Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2021
BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
PAGE 3A
Statham City Council candidate questionnaires
BNJ: Please provide a
brief background/biog
raphy of yourself.
Piper: My name is Janel
O. Piper. I have been a
Georgia resident since
2014 and a resident of
Statham for the past five
years. I earned a bache
lor degree in Psychology
in 1977, a master degree
in Community Counsel
ing in 1994 as well as a
certification from the Na
tional Board of Commu
nity Counseling in 1995.
I have worked in the pri
vate sector for over 30
years. Since retiring, I en
joy quilting and creating
memory quilts for others.
Along with my husband
(Mayor Joe Piper), we are
active members of GWR-
RA (Gold Wing Road
Riders Association), and
I have been the chapter
director for the past six
years. Originally born
and raised in Pennsylva
nia, I have been married
for 44 years, have three
adult children, six grand
children and have lived in
II cities in four different
states.
BNJ: Why did you de
cide to run for election
and what in your back
ground makes you the
most qualified candidate
for this seat?
Piper: When my hus
band was elected mayor,
I started attending council
meetings. Over the past
21 months, I have attend
ed, in person, all but two
meetings. I have observed
and learned how the city
Janel Piper
Janet Piper
functioned, watched the
council make their deci
sions, then started to ask
questions during council
work sessions. As a citi
zen, I was concerned with
the lack of respect shown
to our police department,
our city workers, and to
the position of mayor. I
decided to run for council
as I have been reading the
charter, have an under
standing of what the role
of a council person should
be, and I feel I have the
work ethics and dedica
tion to make fiscally re
sponsible decisions for
the city.
BNJ: What should the
city’s approach to the
continuing growth in
population be? How can
the city best position it
self to handle the inevi
table continued growth?
Piper: The approach
to city growth should be
from the viewpoint of im
proving our infrastructure.
The best position would
be for the city to become
more self-sufficient in
supplying Statham citi
zens with our own water
and sewage system. The
main focus would be up
dating our aging sewer
and water lines, drilling
water wells and even
tually building a waste
treatment plant. Becom
ing more self-sufficient
will aid the city for future
growth as those revenues
would stay in the city in
stead of creating wealth
for other cities or for the
county.
BNJ: Aside from
growth, what do you
consider to be the top
three issues the city is
facing and will face in
the coming years? If
elected, how would you
work to address those
issues?
Piper: The top three is
sues are:
•aging water and sewer
infrastructure
•drug trafficking in our
city
•increased traffic on
city roads.
As a council member,
it would be my respon
sibility to make fiscal
ly sound decisions that
would assist the mayor
with addressing these
major issues that face the
city now and in the future.
A council member's job
is not the day-to-day op
eration of the city, nor to
direct department heads.
Their job is to make sure
the citizens’ tax revenues
are spent in a responsible
manner, taking in account
what the majority of citi
zens need and want. If the
council and mayor can
work together and address
current and future needs,
Statham will prosper.
BNJ: Please provide
a brief background/
biography of yourself.
Penn: I am a 16-year
veteran of the public
safety/medical field and
a licensed realtor with
a growing business.
My training and career
have given me great ex
perience in both leader
ship and public service,
as well as fueling my
compassion for helping
the public.
BNJ: Why did you
decide to run for elec
tion and what in your
background makes
you the most quali
fied candidate for this
seat?
I’m running for
Statham City Coun
cil because my fami
ly loves our town, our
neighbors, the small
businesses and the
small town feel.
My career has well
prepared me for serv
ing the public through
elected office. Having
served in leadership po
sitions in public safety,
I’ve gained the abili
ty to make decisions
based on potential out
comes with a focus on
how those decisions
can affect the people
involved.
Both real estate and
working as a paramed
ic have given me an
outlook and viewpoint
of the public at their
most vulnerable times.
They also force critical
Scott Penn
Scott Penn
thinking and require an
excellent work ethic in
order to be successful.
BNJ: What should
the city’s approach to
the continuing growth
in population be?
How can the city best
position itself to han
dle the inevitable con
tinued growth?
Penn: The local gov
ernments need to keep
in mind the effect that
the continued growth
in the area will have on
the lifelong residents,
those who moved here
to escape a population
boom, and the sur
rounding utility infra
structure.
I would be in favor of
a moratorium on new
residential subdivision
development in the
city for at minimum
one year and would
urge the county to do
the same. The growth
is only as inevitable as
we allow it to be.
We need to listen to
citizen concerns as well
as take into account the
effects it will have on
all tax payer funded
services and utilities.
BNJ: Aside from
growth, what do you
consider to be the top
three issues the city is
facing and will face
in the coming years?
If elected, how would
you work to address
those issues?
Penn: Our main is
sues over the next four
years will be:
1. updating the water
and sewer system with
any available funding
we can obtain.
2. improving infra
structure such as road
ways; looking at what
we can do to provide
additional access to
high-speed internet
options; providing a
safer city for our fam
ilies with inclusion of
speed-reduction pro
grams like neighboring
municipalities have;
seeking additional
funding for parks and
recreation facilities.
3. working together
as elected officials to
better the city and drop
ping personal agendas
that do little to benefit
the citizens.
I plan on fighting for
these items from day
one and working tire
lessly along with the
other council members
on bettering our com
munity. Some of the
other candidates and I
have discussed these is
sues and tossed around
ideas; we just need the
platform to work on
them.
ELECT
JERRY MARTIN
CANDIDATE FOR WINDER
CITY COUNCILMAN AT-LARGE
• Leads with honesty and integrity - "I am very strong in my faith and
always pray for guidance in all decisions that I make."
• Business Minded and believes government should be ran like a busi
ness. Before raising taxes you should always look over the budget to
see what can be cut out before raising taxes.
• Keeping that small town feel while handling growth. The city's big
gest challenge is how to handle growth and still keep that small town
feel. This is one thing that I'm passionate about and will stand firm
to achieve this goal.
Please go to www.jerrymartincitycouncil.com or scan the
QR code to watch a video to learn more about me
and why I feel led to run for the council seat.
VOTE JERRY MARTIN
WINDER CITY COUNCILMAN
AT-LARGE, NOVEMBER 2,2021