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DEAN SPEARS
AT-LARGE
Incumbent
BIO: Dean Spears has
served on city council
12 years, including
terms in Ward 4. Life-
long resident of Kings
Mountain, he is a re-
tired building contrac-
tor, served 4 years in
the US Navy and 30
years in the. US Navy
Reserves. Educated at
Kings Mountain High
School, Gaston Col-
lege, Cleveland Tech,
he is married to Betty
Watterson Spears and
they have a son, Mike,
and daughter, Robin
Spears Spicer and three
grandchildren, Mea-
gan, Stacey and
Jarred. He attends
First Baptist Church.
GINA COLLIAS
AT-LARGE
BIO: licensed to practice
law in both North and
South Carolina; licensed
NC real estate broker; mar-
ried for 19 years to Dr.
Dean Collias; has three
children: twin girls age 12
and 6-year-old son; Dean
and Gina are originally
from Charlotte and met in
high school; Gina has
served on the Moss Lake
Commission for three
years, on the. Downtown
Incentive Grant Committee
since 2005, on the Land
Development Committee
(establishing the next 10
year land use plan for the
city), and currently serves
on the Board of Directors
forthe KM YMCA; in 2001
| she spear-headed efforts to
build the community play-
ground next to the YMCA.
The Kings Mountain Herald
CURTIS PRESSLEY
AT-LARGE
BIO: A life-long resi-
dent of Kings Moun-
tain, Curtis Pressley
is married to the for-
mer Evelyn Roberts
and they have three
sons, Jerdon, Belton
and Devin Pressley
and reside at 711
Oakland Street. They
are active members of
Mount Zion Baptist
Church. A graduate of
Gardner-Webb Uni-
versity with a B.S. de-
gree in Management
Information Systems,
Pressley, is employed
by the North Carolina
Education Lottery in
Charlotte.
Election 2009
KM CITY COUNCIL
MIKE BUTLER
WARD 2
INCUMBENT
BIO: Mike and Kathy
Butler reside at 806
Rhodes Avenue. They
have two sons, Bryan
and Jason, and three
grandchildren, Havan,
Sophie and Ethan.
Mike is the owner/oper-
ator of Butler's Auto
Service, 205 E. King St.
The Butlers attend First
Wesleyan Church in
Kings Mountain. Mike
participated in the
give-away of the free
furniture and shoes
held over the past few
years, which helped
over 5,000 people. He
is now participating,
along with Roger's
BBQ, in the collection
of coats for the children
in need at East School.
BRENDA ROSS
WARD 2
BIO: Kings Moun-
tain native, Brenda
Ross has been mar-
ried to Jerry Ross 50
years. They have
three children Mrs.
Tammy Thornburg
and husband,
Lanny; Toni Ross
Putman and Tim
and Debbie Ross, all
of Kings Mountain
and eight grandchil-
dren. A homemaker
and former Cus-
tomer Service Rep-
resentative for
Grover Industries,
she is a member of
the Kings Mountain
Board of Adjust-
ments. She is an ac-
tive member of
Grace United
Methodist Church.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
JERRY MULLINAX
WARD 3
INCUMBENT
BIO: He is a Kings
Mountain native, son of
the late Jeanette and
' Carl Mullinax. Retired,
he is Site Manager of
Battleforest Apartments
in Kings Mountain and
conducts a Gospel
Music radio program
on Station WCSL Cher-
ryville Wednesdays at 3
p.m. and Sundays at 1
p.m. and formerly con-
ducted a gospel music
program on KM Radio
Station WKMT for four
years. He is a Hospice
volunteer, served in the
US Army two years
during the Korean
Conflict. Father of
three sons, Tim, Todd
and Tony Mullinax and
grandfather of three.
TOMMY HAWKINS
WARD 3
BIO: Kings Mountain
native, lifelong resi-
dent for 65 years.
