Council contender Martin makes it official

Alicia Petska / Lynchburg News & Advance
Published: March 6, 2008

Ward I City Council candidate Jim Martin made his formal announcement Thursday at the Boonsboro Road fire station - a site chosen, he said, to punctuate his commitment to public safety.

Martin, a recently retired car dealer, included support of the fire and police departments among his top priorities, along with education and business development.

If elected, he said he would put the citizens first and work to instill civility in City Council debates.

"In running the city, it seems the current council takes too long to make basic decisions or gets distracted from what is important," he said.

"A lot of time seems wasted in petty or partisan bickering.

"More than that, however," he added, "I am afraid some of our current council has forgotten that they serve the citizens and not the other way around. Too often it seems citizens are talked down to or ignored. I don't pretend to know all the answers, but I will listen to all the citizens and respectfully consider their input along with that of the city staff and other experts.

"Council needs to remember that the citizens are the boss and act accordingly."

Martin, 64, is running against one-term incumbent Mike Gillette and fellow challenger Tom Shahady, an environmental science professor who's making preservation and control of development his top issues.

All are running as

independents.

Gillette, a self-employed bioethics consultant, said Thursday he too has been concerned council sometimes moves too slowly, and has worked to move issues forward in an "expeditious way" when possible.

"I think things sometimes don't move along as quickly as people would like them to, because the nature of government requires us to do things in a more methodical manner," he said. "Speed is not always the most important thing. … But I don't think the source of delay is on my end of the table."

Regarding Martin's second point, Gillette said he was unsure what his opponent was referring to.

"I certainly go out of my way to be as polite as I can to citizens," he said, adding he hoped to discuss his challengers' concerns in more detail as the campaign progresses.

Neither Gillette nor Shahady have made formal announcements yet. Gillette said he plans to. Shahady said it was unlikely he would have an official event.

On Thursday, the audience at Martin's announcement included Ward IV candidate Turner Perrow, local Republican Party chairman Mark Peake and at-large City Councilman Scott Garrett.

Garrett, who's in his first term, said he felt Martin was a "very reasoned individual" and praised both his experience in business and contributions to numerous community organizations.

All supporters present that day sported "Martin for Council" stickers - holdovers from a 2004 run Martin's wife, Marie Martin, made for this same council seat.

Jim Martin said he and his wife shared "the same views and concerns" when it came to Lynchburg. In her run, Marie Martin lost to Gillette, finishing third in a three-way race.

Jim Martin said he looked forward to an "interesting" and "fair" campaign. He added he was inspired to run for council because he wanted to "be involved in the city's decisions that can directly impact our quality of life in Lynchburg.

"Marie and I don't have any family here so, now that I'm retired, we don't have anything keeping us here except that we like this area," he said. "This is a great place to live."