1. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your experience/accomplishments.
I was raised in Beckley, attending Lincoln Elementary School, Stratton Junior High School, and Woodrow Wilson High School. After graduating high school in 1989, I attended Concord College (now University), graduating in 1994 with a degree in Geography. In 2010, I went back to school and earned my Master of Business Administration from Webster University.
I served in the U.S. Army for 23 years, achieving the rank of Major before retiring in 2015. I served two tours in Iraq, earning two Bronze Stars, and one tour in Afghanistan, earning one Bronze Star. I also served overseas in Bamberg, Germany and Uijongbu, Korea in addition to numerous duty stations around the U.S.
After retiring from the Army, I worked as the Executive Director of Piney Creek Watershed Association for almost four years where I was involved with projects like the old Beckley Landfill Brownsfield Remediation Project and the Piney Creek Trail System that are just now becoming a priority for the city. After unsuccessfully running for Mayor in 2020, I started volunteering in many areas of the community. I serve as the chair of Raleigh County Community Action Association (the largest nonprofit in Raleigh County), Chair of the Beckley Human Rights Commission, Chair of the Raleigh County Family Support Center, Treasurer of the Raleigh County Prevention Coalition, Treasurer of New River CASA, and Clerk for St. Stephens Episcopal Church.
I am the most experienced and well-rounded candidate in this election. I continue to attend almost every city council meeting, just as I have done for the last four years. I have experience working with multi-million dollar budgets both in the Army and in the non-profit community. I have unrivaled leadership experience from leading troops in combat to supervision of Executive Directors. I will continue to fight for what is best for our residents, just as I have since I retired from the Army.
2. What motivated you to run for city council, or if you are an incumbent, what
motivated you to seek reelection?
The City of Beckley has a lot of problems, and the biggest problem is that our city government does not work for the residents of the city. Beyond basic services, the city administration acts for the benefit of others. You see this in the purchase of the Black Knight Country Club where we gave the Governor a $3 million bailout, and the club manager a job as the state Secretary of Transportation – nepotism at its finest. You see this in the entire debacle surrounding the purchase of the Zen’s building and the welfare provided to Fruits of Labor. It is happening again with the attempt to change South Kanawha Street from a two-way into a one-way street.
Meanwhile, the roads and sidewalks residents use are falling apart with no plan to fix them. We have a huge problem with substance use disorder and homelessness that the city refuses to address. Panhandling, while legal, is not necessary with the resources we have in the community, yet we take no actions to address this. I could go on and on, but the residents know the city doesn’t work for them.
I am motivated to run for office because we need highly educated, highly skilled, and highly experienced people to realign our city administration to support the needs of our residents first. It is going to be a fight at city hall to get past the inertia and apathy that we see in our current administration; I will fight that fight. It is going to be a fight with the county and state to prioritize the needs of our residents; I will fight that fight. It is going to be a fight to address our substance use disorder crisis and homelessness; I will fight that fight. Our residents deserve someone on their side. I have been and will continue to be that champion.
3. What are some issues facing Beckley currently that you would like to see addressed and fixed? How would you fix those issues?
In the short term, we must find a way to stem the tide of homelessness, substance use disorder, and the associated crime that comes with these issues. One of the ways I want to address these issues is to work with the homeless shelter to provide a location near the shelter for homeless people to camp so we get them out of the neighborhoods and abandoned homes. This will also make it easier to provide services to these individuals. I want to create a drop-in center where these individuals can go during the day that provides a meal and services while keeping them off the streets. I also want to look at how we address criminal behavior, especially breaking and entering and property damage, so that appropriate punishment is achieved and restitution to the victims are received. We must adopt the “carrot and stick” approach to motivate people to change and we cannot be afraid to use either.
In the long-term, we must address our pending Infrastructure “cliff”. Our roads are old. Our water and sewer systems are breaking. Gas lines are failing. Our electric grid is vulnerable to weather. We need an comprehensive plan to incrementally address our infrastructure needs. I call this plan Beckley 2050 and I want to pull together representatives from all the utilities, public works, and the Department of Highways to develop this plan. This group will assess and prioritize every piece of infrastructure in our city and then develop plans and seek funding for these projects. This is a really long term project and we must start now or we will fall further behind.
4. What makes you stand out from the rest of the candidates, what do you bring to the table that they don’t?
My education, skills, and experience are unmatched. My record is proven, I am an outspoken supporter of our residents, and I am not afraid to stand up for what is right. There are few topics or issues in the city that I am not already involved in and attempting to address. I will be effective Day 1 of my term and ready to fight for our residents.
5. Is there anything else voters should know about you and your campaign?
The biggest tragedy that could befall Beckley would be for our residents to elect the exact same people expecting them to do anything different than what they have done in the past. We know what we are getting with the good-old crew: passive acceptance, no initiative, and general apathy to the details that are the most important part of the job.
I have the education, experience, and skills needed to help our city transition from a strong mayor to city manager form of government. Equally important, I have the time to invest in digging into the details that our past council members have overlooked. I cannot be bought; I cannot be coerced; I cannot be bullied – the law and ordinances will be followed and I will make it a point to ensure meetings are fair, legal, transparent, and ALWAYS provide opportunities for public input.