Letters to the Editor — Oct. 3

Published 12:00 am Thursday, October 3, 2019

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Larry Kirby for mayor

I am writing to endorse Larry Kirby for mayor. I met Larry in the early 1980s, when he and I, along with a lot of other people, were involved in the incorporation of Clemmons in 1986. Larry became the first public works director for the Village of Clemmons and served in that capacity for many years. Because Larry knew so much and cared so much about Clemmons and its residents, it enabled him to do the outstanding job that he did. Near the end of Larry’s tenure with the Village of Clemmons, he served as its interim manager and again did a terrific job. If you know Larry, you know that when he undertakes a job, he goes all in. He doesn’t do anything halfway and he will approach the job of mayor the same way. I encourage you to join me in voting for Larry Kirby for Mayor of Clemmons.

— Ed Brewer
Clemmons

Brewer is the former mayor of Clemmons.

Vote for Kirby and previous council members

As president and association manager of the Westridge Homeowners’ Association and a longtime resident of Clemmons, I have observed the operation of our local government and interacted with it on numerous occasions. Our village has been at its best when Larry Kirby has served it in a leadership role — whether as public works director or as manager. Larry gets things done for the people of Clemmons.

Over the last several years, under our current leadership (elected with no experience, no vision for our community’s future, and no respect for its past), virtually every initiative in the village has stalled. Improvements to Lewisville-Clemmons Road, long desperately needed, are on hold. This council’s delay of the project (“Stop the Median”) led to its approval of the exact same project endorsed by the previous council, but by then, funding dried up. The present council’s insistence on modifying the library design has caused that project, originally set to begin in 2017, to be needlessly held up. It’s not yet out of the ground. The sidewalks along Highway 158, between Middlebrook and Tanglewood Park, approved years ago, are not yet being built. This council’s insistence on interfering with the county’s development of its land to bring jobs to Clemmons and Forsyth County has alienated our county commissioners. Nothing positive is getting done, yet our local government continually increases spending for social events, ice cream festivals and movie nights. This is wasteful and an abandonment of the philosophy of conservative, frugal government that has guided Clemmons for years.

And then, this council lost our planner Megan Ledbetter — the source of many of the better ideas for our village for more than a decade. Now, rumor has it, this council is also trying to replace its longtime legal counsel. They don’t keep or utilize experienced staff.

This village needs to elect Larry Kirby as its mayor, but it also needs a better council. Mary Cameron and Mike Rogers, both of whom have served before, need to be re-elected. Of the other candidates, Chris Wrights is the only one deserving another term. Our village needs mature leaders, not the childish, amateur efforts it has been saddled with of late.

Please vote for Larry Kirby, Mary Cameron, Mike Rogers and Chris Wrights.

— R. Nelson White
Clemmons