Big shoes: High hopes for new mayor, sincere gratitude to a departing leader

Chuck Allen was sworn in as the new mayor of Goldsboro on Monday night.

He has some big shoes to fill.

Allen takes the seat held by Al King for nearly 15 years.

King assumed the job of mayor in 2001, following the death of Hal Plonk, who served as mayor for 22 years -- the longest term ever for a Goldsboro mayor.

When Plonk passed we weren't sure whether anyone could fill his shoes. An astute politician, Plonk hid the fact with an "aw shucks" demeanor that belied his capabilities as a leader.

But King did a great job of holding the reins of power with a firm hand and a statesman's touch that evidenced both wisdom and vision.

Although he is relatively young, Allen has plenty of experience as a councilman and significantly, as mayor pro tem.

Whether he can fill the shoes held by King and Plonk and their predecessors remains to be seen. But we believe Allen will do a good job.

At Monday's meeting he laid out his vision for the next four years: Lowering the city's crime rate, getting rid of gangs, fixing blight in the city, improving race relations and bettering the overall quality of life of city residents. He also said he wants to address problems in the school system, specifically Goldsboro High School and its feeder schools.

Those are admirable goals. We hope he, and the rest of the city council, can go far in attaining them.

Published in Editorials on December 10, 2015 11:02 AM