Candidates For Council Concerned About Growth, Services
Planning for the future. Better infrastruc
ture. Expanded services. Fiscal responsibili
ty. Jobs. Environmental responsibility. Unity.
Six of the 10 candidates for three seats
on the Long Beach Town Council have all
this and more on their minds as the Oct. 5
primary approaches.
Profiled below are incumbents Jeffrie D.
Ensminger and Danny Leonard, former
councilman Kevin M. Bell, and first-time
candidates Frances T. Allen, Helen Cashwell
and Doris Hertel. (Candidates Timothy L.
Jones, Dan Windsor, David S. Drummond
and Carlton (Gene) Frazier did not return
candidate questionnaires.)
Frances T. Allen cites unity as the top is
sue facing the town this
coming term, something
she said will require "a
major effort" by every
one in the town. She
supports periodic town
meetings for the sole
purpose of hearing from
citizens.
Allen. 65, is retired
from the Richmond. Va..
Department of Recre
ation and Parks, where she served as recre
ation supervisor from 1971 until 1985. She
was graduated from Virginia Common
wealth University with a bachelor of science
degree in 1973. She also served as city re
creation program director and Hopewell
Girls' Club director for six years.
"1 want a government that seeks input
from all its citizens, evaluates the informa
tion and works through compromise to cre
ate a community that reflects and protects
the diversity of the needs and concerns of its
citizens."
She said the town needs to address the
issues of stormwater runoff and wastewater
management in combination, not as separate
issues, incorporating environmental issues
with growth and development.
Allen wants to see the budgetary process
examined to ensure the town will be able to
perform needed functions such as street
paving and providing a new water storage
tower without unnecessary fees and taxes.
"I have attended most town meetings for
several years and understand the governing
process," she said. As evidence of her com
mitment, she intends to accept no salary or
health benefits if elected.
Helen C. Cashwell said she wants to rep
resent the majority of
citizens who have not
had a voice in the busi
ness of Long Beach.
Age 66, she is a retired
director of computer op
erations with U.S. Air.
She earned a bachelor
t|!Nof arts in business ad
i Ih ministration from Park
IJIIUlhi.. ' College in 1976 and
CASH WELL studied computer sci
ence periodically from 1946 to 1962 at West
Texas State College. Previously she served
as director of a special board to the mayor of
Greater Kansas City to develop an equal em
ployment opportunity policy and served
three years on the advisory board for For
syth College.
Her pet issues for the coming term:
eliminating the $5 automobile tax and pro
viding stickers for residency proof when re
turning to the island after evacuations; stay
ing out of the dredging business (if needed,
have the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers do
it) and discontinuing group insurance for
elected town officials.
"I have the business experience, educa
tion and knowledge to make good decisions
based on all citizens' needs and desires," she
said, not representing any special interest
groups and listening to issues that concern
residents and visitors on a daily basis. She
said she has an understanding of local gov
ernment in North Carolina and the ability to
comprehend what is allowed.
Kevin M. Bell served as a town council
member from 1987 to 1991 and wants to re
turn because he believes his experience and
training would be "a tremendous asset" to
town residents.
He supports a second bridge from the is
land both to help in case of evacuation and
to relieve increasing traffic problems; wants
to see streets, including Yacht Drive, paved
to help relieve traffic; and says new water
system storage is "a must" in case of an
LONG BEACH
emergency.
Bell, 34, owns a heating, air condition
ing and carpet outlet with state licensing and
has completed tiic state's damage assess
ment coursc as well as numerous continuing
education courses related to his business. He
has served as a director of the Brunswick
County Home Builders since 1989 and is
past chairman of the Long Beach Com
munity Watch Program. He has 16 years of
management experience in various jobs.
"I am a person that understands and will
listen to the needs of the people," he wrote.
Doris Hertel has no previous experience
in public office, but has lobbied the state
ness for 10 years and advises clients in their
business decisions. She has attended the
University of North Carolina and University
of Nevada and cites past leadership experi
ence in professional and charitable organiza
tions. She was recently elected to teach Sun
day school.
Hertel wants Long Beach and other
towns lobby state and county governments
to offer additional incentives for businesses
to locate here, providing more employment
opportunities and boosting the economy.
Also, Hertel said she feels the town
needs to expand programs and recreational
facilities for children. She envisions recruit
ing parents to supervise activities, getting
children more involved in the community
and starting a program to allow high school
students to work in local businesses to gain
experience before graduation. The town
needs sidewalks, street paving, curbs and
gutters, among other things, she said, and
legislature regarding ed
ucational concerns and
landlord/tenant laws.
ft She said she is seeking
office because she be
lieves residents have a
responsibility for insur
ing that the town is gov
erned by people who
share their concerns.
