourselves in today. How can we do this?
Next, we need to change our basic approach to solving our problems, a change in the elected officials who have been unable to do it for the last several years.
Among our shortcomings, I've found that Huntington is suffering from a malady I'll call "The No Middle Class Syndrome." We've lost thousands of good-paying factory jobs and have replaced them with the service industries' much lower-paying offerings that come without benefits, which, in the long run, costs us more. Huntington now lacks the blue-collar workers we had in the past.
God knows we need more policemen on the streets, better road conditions and the like, but to accomplish these, we need money. And to get more money, we need to generate more income. We need to stop soaking businesses and our citizens with more taxes and add higher paying jobs. In essence, we need to restore our missing middle class. Telemarketing helps, but it is just a Band-Aid for the bleeding Huntington suffers as it tries to keep its head above the rising fiscal waters.
How can we do this? Initially, we can begin by making our city a place where businesses want to be, and we can show them we mean business, no pun intended, by doing away with the repressive taxes that drive them out of our tax base. This alone will make Huntington more conducive to their needs and stop their needing to locate either across the river or just outside the city limits to sidestep these taxes. So as business grows, so does our income.
In closing, I promise change, changes in the way Huntington approaches our problems, which you obviously can see hasn't seemed to work. Instead of a "we can't afford to do this or we can't do that" attitude, I promise to say, "After careful consideration and concentrated study, I've found that it'll be tough, but this is how I think we can get it done."
I'm a doer and not a talker like the many who have gone before me offering solutions like, "To do this, let's reduce the police department budget by another $250,000," or worse. Huntington needs a "Yes, it can be done, but it'll take dedication, hard work and some sacrifice, but we can and will get it done" attitude. Then we roll up our sleeves and by working together, get it done!
If elected, I promise to work hard to make Huntington more prosperous, a better place to live and work and a better place to raise our families.
Richard "Rick" Simmons is a candidate for the 9th District seat on the Huntington City Council. For more information on candidates, go to the Election 2008 page at www.herald-dispatch.com.
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