Waller faces challenge from Stanley in District 1
By Anessa Myers
Published in News on November 4, 2007 2:12 AM
Two men -- both with records of service to their community -- will ask voters to choose them when they cast their ballots in the District 2 Goldsboro City Council election Tuesday.
Incumbent Councilman Bob Waller has served his community, one way or another, for more than 30 years.
He was a coach and athletic director for area schools.
He has received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine for his community service.
He has been on the council for five years.
And he isn't ready to stop now.
"My public service record can speak for itself. I have been doing it ever since I've been in Goldsboro. Now, I'm ready to serve District 2 and the city of Goldsboro for four more years," Waller said.
His friend and challenger L.J. Stanley said he looks at civic service with a mind for business.
"I'm a businessman, and I know the city needs money to do things for its citizens," Stanley said. "That money doesn't come from grants and scholarships and things like that. The money needs to come from what the city generates."
He has ideas to help generate those funds including an amusement park and a zoo.
He said both would bring hundreds of thousands of dollars to the city every year.
"We need pure business bringing money in," Stanley said. "We don't have to raise taxes. We don't have to force annex. We need to run the city like a business."
Money for some of the city's projects, like revamping Stoney Creek Park, could be better used for other needs, he said.
"We could have a zoo for the kids and could have done that for the same amount of money as Stoney Creek Park," he said.
Waller, a vocal supporter of the Stoney Creek Park project, said he will continue that stand if re-elected to council. It is a project he believes will benefit the entire city.
"I would tell the critics that there may be five or six days out of the year that we can't use it, and there are a lot of other things that we can't use more than that," he said. "It is an economic tool, and it will increase the quality of life for those in the district and the whole city. We are already seeing people walk through the park since we've cleaned it up."
Stanley, on the other hand, believes the city has enough parks.
"We should take the parks we already have and fix them up," he said. "If we take what we've got and make it more usable and safer, the city would be better off."
Both believe they can serve the community in a positive way.
"I have been in the city and in the business world, been in the public world, been in all the civic activities, and I know the people and their concerns," Waller said. "They can feel free to call me and discuss them. I am responsible not only to the people in District 2 but to all the people in the city."
He said he has accomplished much as a part of City Council, and added he hopes the citizens recognize that.
Stanley said one of his strengths is being able to talk to anybody.
"I can talk to the president or to the guy who picks up my trash," he said.
He said he is also a team player who speaks to a problem if he sees one and speaks his mind.
"I'm not a nodder," he said. "I don't have a problem asking. If you don't ask, you are never going to know. I'm not afraid to ask anybody for anything if the city needs it."