HERTEL
She has owned her
own accounting busi
Long Beach should ask the state and county
to help pay for them.
"I am committed to our community and
what is best for our community and all the
residents, not a special interest group. I have
the experience as an accountant, owner of a
business, parent and as a woman."
Jeffrie D. Ensminger said he had seen a
lack of effort in prepar
ing the town for the fu
ture until four years
ago, when he was elect
ed to council.
Since then, he said,
"we have made consid
erable progress in re-es
tablishing a sound bud
get with an adequate
fund balance, and we
are now able to concen
trate on improving our infrastructure. It is
imperative that these programs continue,
that we no lose our momentum, that we not
return to the old ways of spending for today
without planning for tomorrow."
He is a former U.S. Marine and a retired
Charlotte Police Department officer with an
associate degree in criminology from Central
Piedmont Community College and advanced
certification. In addition to his town council
experience, Ensminger, 49, has served on the
National Board of Directors, Fraternal Order
of Police since 1989 and on the Brunswick
County Emergency Services Coordinating
Committee since 1990. He formerly served
on the Citizens Review Committee of the
Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Department.
Ensminger said it is council's responsi
bility to implement a sound budget that pro
vides services, while maintaining the lowest
possible tax rate and a reasonable fund bal
ance, not sacrificing any one for the other.
He advocates managing growth through
zoning that encourages single family growth
not multi-family housing. Having a "some
what limited" commercial zone for new
business should help in maintaining the
town's relaxed lifestyle.
Ensminger says it is "almost unthink
able" that a town the size of Long Beach
should have dirt roads in 1993. On council
he proposed the plan to speed up paving by
ENSMINGER
rolling over property owner assessments to
the next year's paving budget rather than re
turning them to the fund balance, which
should allow paving of all streets by the end
of 1997 if continued, he said.
An added qualification, he said, is his
experience seeing government from all
sides, as a private citizen, public employee
and elected official.
A self-employed building contractor,
Danny C. Leonard
wants to continue on the
town council because,
like Ensminger, he feels
the town has progressed
over the past four years.
"! feel that in the
four years I have served
on this council we have
established a financial
stability and implement
ed programs that, if con- LEONARD
tinued, will keep the Town of Long Beach
moving forward and will make it a cleaner,
better place for all its citizens to live and en
joy," he said.
Paving of all town streets should be very
high on the council's priority list, he said,
with completion in the next five years if the
current program is continued.
Construction is scheduled to begin in
1997 for a second bridge to Oak Island,
which he considers vital for the safety and
welfare of residents. He believes the town
should pursue the project and see that it is
completed on schedule.
The need for additional water storage is
an issue that needs to be addressed and re
solved during the next two years, he said.
Current storage is inadequate because of the
town's growth in population, and the need
will only become more critical as the town
continues to grow, he said.
Leonard cites his 15 years of business
experience and his council experience and
working knowledge of town government
among his qualifications.
"I feel that I have demonstrated the abili
ty to honestly address the issues, accept crit
icism and disapproval, but still make posi
tive decisions in the best interests of the
town as a whole."
Three Candidates Vying For Mayor
BY SUSAN USHER
Growth. How to manage, shape,
limit, nurture it. How to provide
needed and/or wanted services and
remain an affordable, desirable place
to live.
While these are problems faced
by all communities to some degree,
debate over such issues seems to al
ways be at its most volatile at Long
Beach, a town with strongly opin
ionated voter factions and a history
of mistrust and misperception when
it comes to town government. At the
heart of recent debate, a central sew
er system plan voted down in March
because of concerns about actual
need, impact on future overdevelop
ment and cost. The town moved
ahead with purchase of a mainland
tract suitable for a treatment plant
site, planning ahead in case voters
change their minds.
Election year 1993 has three can
dldf'f!i seeking the mayor's post,
and 10 candidates vying for three
seats on the town council. On Tues
ay, Oct. 5, in the only municipal pri
mary election in Brunswick County
town voters will narrow the field to
two candidates for mayor and six for
commissioner Those top vote-get
ters will go on the ballot for the
Nov. 2 general election.
In the running for mayor are three
local business people: incumbent
-n P. Altman, who was elected in
1991 after serving a two-year stint
on the town planning board; John
(Johnny) W. Vereen III, who is seek
ing a return to office after having
served four years (1981-85) on the
council and three terms as mayor
(1986-87, 1988-89, 1990-91); and
Rupert Riley, who has no previous
political experience.
