From this point forward I will be writing as a private citizen.
Over the past five years on Council I have had the opportunity to observe three Mayors, five City
Managers and a plethora of City Councilors. While to a person they were all good people, they did not not all have the necessary global view of their responsibility to Wheeler.
A global view simply means that as mayor or counselor you cannot focus only on one aspect of the city that you serve. Beautification? Yes. Nuisance abatement? Yes. Water system upgrade? Absolutely, yes! But, in my Opinion, the over arching necessity is our city’s financial strength. And just so you can’t say you didn’t know, we are on a track to lose our City charter unless there is an immediate change. In my educated guess, we have less than a year.
There are those currently running for Council who will loudly declare that “Wheeler is being sued by the developer of a portion of our waterfront, and that is the reason Wheeler is in trouble.” There is truth in their claims. But further truth will show that many of these same people, some now running for office, have done all they could to stop the project, rather than trying to help the landowner fit his project into our Vison, and zoning ordinances. That is what we are legally required to do. So, attacked at every point, the developer did what he had a right to do. He sued.
My vision, not Wheeler’s, is to focus 100% on major funding projects. Our Mayor, Doug
Honeycutt, is a good man. I call on him to take the current and future Council to task to seek a solution. He must not be sidetracked, or intimidated by those who helped put us is this situation.
Last, yes, I accept some of the blame for Wheeler’s current challenge. But, if you look at my voting record on Council, you will see that
I have been one of the lone supporters of what could have been , or still could be, our financial salvation.
Thanks for reading.
Jim King
Private Citizen