Who is Ed Samaha, candidate for Pineville mayor?

Name: Edward Samaha

Age as of Nov. 7, 2023: 71

Campaign website or social media page: samaha4pineville.com

Occupation: Retired - Global Operations Executive

Education: MBA, University of Connecticut; BS in marketing, Northeastern University

Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought or held)

Currently serving Town Council Pineville, NC. Formerly in 1980s, on Danbury, Connecticut, Town Council

Please list your highlights of civic involvement

Member of two Town Councils, Mecklenburg Education Advisory Board, Primary Schools Reading Assistance Program, Pineville Neighbors Place

What are, in your view, the most important issues facing Pineville, and what would your approach be to handling them if elected?

Public safety, ensuring police and fire departments have the personnel, facilities, equipment and training to meet the Town’s needs. Voted for new firehouse ($16M), 2 new fire trucks ($2M), 14 new police officers as well as replacing/upgrading safety gear.

Traffic is an ongoing challenge. Voted to approve two major town road projects to improve traffic flow. Worked on making stronger connections to state officials who control the major roads through Pineville. Having success in developing connections with county commissioner, U.S. congressman, state senator, NCDOT board members and officials for considering a number of considerations for Route 51 that runs from one end of Pineville to the other right through our downtown and main commercial areas.

Focused on several new developments for Pineville. Some are approved, some in final stages of approvals and a few starting up. Committed to understanding impact to Pineville, the residents, businesses and the developers. The town has flourished in the past ten years from good decisions made. Want to ensure we continue building on that strong foundation while maintaining a healthy financial balance sheet.

Communities across Mecklenburg County have seen growth and development as well as a hot real estate market in recent years. How should Pineville approach development and housing issues?

Pineville has grown from 2,000 people in the year 2000 to more than 10,500 today. Pineville is an exceptional place to live. The town consists of attractive, mature, established neighborhoods as well as newer subdivisions. We currently have three new developments approved with two more major ones in discussions. My focus is to find the blend that maintains Pineville’s charms, helps families find that home they love to live in, and work improvements to the traffic issues. Three of these new developments will enhance the walkability of downtown with near residences and additional retail and restaurants.

What separates you from your opponent(s)?

I have an extensive 35-year background in the high tech industry as a problem solver/leader for companies that needed to scale and or were dysfunctional. I had proven expertise at drilling into ambiguous situations, to identify root problems, set strategy with concise goals/objectives and action plans. I was sought out by CEOs, presidents of not only my company, but customers like Intel, Samsung, Apple, Hitachi, IBM to lead their mission critical teams. I was never the smartest person in the room, but I was a good listener and could get teams to pull together for mutual success.

What one professional or political accomplishment are you most proud of?

I have several accomplishments I am proud of, but the thing I am most proud of is the two accomplished daughters, my wife and I raised, who are exceptional professional women, wives and mothers. I will acknowledge most of the credit goes to my wife Linda, but I had my thumb on that scale. As for professional, I will name a couple, completing a $3B factory for Apple under budget and schedule. Working with Hitachi over 26 weeks to increase their production of iPod chips without any new equipment, having Intel and IBM consider my service organizations the best they had on their sites. For Pineville, helping to approve a number of impactful decisions including new firehouse, 14 police officers, 2 road improvements, development projects that will enhance the downtown and a new town owned public parking lot for 100+ cars downtown that will be paid for by a developer.