Meet candidates for Salisbury mayor in their own words as Election Day approaches
As the Nov. 7 Election Day approaches for Salisbury's candidates for mayor, the staff of the Daily Times asked Jermichael Mitchell, Megan Outten and Randy Taylor questions concerning the challenges facing a growing city.
All candidates were asked the same questions, and their responses were not edited in any way so as to ensure the accuracy of their statements.
Jermichael Mitchell
Explain how your experience makes you the ideal candidate for the office of mayor of Salisbury?
I believe my experiences in the community since I was a teenager, working with various nonprofits across the state of Maryland, and especially my 2 and a half years as a Youth Development Specialist with the City of Salisbury, Maryland, make me the ideal candidate for the office of Mayor of Salisbury. The Youth Development Specialist position, that was specifically created for me by Mayor Day, allowed me to interact with all departments, communities, citizens and everyone from different backgrounds.
What are the most pressing challenges facing Salisbury and what is the most effective way in which to deal with them?
I think in a time of economic uncertainty for middle and lower middle class residents, the wasteful spending by government directly affects their pockets and also my pockets. The best way to navigate through these difficult times, in my opinion, is to sit down and actually go through the City of Salisbury, MD budget and actually review where WE are wasting money. In my experiences with the city and reviewing budgets we could have and can be more creative to where we don’t have to raise taxes or have a different plan to pay for fire service agreement and etc. There were many times where we were creative with the budget or made sure we allocated to create funding for projects.
How do you balance the varying interests facing the city as it continues to grow?
I think what we need to do and understand are the changes that are occurring downtown are not going anywhere. I think we work on empowering communities to use bike lanes, the amphitheater, visit downtown, etc., but also work and cultivate communities that are underrepresented. Citizens of Salisbury, Maryland, have been told for the last 9 years that we needed to build up downtown and then it would expand to surrounding neighborhoods, but unfortunately the surrounding neighborhoods are still waiting.
Describe your vision for the city of Salisbury in five years and in the next decade?
My vision is to have a government staff that actually represents what the City of Salisbury, Maryland, looks like demographic wise. We need to get back to helping communities and citizens from all different backgrounds, economic status, race, sex and gender. Stop looking out for special interests. Finally, never leave the city behind no matter what the circumstances.
Megan Outten
Explain how your experience makes you the ideal candidate for the office of mayor of Salisbury?
I have both the energy and experience this city needs to keep moving forward. While serving on the Salisbury City Council, I have worked directly on the issues facing our community - advocating for responsible spending and collaborating with our local emergency workers on community resources. My priority to remain as an engaged representative has earned me the respect of not only residents, but leaders across Wicomico County, where I’ve earned bipartisan support.
My background as a project manager in renewable energy means I know how to lead a team and I understand the pressing concerns of our outdated infrastructure - a concern municipalities are facing across the Eastern Shore. Having worked on two federal projects, I have a firm understanding of federal and state policies, and it has allowed me to build relationships with our regional delegates that are crucial to advocating for our needs in Annapolis.
As a life-long resident of this city and someone who plans to raise a family here, my vision extends far into the future, prioritizing the immediate needs for affordable housing and public safety. I'm dedicated to serving the current needs of our residents while building a prosperous tomorrow.
What are the most pressing challenges facing Salisbury and what is the most effective way in which to deal with them?
The two things I hear most when I engage with residents is, they feel disengaged and they’re worried about public safety. I think we can all admit that as a community, we are disconnected. We need leadership at the mayor’s office who will go above and beyond to engage with residents. There are simple ways to reignite that connection - bringing back our Mayoral Roundtables being an immediate first step.
As for public safety, the solution isn’t going to be singular but a unified collaboration with our local law enforcement, our school system, nonprofits and our faith communities. We need to tackle these issues at the root and find ways to uplift our communities by prioritizing affordable housing, supporting youth resources, and mental health services.
How do you balance the varying interests facing the city as it continues to grow?
It's all about listening to our residents. I've made a conscious effort to connect with local neighborhood groups, our dedicated frontline workers and our community's business leaders to understand their concerns and innovative ideas. And when residents come to me with their concerns, I listen. I stood as an independent voice on the City Council this past Spring, where I successfully led the effort to stop a 15% property tax hike during a time when many of our residents are facing financial hardship. Our residents deserve to shape the destiny of our city, and this engagement should begin long before they reach the city council chambers.
Describe your vision for the city of Salisbury in five years and in the next decade?