Riley said he is running for mayor
because he
would like to re
store representa
,ive government
10 Scach,
establish fiscal
_ responsibility
JT Hnf1 restore pub
lie confidence
A 'he town's
itu i v ed officials The
K1LJ'Y central sewer is
his key issue. "Residents of Long
Beach clearly told the elected offi
cials that they do not want a sewer
system," he wrote. "We should re
spect their decisions and put this
subject to bed."
Self-employed 10 years as presi
dent of a sales company, Riley, 72,
is a 1942 graduate of N.C. Stare
University with a bachelor of sci
ence in textile management. He also
has a combined 20-plus years of ex
perience in sales engineering, sales
management and management in the
textile industry.
Riley also wants to eliminate, he
said, use of town funds to pay med
ical insurance premiums for elected
officials their families, and he said a
study should be made with the goal
of eliminating executive "secret"
sessions by the council.
He cites his integrity and manage
ment and budget experiences as fac
tors that make him most qualified
candidate for mayor.
Altman, 40, is seeking a second
term as mayor
because she
wants to contin
ue providing
"responsible,
representative
leadership," and
to provide "pos
itive representa
tion" for Long
Bcnch in con- IS
tacts with other altman
focal governments and state and fed
eral officials.
A building contractor, she earned
a bachelor's degree in biology in
1975 from the University of Virginia
and is self-employed as a building
contractor. She is a tutor trainer and
past secretary of the Brunswick
County Literacy Council, and is
serving her third year on its advisory
board. She is vice-regent of the
Brunswick Town Chapter of the
National Society, DAR.
She sees responsible leadership,
managing growth and addressing
taxes and fees as top issues for the
mayor during the coming term.
"The mayor must help town coun
cil members work together effec
tively to icpicScni ail citizens of the
town and be willing to face dificult
and controversial issues as (hey
arise," she wrote, and needs to ap
proach each issue with a thorough
understanding based on knowledge
and research.
She said Long Beach must prepare
to accommodate growth by planning
for increased pressures on infrastruc
ture such as streets, water system and
recreation areas. Protection of natural
resources should be a priority in deci
sions relating to growth. She advo
cates protecting the town's single
family residential beach atmosphere,
and would not support efforts to
change town zoning to allow higher
density development.
Taxes and fees must be adequate to
cover the cost of services required by
the town, she said, and attempts to set
an unrealistic tax rate by balancing
the budget with the fund balance re
serves can jeopardize the town's fi
nancial strength. She advocates look
ing for innovative means of using tax
dollars more effectively, such as con
solidating services with other
Brunswick County municipalities.
As evidence that she is the most
qualified candidate for mayor,
Altman said she has demonstrated
her willingness to devote the time
and energy necessary "to be an ef
fective, positive mayor" for Long
Beach, fully supports the town man
ager form of government and is ded
icated to providing the town's peo
ple representative government.
Vereen comes from a family that
has always been involved in politics,
taught him public service is a privi
lege and responsibility, and taught
him to have compassion for others.
"What better way to do this than
through public service?"
He sees the need for more respon
sive government, restored stability
to the tax system and managed
growth.
Vereen, 39, is currently manager
of an auto parts
and supplies
store. He earned
a high school
diploma from
Carolina Mili
tary Academy.
In addition to
his previous
town service, he
served on the
Brunswick VEREEN
County Airport Commission (1981
87, chairman, 1986-87), and as
Democratic Party chairman, Oak
Island Precinct 2(1981-1991).
Vereen pledged to make gover
ment more responsive to problems
related to individuals. His goal is to
"strive for a deeper understanding in
government for those problmes on
an everyday basis and to restore the
personal touch so that people know
government cares about them."
He said he wants to restore tax
system stability with closer control
over management, and pointed out
that in 10 yaers he never voted for a
tax increase. "With my past govern
ment experience, there are ways to
keep the system in check. My opin
ion is not based on guess, but on
fact, because this is the way we op
erated in Long Beach for the previ
ous 10 years that 1 was a councilman
and mayor."
As for growth, Vereen doesn't
want over-commercialization and
overdevelopment of the island, and
said "orderly, growth is healthy and
essential to any community," with a
steady influx of residential homes
and commercial services needed for
continued economic stability. Other
Richard C. Glenn
PO Box 2865
Shallotte, NC 28459
(919)754-6771
SECURITIES AMERICA, INC.
1 8 Resort Plaza
Shallotte
Member NASD/SIPC
wise the town will eventually die, he
said.
Along with his past experience,
Vereen said the many friends in state
and county government he's made
"sometimes takes much of the red
tape out of problem situations," sav
ing time and money. Being mayor of
Long Beach, he said, would be his
most important job.
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