Married to Kay Baity
Hawkins, three
daughters, Kimberly
Arenas of New York,
Zena Johnson of KM,
Tonya Carroll of
Pawley's Island, SC,
5 grandchildren. He
attends First Wes-
leyan Church; five
year member of the
city planning and
zoning board and
board of adjustment;
spent 40 years build-
ing a reputation as a
professional hard-
working businessman
capable of making
the right business de-
cisions to promote
Kings Mountain.
Where do they stand on the issues?
The Kings Mountain Herald
asked all of the candidates,
‘currently running for the
three open seats on the KM
City Council, their views on
things such as involuntary
annexation, attracting new
businesses and other issues
they believe the council will
face in the next few years.
Each question is followed
by the answers from each
candidate, whose names are
listed in bold beside their
Statements.
Q) What do you
think are the big
issues that the
council will face
in the next few
years?
WARD 2
Butler - Economic devel-
opment, infrastructure up-
grades = which includes
building a new water line
into town, marketing our
town, keeping tax rates and
utility rates as low as possi-
ble and maintaining a qual-
ity of service for our
citizens. Water is the city's
most valuable resource and
we will continue to work
for additional impound-
ment which will also be an
important economic devel-
opment tool and keep us.
competitive for new busi-
nesses.
Ross - My priorities: to
bring small industries to
town and to help with job
losses by putting our people
back to work; have recre-
ation for all our young peo-
ple, a place where they can
play baseball, basketball,
swim, etc. without the fam-
ilies having to pay extra for
each child to participate in
the sport of their. choice;
and to clean up our town
and make it a place people
would love to live.
WARD 3
Mullinax - A new 30-inch
water line to town is much
needed and should be the
major project. In the mean-
time, repairs are being done
to the outdated line and any
emergency repairs are al-
ready addresses.
Hawkins - Balancing -the
city budget is first and fore-
most. Keeping our taxes
and fees as low as possible.
Infrastructure, economic
development, keeping our
city sound financially, giv-
ing all the city employees a
good place to work and
raise their families, promot-
ing Kings Mountain as a
good place to live, work and
retire, working with down-
town beautification, Gate-
way Trails, Money is
always a big issue.
AT-LARGE
Spears - There is always
annexation (involuntary),
zoning issues inside the city
and ETJ, downtown devel-
opment, taxes and utility
rates.
Collias - First, City Council
should promote the City of
Kings Mountain encourag-
ing economic development
for recruiting new busi-
nesses as well as maintain-
ing our existing businesses.
It is critical to provide jobs
for our citizens particularly
with the global economic
downturn. Not only do peo-
ple who have been laid off
need work, but we need
jobs and career tracks that
attract our young people to
stay in Kings Mountain to
rear their own families pre-
venting the loss of our tal-
ented youth to other
communities. Kings Moun-
tain needs to be a commu-
nity where we live, work,
and play.
Secondly, we need to
consider the needs of our
teens in our community so
that they have safe and su-
pervised places to gather. I
believe that our teens de-
- serve our focus. The,
YMCA, the Boys and Girls
Club, and the Tennis Asso-
ciation have all approached
the city with ideas that
would constructively bene-
+ fit our teens.
Finally, the city needs to
implement a ‘plan for curb-
side recycling within the
next five years. Although
some people are better
about taking plastic to the
local waste disposal sites
for processing, many peo-
ple, including the elderly,
need our assistance to do
the right thing especially
with the passage of new
laws in North Carolina
making it illegal to throw
away plastic bottles in your
personal trash as of October
1st. I would like to see us
have a community group to
review how other cities
have managed their recy-
cling needs and have recap-
tured funds for the goods
recycled. Then, let us im-
plement a plan that would
be the most cost neutral.
Pressley - One of the chal-
lenges (to meet) that I
would encourage in the near
future is providing more
recreational activities and
places for youth, ways to
compensate and keep our
youth off the street. I sup-
port the organization of a
Boys and Girls Club of
Kings Mountain and think a
facility of this type is
needed. I would also in-
clude a partnership between
City Council and Moun-
taineer Partnership, 20/20
and Cleveland Chamber in
recruiting industry and
more jobs for Kings Moun-
tain residents.
