Stuart to run for mayor of Goldsboro
By Staff Reports
Published in News on February 9, 2012 1:46 PM
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D.A. Stuart
D.A. Stuart, a familiar face in city politics, has announced that he will again run for mayor in the upcoming election.
Stuart, 56, announced Tuesday that he will run for the non-partisan position. He ran unsuccessfully in 2007, and while he said many things have changed within City Hall, his concerns for the city have not.
"The City Council is wasting money," Stuart said, saying that the money being considered for use on the Center Street Streetscape project, as well as consulting fees, were unnecessarily running up the bill for taxpayers. He also said business owners he has spoken with are against the Streetscape renovations.
The Phase 11 annexation is another issue he takes issue with, saying he is "totally against forced annexation."
"These people lived there because they didn't want to pay double taxes," he explained, saying he believes their right to remain out of the city limits should be protected.
He also suggested adjusting or disbanding the Downtown Goldsboro Development Corp., and bringing more discussions in City Hall out in the open.
Stuart said he will call for money to be redirected toward the police department to offset the cuts that have been made in recent years.
"We have been understaffed for a long time in the police department," Stuart said, adding that crime could be reduced through renewed investment in manpower, training and equipment.
Stuart, a former law enforcement officer who has worked as a deputy in Maine and Wayne County as well as a police officer in Four Oaks, Pine Level and Pikeville, now owns his own business -- Renta Spouse, a home improvement business. He began the company when he moved to Goldsboro in 1989.
The filing period for most municipal elections in Wayne County begins Monday, Feb. 13 and ends at noon on Wednesday, Feb.29. The primary election is scheduled to be held May 8.