By Kathy Chaffin
kchaffin@salisburypost.com
CLEVELAND ó For the first time in 14 years, Cleveland voters will elect a new mayor.
Mayor James “Jim” A. Brown opted not to run for re-election after serving seven two-year terms as mayor and more than six years before that on the Town Board of Commissioners.
Incumbent Commissioner “John” I. Steele Jr. decided to run for mayor instead of filing for a third four-year term on the town board. First-time candidate “Aubrey” H. Junker Jr. is also running for mayor.
Steele is a 66-year-old Cleveland native and retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who now teaches part time for Appalachian State University at its Hickory branch. He said he believes his eight years experience as a town commissioner would help him to be a good spokesman for Cleveland.
Junker, 50, is an independent business consultant who has lived in the town for a total of 10 years. Junker said he is eager to give back to the town, which he said should be run like a business, and that his experience with corporate America would help him fulfill the duties of mayor.
They have differing views on the town’s budget. Steele said he would continue with the “sound, stable financial management” the board has had, while Junker criticized the board for its 2-cent tax increase last year at a time when town residents were already tightening their belts in a poor economy.
Their views on Cleveland’s future growth are more similar. Steele said the land use plan adopted by the board sets guidelines for growth. “We’ll try to do anything we can to encourage small businesses,” he said.
Junker said, “You’ve got to look at the big picture of where the town is now and then align that with where the town needs to be in the future and have goals and objectives for the growth.”
Town board
Six candidates are vying for three open seats on the Town Board of Commissioners.
They include incumbents Danny Gabriel and Pat Phifer. Gabriel is running for his fourth elected term and Phifer is seeking his fifth. Both were appointed to the board earlier to fill unexpired terms.
Challengers include first-time candidates Preston Young and John Brown, who is the son of current Mayor Jim Brown, and Travis Summit and Max West, both of whom lost in their first bids as candidates.
Two of the challengers say their leadership experience ó both accrued while in the military ó would make them an asset to the board. John Brown, who retired from the Army in 2008, worked for the Corps of Engineers in Little Rock, Ark., as a deputy commander and interacted with the community and corps on infrastructure issues. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degree in engineering from N.C. State University.
West earned a bachelor of science degree from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He was a deputy finance officer for the 82nd Airborne Division, and served as the dispersing officer overseeing about $100 million a year in Korea and the defense accounting officer in Fort Dix, N.J., where he oversaw the dispersement of close to $200 million annually.
Young is running on his belief that taxpayer money should only be spent on what is necessary, not for niceties that he said should be financed with individual contributions.
Summit has served on the town’s planning and zoning committee for five years and said he would bring a younger perspective to the board.
The anticipated growth from the widening of U.S. 70 once the economy improves is one of the issues that may face the board in the coming years.
Incumbents Gabriel and Phifer helped to implement a land use plan establishing guidelines for managing anticipated growth. “As badly as we need jobs,” Gabriel said, “we still need the good jobs and the people need to know what’s going on and I think the land use plan will help with that.”
Phifer said, “We have to be able to support that growth and make it positive growth.”
Brown said the town board needs to honor the wishes of residents when it comes to future growth. “We’re the arm of the citizens,” he said, “so the bottom line there is we need to seek their input on anything that happens.”
Summitt said town commissioners can also regulate growth through its zoning and planning ordinances.
If elected, West said he would work to keep the small-town atmosphere in Cleveland when industrialization comes with the widening of U.S. 70.
Young said commissioners need to look at each opportunity for growth as it arises.
“Generally speaking, I like a small town,” he said. “But at the same time, if that’s not in the best interest of the town, I’m not necessarily focused on keeping it a small town.”