Candidates for Mayor and Council in Roanoke must meet certain minimum standards of age, residency and citizenship. An important reason for the simplicity of requirements for most government offices is to assure all U.S. citizens that almost everyone that can vote may hold office at almost any level. The interesting aspect of these simple requirements is that while millions of us have the privilege of holding political office, many citizens may lack the skills of management, analysis and decision-making.
Jim Garrett is one of the most qualified candidates seeking election to both council and the office of Mayor in many years. He leaves the impression that he is not seeking office for the joy of the camaraderie of Mayor and council members but to improve the ability of the City of Roanoke to manage revenues and assets to a higher level of accountability and effectiveness.
Jim was born in Lexington, VA, raised in Florida and joined the U.S. Army in 1976 after graduation from high school. He was assigned to infantry duty where he served for 21 years, retiring in 1999. Following retirement, he immediately turned his common sense skills of technology and management into a business that he sold to Ntelos. He then started a telephone company that has grown into a communications company named Kinex Telecom, providing fiber based Internet services to over a dozen public and private schools and school systems throughout Virginia.
The company employs over a dozen people here in Virginia, serving customers with great efficiency and paying substantial taxes to federal, state and local taxing authorities. An example of his integrity is reflected in the company mission statement, “At Kinex our mission is to provide the highest quality IT and Communication Services to Businesses, Educational Institutions and Residents by focusing on client satisfaction, excellent communication and proactive solutions.”
Like many conservatives, Jim is opposed to the creation of ‘sanctuary’ status to Roanoke. Sanctuary status generally means that officers of a municipality or other jurisdiction shall not arrest or book persons in violation of Title 8, Section 1325 of the US Immigration Code (illegal entry). While there are more than 200 ‘sanctuary’ jurisdictions in the U.S., there remains the deadly risk of having felons and illegal immigrants as our neighbors. Garrett is the only candidate that has stood firm and not back tracked on his opposition to Roanoke becoming a sanctuary city.
Voters should consider the ability of a person like Jim Garrett who can see problems, analyze them and set a course for solutions that satisfy the needs of citizens, businesses and organizations of all sizes and types. His common sense approach to problems will contribute to economic improvements, infrastructure construction and maintenance and improvement in communications with all stakeholders in Roanoke City affairs. Garrett believes that if we paid down debt, taxes could be reduced, more commercial incentives could be provided and ‘the city could do more with less.’
Jim has mentioned the wide difference in average incomes in Roanoke City and Roanoke County, hoping to find reasons and reconciliation for the difference of about $23,000 (Roanoke city average income of $36,433 while Roanoke County comes in at $59,446). Another goal that Garrett has considered for change is the reduction of city interest costs from the currently projected almost $31 million on total bond debt of more than $236 million.
According to Garrett, the City of Roanoke is poised to float $27 million in bonds this year and $31 million in bond sales in 2020, just four years away. He wants to stop issuing bonds, pay off all the city debt in 8 years, and use the $31 million in surplus this will create each year to pay cash for capital projects and provide tax relief for citizens
When Mayor and City Council Members are elected for four years candidates whose skills and experience are limited in scope, election may mean four years of poor communications, problematic decision making and limited achievement. On the other hand, the election of Jim Garrett based on his experience and success in the private sector will shine light on problems, recommend and carry out beneficial solutions and bring Roanoke City into the top tier of well managed cities in Virginia and this great nation.
Dick Baynton
