Three Ways To Stump, Govern

The race is on.

The three candidates on the ballot for mayor of Edgewood — Susan Simons, Brad Hill and Robert Stearley — are running very different campaigns.

Something of a political dark horse, Simons has not held political office and she said she is in the race, primarily, to rev up the town's economy and bring in jobs.

"We can't be passing the same five dollar bill around to the same people in Edgewood," she said. "… What we need is a plan to grow our businesses and perhaps bring in new businesses."

As to what that plan may look like, Simons said she wants to work with the people of Edgewood and the town staff and elected officials to develop it.

Hill, who currently serves on the town council, said he, too, wants to work with those groups. In fact, finding a new way to work with the council in particular is something he said he's very passionate about. In particular he mentioned volunteers who may like to serve on parks and recreation, are serving with the library board and the town's planning and zoning commissioners.

"Just having a governing body that is reaching out to people," he said. "… I don't feel their voice is heard as much as we would like to hear it."

Those groups have come up with good ideas for the town, he said, but he often only gets wind of them after a decision has already been made.

Another communication issue, Hill said, is between the town council and Stearley, the current mayor. It should be noted that Hill also said he wants his campaign as a whole to be about his own strengths, not the current mayor's weakness.

"He starts the wheels in motion kind of behind the scenes," Hill said. "And then once things get going, then he'll bring it forward to the council. All of the sudden, here comes something from behind the curtain. … It's my opinion, even from conception, that you bring things to the council. The council needs to be involved. The public needs to be involved."

Stearley said Hill's criticisms aren't valid.

"He's just trying to trash me," Stearley said.

For one of his recent projects, for example, Stearley said he has developed a floor plan for a municipal facility to be built on Section 16, an empty field on the west side of N.M. 344 and north of Frost Road.

The project would be a new building to relocate the police station, town hall and library all in one building. Stearley said he spoke with department heads and drew up the plans, which he emailed to councilors and posted in the Edgewood Community Library.

He has the item on the agenda for an upcoming council meeting and from there he hopes to put it out for a contractor to design and build. He said that's the same kind of process that was used to set up the current town offices and the town library.

"That's not back-room maneuvering," he said. "Unless you have something on paper, you have nothing to talk about."