Q) Why do you
want to serve on
‘city council?
Ward 2
Butler - I want to improve
the quality of life for all cit-
izens and when I look back
on my time served I want to
feel like I have made a dif-
ference. I love marketing
our town and addressing all
concerns that our citizens
have. I grew up in this town
and I am very passionate
about representing the citi-
zens and assisting in their
needs. I have loved serving
as ‘council member and
hope to continue.
Ross - My reason for run-
ning for city council is to
give the citizens a choice. I
want to be a voice for all
their concerns, bringing
these issues to Council.
Working together as a team,
we can accomplish great
things. I want to be a part of
this team.
WARD 3
Mullinax - I have served on
City Council 10 years and I
feel I know how to be a
Council person. My voting
record speaks for itself. If
my constituents tell me to
vote NO, I vote No.
Hawkins - I have run for
city council three times and
was defeated by narrow
margins. I want to serve the
citizens of Ward 3 and all of
Kings Mountain. I have a
passion to be a city council-
man and after running three
times I hope you know that
my devotion to the city is
serious. I have grandchil-
dren who will grow up in
King Mountain and I want
to promote Kings Mountain
as a good place to live and
work. I think I can jell with
other council members and
the mayor and work to-
gether as a team I am confi-
dent that my long
experience on the city plan-
ning and zoning board and
on the board of adjustment
will be beneficial as we all
work together for the good
of Kings Mountain. Work-
ing actively in city govern-
ment for the past five years
has helped lay the ground-
work for a seat on city
council.
AT-LARGE
Spears - I have served for
12 years on city council and
have been 1/7th of the deci-
sion making of things that
were good, bad or indiffer-
ent. I would like to serve
one more term. I know there
are plenty of decisions that
council will have to make,
I would like to make all
those decisions "good."
Collias - I believe that com-
munity service is an impor-
tant value and is part of who
Iam. Iam passionate about
Kings Mountain and the
people here that I have
grown to love and to ad-
mire. I believe in the citi-
zens of Kings Mountain,
and that their voices should
be heard. I will make my-
self available and accessible
to discuss issues. I am
proud to be a citizen of
Kings Mountain, and serv-
ing on City Council is a nat-
ural . extension of my
commitment to community
service by giving back to
my community. I have vol-
unteered extensively in the
City of Kings Mountain be-
ginning when I was chair of
the community built play-
ground next to the YMCA.
Additionally, I believe my
education as an Attorney
with emphasis in land and
business development will
greatly benefit the City.
Pressley - I was born and
grew up in Kings Mountain
and Kings Mountain is my
home. I love the people. I
am thankful for those indi-
_ viduals, who inspired me as
I grew up, and I want to
serve on city council to give
back to my community.
Q) Do you think
the city should
offer incentives to
-new businesses?
WARD 2
Butler - Yes, in this econ-
omy with the high unem-
ployment rate and the
competitive market of at-
tracting new businesses I
think it is important to make
every effort possible to
offer incentives. Every in-
centive needs to be backed
by a revenue source and
guarantee of a return on the
investment.
Ross - Incentives are ques-
tionable with the economy
being what it is today. All
incentives would have to be
closely evaluated.
WARD 3
Mullinax - I have not voted
to offer incentives to new
businesses. If a new busi-
ness will tell me he plans to
stay here and can guarantee
that then I would vote Yes.
Hawkins - Yes. I support
the concept of business in-
centives to help build our
local economy and give
jobs to people of Kings
Mountain. I think there
should be some type of in-
centives for local businesses
already in place, especially
in this tight economy. Small
businesses are hurting and
it's up to us to help them.
AT-LARGE
Spears - I do think the city
should offer some incen-
tives to new businesses.
