Letter to the Editor October 18, 2023
I’d like to thank Becky Johnson and The Mountaineer for hosting the
Haywood County Candidate Forum. While I was unable to attend in
person, I watched it live on The Mountaineer’s Facebook page. I don’t
live in the Waynesville town limits so I’m unable to vote for the mayor
and town council, but I do own property there and shop, bank, and eat in
Waynesville every week. I’ve been very concerned over the past several
years by the uncontrolled building approvals (without the corresponding
infrastructure improvements) as well as the decline in the town’s
appearance. The vagrancy, trash, and needle litter have our beautiful
small town looking more and more like Asheville every day.
I would urge anyone who hasn’t watched the forum to do so PRIOR to
voting. The Waynesville portion of the forum starts just after the
3:00:00 point and begins with the mayoral candidates and ends with the
council member candidates. I was stunned by the behavior of Mayor
Gary Caldwell, who literally SHOVED candidate Joey Reece and told
him to stop picking on him! That an elected official felt he had to resort
to violence is just unconscionable and voters definitely need to think
twice before voting for Mr. Caldwell to return as mayor. Political
discussions are often difficult and aren’t always settled. There are so
many nuances to some issues that at times no one is “right” or “wrong”.
Regardless, laying hands on someone you don’t agree with is NEVER
the answer and it is a shame our mayor never learned that growing up.
Team Waynesville (Joey Reece for Mayor and Stephanie Sutton, Peggy
Hannah, and Tre Franklin for Town Council) offers an alternative to the
current slate of folks who are pushing Agenda 2030, Climate Change,
and other leftist ideas that are going to destroy our small town. Growth
may be inevitable....but it certainly needs to be careful and controlled!!!
Vote Team Waynesville for a principled alternative!
Janet Presson
