On the ballot, District 2: Troy Mitchell
By From staff reports
Published in News on October 26, 2015 1:46 PM
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Troy Mitchell
Q: Why do you want to be on the Goldsboro City Council?
A: I want to see change in Goldsboro. I want to see the city come back to the people. We have too much comfort going on in the City Council where our taxpaying citizens here are being overlooked. They have to come to the City Council meeting if they have complaints, and they are not really being looked at, and they are not taken serious.
I believe that when you are elected there should be a requirement that you go back to your district, if it is a town meeting or you go back knocking door to door with the people and ask them am I doing what I need to do. Is there something that you need to bring to my attention so that I can bring it to the board?
We don't have that closeness with our citizens right now, and I would love to see that change.
Q: What government experience do you have? If you don't have government experience, what are your qualifications?
A: I don't have any experience in government. I have run a business for many years doing home improvements. I have been a fireman in the county over most of my adult life. I have had human contact with a lot of people in the county by doing that.
I am just coming in with new visions, hopefully, with my eyes open and common sense. I think that is what we don't have. We have too many people who have gone in there with a professional background that have not gotten the things done that they have promised.
I believe when you are a city councilman you are involved in the whole city. Your vote is going to affect the whole city.
Q: The City Council has designated four major issues it intends to tackle in the coming years:
* Greenways and pathways around the city, both maintenance of existing systems and bringing new ones to Goldsboro.
* Continue to invest in downtown.
* Develop the city's parks and recreation department.
* Combat blight throughout the city.
Where do you stand on these issues?
A: I believe we should give our citizens a place to be able go out and do their walks with their dogs or their families. But I don't want to see it end up like, I think it was Raleigh, having a situation on their walkways where people were getting mugged, robbed. We need to make sure it is a safe environment. It needs to be well lighted and well patrolled at all times. I believe that the more activities that people get out and do and see our beautiful city -- it is good for Goldsboro.
A: I think we need to finish up what we have going on (downtown) and maybe come back to that in a couple of years. But let's go into different parts of the city and look at investing there. We do more lighting down some of the streets, repair sidewalks, some of the streets have potholes.
But come back to that (downtown) as it grows and more stores come in and people are participating in that area then I could see coming back in a few years and maybe investing a little more money. But I don't think you want to put all of your candy in one bowl.
We need to go back and find out in the communities by having town meetings to find out exactly what do you need in your area that is going to benefit you. Then you take it from six points of the area and kind of weigh it out in priority what needs to be done first. Not because of what your last name is. No more of that needs to be happening.
A: I am a true believer (in parks and recreation). I love seeing kids go out and play. I grew up playing on the cannon in Herman Park. I still go today. I took my small ones. The only problem I have now is in that area where the small children play, when it gets dark there is only one light. That is a safety hazard.
I believe we need to have more going on. LaGrange has a water park. Why don't we have something like that at Herman Park? I believe there are grants out there that we can find and put something out there at Herman Park. Maybe the following season go to another park and put another there and go on and on to give the inner-city kids who can't go to a swimming pool, can't go to the Y or anyplace like that, it gives them the opportunity to go play in this.
I think we need to build some more parks. We need to go back in, maybe with partnerships with other organizations, and build a better Boys and Girls Club in a different location because Royall Avenue has gotten real busy, and they don't have good parking there.
A: I know downtown is very important and I am not griping about downtown. A lot of people have stood on that soapbox long enough. I agree to some points with what they are doing because it does look beautiful. But we have got other parts of town that need to be looked at, too, and we are not doing that.
When we have houses that are collapsing around them, that are not being lived in. We have trailer parks in the city limits that I see junked cars and furniture and residential areas right beyond that and you know it is bringing their prices down of their homes. We have ordinances set in place for that, but nobody is enforcing them. There are things that we can do to beautify our city and that is what I want to do.
The city needs to go back to the homeowners, and I know at one time they would give homeowners a certain time limit. If they didn't do what they need to do, I think they condemned the property. We need to go ahead get it disposed of and we need to push that land back through Habitat for Humanity or block grants and get new homes put back there.
Q: As for the budget, are there things you would like to see cut, increased or added?
A: I am a true advocate of first responders. Our police department and fire department are not being taken care of like they ought to be. On equipment wise, yes they are. I think they need a better package for them. About 90 percent of our first responders in the city limits have to have two jobs to survive. The reason is because we are not paying them enough.
Q: What do you think the city needs to do to help curb the violence, particularly shootings, that seems to be escalating?
A: We need to take our officers, get them out of their cruisers and get them back on the streets. Not all of the time, but they need to get out and meet some of our citizens in their homes. Walk the streets and meet our citizens and give them the feeling that I am being protected. Hey, if I have a problem I can come to this officer now and tell him because he is like part of the family, instead of them feeling there is another cop going by and they have bad thoughts.