Ask the Candidates: Three seek District 3 seat on Gadsden City Council
There will be a new Gadsden City Council member from District 3, as incumbent Thomas Worthy opted to run for mayor instead of seeking re-election.
Three candidates are vying to succeed him: Bill Avery, Larry Avery, and Denecia Getaw.
The Times asked all three to share their short-term goals and long-term objectives should they be elected. Their responses are presented as submitted, subject to minor editing.
Bill Avery
If I am elected as council member from District 3, I will work with the mayor and council to help improve our city, bring more activities for our kids and senior citizens, bring more lighting and fix up the streets in our neighborhoods, put a library on the north side of Sixth Street and open up the Sixth Street swimming pool.
Larry Avery
Quality Community:
In the past few years, District 3 has experienced more home demolition in the city, causing an already economically broken community to face even worse value for the growth and development of the District 3 community.
Decent, affordable housing is important to families. Certainly, it fulfils a basic human need for shelter, but it also contributes to the well-being of both parents and children.
Affordable housing also is important to the economic vitality of communities. Affordable homes can attract and retain employees to your community — a selling point and a competitive advantage for area employers. Affordable homes also support the local workforce so they can live close to their jobs.
Homeownership is also a critical part of the housing stock and can be a stable and affordable option when the mortgage terms and home price are within reach of a family’s budget. For many working families, homeownership represents the American Dream.
Quality of Life:
District 3 has seen an increase in violent acts, homelessness, and activities that have created an unsafe environment for seniors, veterans, and children alike.
A safe and healthy community is one where people know and trust their neighbors and have reliable access to critical government services. Safe and healthy residents lead to stronger, more resilient communities. People feel safe when they are respected, valued, and have access to a full range of health, social, natural, and educational resources. Ultimately, a safe and healthy community has the tools to identify what it needs and the ability to communicate those needs to the city.
An investment in the police and fire department is a start, but what is equally important is an investment in people programs, community centers, and our parks and recreational facilities. It is a necessity to have a community garden, library, senior fitness center, children’s multipurpose fields, STEM programs, and swimming pools in close proximity and reach of our children and families.
Accessibility to educational programs in particular can help this community combat the economic, education, housing, health care and so many other disadvantages that have yet to be addressed.
Quality Future:
At the heart of the community, education is the ability of an individual and the entire community to become lifelong learners. Through community education, citizens can develop relationships and problem-solving skills to conquer the diverse challenges facing our society.
We need to put to good use facilities in our community that currently are sitting there with 10-plus-years of non-use. Use them for performance arts, home economics, community trade, and technical and scientific research programs concerning cancer, diabetes, foods, and health care.
Denecia Ann Getaw
“Making Footprints in the Community”
• Police presence in the neighborhoods, resulting in a decrease in crime;
• Improve response time to requests for city services;
• Immediate and consistent attention given to the allocation of funds to District 3 and public safety;
• Develop strong rapport with School Board representatives to enhance security measures and educational opportunities for all students;
• Address mental health and addiction with access to rehabilitation and health care to individuals in the district and Etowah County;
• Will support all efforts to improve infrastructure to include District 3 road repair and upkeep;
• Committed to any effort to attract businesses to the city that will provide economic growth and employment opportunities;
• Supportive of social programs/activities leading to the growth and development of children and young people in the district;
• Will keep the lines of communication open between the administration, City Council, and the community.
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Gadsden District 3 City Council 2022: Meet the candidates in this Q&A