I want to redefine our vision for Salisbury as a community. It's not about my vision; it's about our collective vision, shaped by the voices of our local residents, businesses and organizations. I envision a city where every resident feels engaged, where we focus on fundamental needs like critical infrastructure and essential services. Our priority will be finding real solutions for affordable housing, and ensuring that our residents can thrive. It's time to return to the basics and rebuild Salisbury for a brighter future.
Randy Taylor
Explain how your experience makes you the ideal candidate for the office of Mayor of Salisbury?
I have spent my entire professional career of 30+ years in business and commercial banking. During that time, I have developed both strong people and financial management skills. While a banker, I have encountered and helped solved a variety of business and financing problems in numerous industries and throughout several business cycles. I have also learned how to interact successfully with all types of people. A mayor of a city is not unlike a president and chief executive officer of a business. So, having an understanding of people, a command of business administration, finance, cashflow and strong financial management skills is foundational for a mayoral candidate. Simply stated, the stakes are high given the city of Salisbury is a large operation where tens of millions of dollars in revenue must be managed with attention and due diligence. Equally important are people skills. As a naturally curious individual, I enjoy talking with people everywhere I go. Communicating effectively with a broad base of constituents and stakeholders is an important facet of the job where I believe I will add true value.
What are the most pressing challenges facing Salisbury and what is the most effective way in which to deal with them?
People in Salisbury are grappling with the effects of inflation just like a great many others. A sense of thrift coupled with strong, thoughtful city management of revenues and expenses has never been more important than it is now. I commit to transparency, stewardship and sensible utilization of tax dollars. On a more local level, and perhaps more acutely, with a population of only 33,000, Salisbury is also experiencing several big city problems. Addiction, homelessness, aggressive panhandling and crime that arises from those issues present big challenges. These challenges have a real impact on the public in the form of quality-of-life issues. While I understand folks need help, we need to be equally aware of and honest about what this burden brings upon the rest of us. I would take an empathetic yet aggressive approach in an effort to interrupt that burden. I am supportive of the herculean efforts undertaken by homeless shelters and recovery providers in all forms, but I would work with stakeholders to develop additional innovative solutions. We need to be laser focused on what works on both sides of the problem, do it well and manage our financial recourses equally as well to properly fund these initiatives for a better Salisbury.
How do you balance the varying interests facing the city as it continues to grow?
Fundamentally, constituents expect a municipality to be expert in providing the basics. Police and fire protection, water and sewer service, trash pickup, maintenance of streets and sidewalks are obvious examples. In an inflationary environment, these needs must take priority over wants, electives and conspicuous vanity projects. Delivering on the basics will be a priority when I am elected mayor. The public good demands it. That said, I absolutely support progress, development and redevelopment in Salisbury. We can have dynamic improvements and still be financially responsible. But as we gauge the feasibility of projects, we need to fully understand those projects. Housing costs, increased rents, rising water and sewer costs along with inflation in general have burdened us all. While there are a host of reasons for that imbalance, we must work together to find ways to balance wants and needs based upon recurring tax revenues, not one-time grants or hopes that things will just work out somehow. That process is simple: Plan; ask good questions, make sure you have good information; incentivize the right things and go to work. Unless we are very careful, government in many forms can be the biggest contributor to higher costs of living. That flawed approach in Salisbury would end under my leadership.
Describe your vision for the City of Salisbury in five years and in the next decade?
Progress with Transparency is my campaign theme. My vision is simply a healthy and dynamic Salisbury which includes strong, safe, well-maintained neighborhoods that complement a dynamic downtown and Central Business District. These are issues I have been involved with for 30+ years. Clean streets in our most challenged neighborhoods to our wealthiest neighborhoods must become standard fare. A fresh approach also needs to be taken to enhance the process of development, renewal and revitalization. There is good development which enhances and compliments the city, and there is thoughtless development which does neither. As citizens, we need to decide what we want out of a development project and what incentives we are willing to pay for that development. So timing, planning, simple math and an understanding of the implications will always matter when I am weighing the pros and cons of a given project as your mayor. I will insist upon it. Homeowners, renters, investors, landlords, preservationists, developers, community organizations and other stakeholders partnering with good government will be the key to real progress in improving Salisbury. I will lead that effort. I will work to leverage existing incentives while fostering sensible new ones to make home ownership and development in the city easier and more beneficial for everyone.
This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Meet the candidates for Salisbury Mayor as Election Day draws near
