By Phil Scoggins Anchor
News 3 On Your Side
This is the position statement of Phenix City mayoral candidate Sonny Coulter.News 3 On Your Side
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Stumble It!"I’m Sonny Coulter, candidate for mayor of Phenix City. Over the past 22 years I’ve been privileged to serve four terms on Phenix City’s city council, one term as city councilman and three terms as mayor.
Experience and proven leadership are two assets I’m proud of and I’ll forever be indebted to the people of Phenix City for their expressions of confidence in me.
But our city’s upcoming election on August 26th isn’t about past public service. It’s about a new mayor making important decisions over the next four years that will affect all our lives. This election will bring about new leadership in the office of mayor and you the voters must decide who you want to represent you.
Currently there are several city projects underway. Two such projects are the Riverview Triangle demolition and the Broadway streetscapes project, both announced with great fanfare and both still floundering. I’ll work with city council and whoever else I need to work with to complete these projects. The Broad Street project is a good example of how one man’s dream can become another man’s nightmare. Business owners along Broad Street have suffered far too long with the slow progress of this project and certainly the same can be said for our citizens who have to travel the Broad Street corridor every day, some several times a day. The Riverview demolition can lead to what should be the catalyst that spurs new riverfront development in Phenix City. It’s that important. It must and will move forward quickly!
We must do a better job of supporting our police and fire departments. Our public safety personnel deserve better than they’ve gotten and must have more to fight the crime that has now come home to roost in our city.
Our utility department, which houses our water and sewage treatment plants, is not for sale! It is one of the top two revenue producing arms of the city along with taxes paid by our citizens and is often the “goose that lays the golden egg” for our city. Because Phenix City owns its water and sewage systems, city leadership rarely has to raise taxes and fees to keep the city financially afloat.
I have a plan to rev-up Phenix City’s retail and commercial development. Because sales tax revenues are the virtual lifeblood of our city’s growth, any real change in our city is going to have a direct link to the success of our businesses. There is a tremendous amount of disposable income in Phenix City. In the past it has been a foregone conclusion that most of that income would be spent in Columbus businesses. However, during the past 2 to 3 years, we’ve seen many of our shoppers making the trek to other areas. While we want to be good neighbors, we’ve got to change both of those trends and the only way to do it is for Phenix City to offer additional quality shopping areas in Phenix City! This will be the main focus area of my administration.
I invite you to join with me to make Phenix City an even better place to live.
I’m Sonny Coulter and I want to be your mayor!"
