District 2: Broadaway also unopposed
By Ty Johnson
Published in News on July 15, 2012 1:50 AM
Running unopposed for the vacated District 2 seat of Bob Waller, Bill Broadaway aims to maintain balance in the city if he's elected to serve on Goldsboro's City Council.
Broadaway, 67, has lived in Goldsboro since 1991, but said he and his wife of 46 years, Ann, had moved 18 times in 22 years before they settled in Wayne County.
The acceptance he felt in Goldsboro after living and working all over the world made him want to stay and, following his retirement, to make the city a better place.
"Goldsboro is a nice place to live and I want it to continue to be a nice place to live," he said.
Broadaway said the city has to find ways to grow while maintaining its infrastructure, noting that achieving a balance between basic services -- police and fire protection and street maintenance -- and quality of life -- parks and public safety -- is vital to the city's growth.
"We've got to grow in the right way," he said.
Broadaway said he enters city politics without a personal agenda and said he feels it can be very dangerous for those who don't fully understand city government to enter the public arena with huge agendas.
He said he is interested in reading the reports and documents surrounding the city's projects and its budget before determining where he stands on issues.
He said it is the same app-roach he took while on the Wayne Memorial Hospital Board of Directors, of which he is currently chairman.
He said Goldsboro was a town worth working for and that he would like to see the city maintain its military-friendly atmosphere while becoming more business-friendly during his term, and for the city to grow at the same rate as comparable cities in the state.
Broadaway said maintaining close relationships with the area's biggest employers -- Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Wayne County Public Schools, other governmental agencies and the agricultural sector -- would allow the city to grow in other ways.
Broadaway, who spent 22 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, said the key word is balance, both in city government and in the military.
"Marine units do well when you stay in balance," he said. "When you get out of balance, you get in trouble."
A native of Marshville, Broadaway graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill and was pursuing his law degree when he was drafted into the military. Since his retirement from the Marines, he has worked in the financial sector, which brought him back home to North Carolina after stints in Washington, D.C., and New York. He has since retired.