Staff report
Wes Thompson, a real estate appraiser with the Rowan County Tax Assessor’s Office, is a candidate for Salisbury City Council.
Thompson said he is ready to give back to a community that has meant a lot to him and his family.
“I want to help Salisbury grow on a level that the citizens want it to grow,” Thompson said. “This is my home and it always will be. I want to see Salisbury, its citizens, my family and yours prosper.”
Thompson said some of his areas of focus as a councilman would be “keeping Godly morals”; working to bring new industry and jobs; getting college students to return to Salisbury; emphasizing family, youth and recreation; caring for city employees; and listening to the people’s voice.
“With a church on every corner in Salisbury, it would be incorrect to say that Godly morals and values in decision-making have no place in our local government,” Thompson said. “Let’s keep our eyes on Him.”
Thompson has been active in Sloan Lake Community Church, where he is a Sunday School teacher and in an adult couples group.
A resident of 119 Heilig Ave., he also has been involved with the Fulton Heights Neighborhood Community Watch and what he describes as “entry level involvement” with Downtown Salisbury Inc.
He said working for the county and in public service for more than seven years has given him the tools to deal with public issues. And he would be a strong voice for city employees, he added.
Thompson said he enjoys seeing the positive results Fulton Heights has experienced in cleaning up crime through Community Watch and would like to see that neighborhood type of effort employed citywide.
Thompson described downtown Salisbury as a unique, beautiful area and one of the driving factors for tourism, “as well as a place that local citizens are starting to enjoy again.”
He commended the efforts of Downtown Salisbury Inc. and said the kind of efforts taking place in the central business district also have to be extended citywide.
“Making Salisbury more beautiful, more safe and more desirable is just as important as some of the other main issues we face,” Thompson said.
Thompson supports the city’s current fiber-optic cable initiative, describing it as giving “us the edge we need” for long-term community goals.
His young family ó he and his wife, Alisha, have 2-year-old and 5-month-old sons ó will translate to his strong interest as a councilman in parks, recreation and youth-related activities, Thompson said.
By living in this area his whole life, Thompson said, he has a sense of ownership and pride for Salisbury.
“This campaign is about people,” he said. “I want to urge all citizens to voice their opinions. … Being 30 years old, my public involvement file is not as thick as some other candidates, but I assure you that it is made up for in other areas.”
Thompson is a 1997 graduate of East Rowan High School and a 2002 graduate of Catawba College, where he earned a degree in business administration. He says he plans to seek a master’s degree in public administration.