This is the first in a series profiling several local election candidates. We asked each candidate the same four questions.
District A
Wayne Edwards
Why did you want to run?
A lot of people ask that same question. Why do you want to be in political office? I guess you take back and look at, not necessarily the people in the positions, but what direction the city’s actually going in and how your impact can make it a little bit better. Not necessarily saying that what they’re doing in the city is actually wrong, there’s just opportunities for another person with a different skill set to do more, motivate, and push it forward. Maybe just to look in a different direction.
Why should someone vote for you?
That’s a two-headed question. Why should somebody vote for you – the question should probably be why shouldn’t they vote for you. I think you need to go back and take a look at historical data. Anybody that’s an incumbent in the office has been on an interview process for the last four years. You should take a look at things that didn’t happen and some of the things that did happen, the voting record, and the reasoning.
I truly believe that a city councilman is there to serve the people. When I say serve the people I mean make sure that the central services from the city continue to exist. In my personal opinion, we kind of get it screwed up. We think each individual district should operate as a silo. It shouldn’t. It should operate in concert. All five districts should work together along with the mayor. In the past four years that’s what I’ve done.
I think we bridged the communication gap somewhat between the citizens and the council where you have a voice that can speak out even if they think that it may be against opposition. In the past I’ve been on the opposing team where I believe in following the law and what’s in the city charter. Sometimes I think we have a tendency to deviate from that and when we do, we get in trouble. If you look at some of the things we did in the past you can see, they probably should have did things just a little bit different. I’m not necessarily saying in this administration, but past administrations on some of the problems that we’re having right now.
What do you want voters to know about you?
That I operate with integrity. What you see me do in the public is what you see me do when you’re not around. I’m level headed. I understand budgets. The budget here at the city is about 40 million a year or less, give or take, and this is the smallest budget I’ve worked with in my working career. My largest budget was about $250 million a year. I understand people. I’ve worked in upper management and lower management. I understand processes.
Actually, the city of Minden runs a big maintenance program and you’ve got to make sure it’s properly funded, that your department heads got your resources and there again I use the word concert, all of the departments have got to work in concert with each other so we can move the city forward.
Now, one unique thing that we have is an economic developer and I think he’s doing a fantastic job because now the city of Minden is known throughout the United States. That’s something we never had in the past. True enough, there’s a lot of other things that we need to do such as hire a human resource representative. I think all of our job descriptions need to be reviewed and there a lot of internal things that we need to do so that we can ensure both economic growth an internal growth.
What are your goals?
Not to reinvent the wheel. To position the city in such a manner that whatever administration is in office, we can build on what we have. Too often, we want to start from scratch and start over. Minden has been around for a long time and there’s some things that we’ve done right. A lot of times, we need to focus on what we’ve done right and make that better, and correct the things that’ve been wrong.
The biggest point I say that we can do is increase the communication amongst ourselves. amongst business leaders, and probably, and I don’t know how we can do this yet, it’s a learning process, to keep the citizens more involved and informed on what’s going on. When I say that, I mean from an educational point. Where when you have a discussion with someone it’s not an opinion, it’s what the laws say. It’s what we’ve got to do to survive. And when we have workshops and city council meetings, instead of playing the Monday morning quarterback, being involved in the process at that time.
Herbert Taylor III
Why did you want to run?
I want to run because I feel like the political process has lost its flair in our community and I want to put the trust back into our political system and I want some changes for our district.
Why should someone vote for you?
They should vote for me because I’m a staple in my community. I always gave back to my community. I’m a selfless leader that puts God, family, and community above everything else.
What do you want voters to know about you?
Well, I want voters to know that I’m selfless and I’m a voice for the people and it’s time that we need to be heard. So, I want them to know that I’m here for my community, my district, and the betterment of my city.
What are your goals?
My goals are to create a community listening forum and basically provide a seat at the table that’s for everyone and not just a select individual.