ROCK HILL, S.C. (CN2 NEWS) – Three candidates running for Rock Hill’s Mayor’s office include Incumbent John Gettys, York County Councilman William “Bump” Roddey, and Ishmael Lowery. The Mayoral Forum Thursday night focused on economic development, revitalization, health and safety, community engagement and more.
Community engagement – that was the goal of Thursday night’s NAACP Rock Hill Mayoral Forum and a topic of discussion.
One hot topic of discussion, Economic Development and Growth in the City.
MODERATOR QUESTION: How Do You Plan to Include Disenfranchised Residents in Decision Making Processes?
Incumbent Mayor John Gettys says, “What I do as mayor, is do my best to hear from as many people as we can. When thinking about, not just what the question of the day is, but what we want to see going forward.”
MODERATOR QUESTION: What is Your Vision for the City’s Southside & Clinton ConNEXTion?
Candidate and York County Councilman William “Bump” Roddey says, “The Clinton ConNEXTion is definitely going t be a game changer on the south side, if the TIF can be worked out, if we can get the school district back on board. A late development this week, found out that Rock Hill School District is not in full support of the TIF, that poses a problem going forward. We still have to work out some language that goes in the TIF, if we want to help the Clinton ConNEXTion.”
MODERATOR QUESTION: What Priorities Need Immediate Attention in the First 180 Days of Office?
Candidate Ishmael Lowery says, “One is law, law enforcement and two is family. We talk about the violence that’s happening in our city — we’re at 38, I believe attempted murders, we’re at 16 actual murders, this year, set to outpace last year which is very unfortunate. I think it starts in the home.”
Each candidate speaking with CN2 about what they hope people learn about the mayors they intend to be for the City of Rock Hill.
“I hope people will with knowing that I want to unite people. I want to bring people together. Whether that is racial backgrounds, socio-economic background differences — I want to be able to bring people together and we want to do it in a strategic way. We also want to represent those who are in areas of need and also talk about ownership. It’s one thing to say, ‘we’re going to revitalize an area.’ But how are we going to give ownership to the people and citizens in those areas?” asks Lowery.
“I’m home grown, I grew up through this process. I wasn’t just hand-picked and selected and plopped into this position. I’ve worked my way through the ranks, I’ve earned my stripes, I’ve taken my beatings and I’ve learned my lessons. And so, what I want people to take away from tonight is that, how passionate I am about this community and what I can bring to the table,” says Roddey.
“I think that the people of Rock Hill have been well served over the last four years. I think the people of Rock Hill are by and large very happy with where we are. I know we’ve been working, the people that is, for 25, 30 years to get to this point — and so now we’re at a point where the leverage has changed a little bit and we can act a little bit stronger than we have in the past and we’ll just continue to work in that fashion,” says Gettys.
In the video above, CN2’s Rachel Richardson is speaking with each of those candidates about their background, experience and what they hope to bring to the table.
