10/04/2023
The Enquirer-Journal has asked the candidates to respond to a questionnaire to give voters insight. Their responses are below:
GARY ANDERSON
Question: Why do you want to be the Mayor of your municipality?
Answer: I want to be the Mayor of Monroe because I truly have a passion for serving our citizens and staff. We have so much to be proud of and the opportunities for our city are numerous. I have been the Mayor Pro Tem for four years and enjoy interacting with people and trying to make a positive impact. I am honored to be endorsed by our former Mayor, Bobby Kilgore and our current Mayor, Marion Holloway. Both of these men have inspired me to lead our city with integrity, dedication, and perseverance. We want our city to be welcoming, safe, and a place to call home for our citizens.
Q: How long have you been living in your municipality and what do you like or love about it?
A: I have lived in Monroe for 17 years and plan on retiring one day here. I love the diversity of our citizens and the acts of kindness that I see everyday. We have the best staff in the nation right here in Monroe that care about our citizens and their future. It is an honor to work with such a dedicated group of leaders. Monroe attracts small businesses, large manufacturing businesses, and people from all walks of life. It is fascinating to here stories from a lifelong resident of Monroe or a perspective from a young person who just graduated from high school or college. As a 17 year educator in public school, I have learned everything from the current buzz words to what music is hip today. As I travel to other cities, I am proud to tell people that I live and work in Monroe, NC.
Q: In what way do you think your municipality can be improved?
A: In looking at ways to improve our city, I have a few priorities in mind. We recently received the "Good Cities, Great Jobs" award from the National League of Cities and the United States Department of Labor. Monroe was one of 16 cities nationwide out of 250 cities that applied to achieve this honor. We need to help train and market our citizens to work in high paying jobs that are available here.
Secondly, we need to streamline our permitting process to be more user friendly, efficient, and timely processed.
In addition, we need to start taking a hard look at future developments and annexations. We need to be able to answer three important questions as it pertains to development. Will it truly benefit our citizens and have a positive impact? How will it effect traffic and transportation issues? What are the overall optics of the development for our current citizens?
Q: What do you want the residents of your municipality to know about you?
A: I have always tried to be kind and understanding to others. My grandfather used to say, "it doesn't cost anything to speak to people with a smile." I have been married to my wife, Sandra, for seven years and we both love to travel and spend time with friends and family. I am a strong supporter of public safety and enjoy riding along with our police officers and firefighters. We are blessed to have such a dedicated staff throughout our city. I enjoy supporting non-profit agencies throughout our city and being a part of acts of random kindness. Sometimes, the best reason to do something nice for someone is just because it is the right thing to do. I have taken on many stray dogs and cats over the years and love the opportunity to make friends with animals that needs a home. I also love our local restaurants here in Monroe and want these businesses to be successful.
Q: As Mayor, what role do you believe you can play that can make your municipality a better place for your residents?
A: We have been working diligently on quality of life initiatives for our citizens. We recently opened a new police headquarters, a new active adult center, a new science center, a new theater, and put a 6th fire station in service to improve response times. Our city has sustainability on water, sewer, electricity, and natural gas for the next 30 years. We will continue to make this a priority.
We have made improvements and added amenities to every park in our city with things like a dog park, a splash pad, and more picnic areas. All of the walking trails at Belk Tonawanda Park have been resurfaced.
Monroe is seeing record crowds in our vibrant downtown area and it is great to see people enjoying conversations with one another.
As Mayor of Monroe, I will make quality of life decisions my number one priority. I want people to be proud to say that they are a citizen of Monroe, NC