This would be based on the
amount invested and how
many jobs they would cre-
ate. :
Collias - Yes, the City of
Kings Mountain should
offer incentives to new
businesses, particularly
small businesses, and we
need to constantly re-evalu-
ate that we are truly serving
our existing businesses. In-
centives can be combina-
tion of many things
including tax breaks, free
advice, and grant monies. A
smart way to implement in-
centives is to have busi-
nesses first achieve certain
benchmark goals, and only
then would the business be
entitled to receive the in-
centives so that the City is
not obligated to throw away
anything for start up busi-
nesses that pack up and
leave over night until true
job creation has occurred.
For example, the City of
Kings Mountain has been
granted Main’ Street status
which will allow for extra
advice and guidance to the
city regarding responsible
growth. =~ We have the
Mountaineer Partnership
which is working to
strengthen our downtown
so that it may thrive. These
are resources that will en-
able us to take advantage of
and to learn about private,
state, and federal grant
monies that the City can use
to encourage new busi-
nesses without directly cost-
ing our city money.
Pressley - Yes, I think in-
centives are good but don't
give the city away to get
them. Concentrate on work-
ing more with existing busi-
nesses and help them create
more jobs for Kings Moun-
tain people and more busi-
ness in town to bring
growth.
Q) What do you
think about invol-
untary annexa-
tion?
WARD 2
Butler - I think cities have to
continue to look at growth
and any annexation possibil-
ity I am not for involuntary
annexation when it only
benefits the city and not the
people, it needs to be a win
win situation for all. You
have to look at the pros and
cons of that particular an-
nexation and look at the cost
of providing services versus
the revenue received and the
need for services in that area.
The City offers many bene-
fits for those annexed in-
cluding four utilities which
are water sewer, electric and
gas.
Ross - Annexation is a good
thing since it increases our
tax base; however, is the city
capable of extending neces-
sary services to this popula-
tion increase? Sometimes
bigger is not better!
WARD 3
Mullinax - I am opposed to
involuntary annexation and
have voted against. I am not
against annexation, per se. It
can be a good thing. The city
has taken in more than 12
percent in the last six years.
I would be in favor of invol-
untary annexation if the city
could provide the services
but it is becoming too costly
in today's economy. I think
we need to concentrate on
servicing the areas we have
already taken in through vol-
untary annexation.
Hawkins - I do have some
reservations. There have
been only six involuntary
annexations between 1960.
and 1993 and they all oc-
curred in 1991. The proper- .
ties annexed were Roxford
Road, Maner Road, and the
Edgemont Drive area. Only
85 voluntary annexations
occurred between between
1960 and 1993. The largest
annexation was in 1960, a
total of 424.75 acres when
the Kings Mountain High
School area was annexed:
The city doesn't do involun-
tary annexations but a lot of
circumstances are involved.
Normally when you annex
someone into the city they
should have the same exact
city services provided to all
citizens of our town. city
water, sewer, police and fire
protection, garbage pickup,
all the services that the city
provides. With annexation,
they should immediately
have the right to vote.
AT-LARGE
Spears - I don't think we
should be annexing just to
acquire numbers. I think if
the area under consideration
would be an asset to the city
I would give it a lot of
thought.
Collias - I believe that vol-
untary annexation, as op-
posed to involuntary
annexation, is a better
method for City growth.
Additionally, I believe that
the City’s growth must be
organized with a sound plan
for zoning, not spot zoning
or spot annexation. I have
been working for several
years on the Land Develop-
ment Committee, establish-
ing the next ten year land use
plan for the City of Kings
Mountain which lays out a
responsible growth plan and
what ideals the City should
want for responsible growth.
Any annexation needs to be
consistent with the City’s
land plans. We also need to
be aware that neighboring
competing interests from
Gastonia and Shelby and the
respective counties will try
to control as much land as
they can near us while we
have to simultaneously
maintain a good working re-
lationship with these same
neighbors.
Pressley - I think we should
be very careful to be sure we
can provide the services and
that what we are annexing is
a good mix for the city.