Mount Airy Mayor Ron Niland has repeatedly said he wants to keep his re-election bid positive — without attacking his opponent, City Commissioner Jon Cawley — and focus more on the issues and what he feels are he brings to the table as a leader.
Cawley’s recent statements, however, brought Niland to the point where he said he believed he had to respond. Cawley has lobbied several attacks on Niland, other city commissioners, and openly opposed a comprehensive downtown plan in recent weeks, leading up to the Nov. 8 election.
Niland said despite the attacks and what he called “misinformation” spread by Cawley, he held his tongue. “I left it because I thought it would be best to be positive, to run a positive campaign.”
The mayor said Cawley crossed a line earlier this week when he stated that much of the controversy and uncertainty over the downtown comprehensive plan could be laid at the mayor’s feet.
“If I were the mayor, I would have publicly corrected the misinformation that was spread and avoided the unnecessary vote of the commissioners after the public hearing,” he said. “Our mayor’s silence only exacerbates the issue.”
That plan is a loose guide for potential downtown development and has city leaders looking for ways to help existing businesses thrive, attract new businesses, and make improvements to the area.
That was the last straw for Niland, especially after a statement in the spring in which Cawley questioned the mayor’s honesty.
“He called me incompetent and deceitful,” said the mayor, referring to the previous statement. “Calling me incompetent is not my objection,” he said, explaining that competence or incompetence is always in the eye of the beholder. “What I oppose is the so-called deception. That goes to character. It’s not right, it’s not true,” said Niland.
“I am proud of my positive campaign and wholeheartedly believe that all public servants should run on their own merits instead of attacking their opponent. Unfortunately, Commissioner Cawley has repeatedly chosen to campaign by making complaints and make personal attacks on me, city staff, and community leaders,” the mayor said.
After months of “turning the other cheek,” he felt Mount Airy residents and voters owed him “my response to the accusations made against me.”
“Commissioner Cawley admitted that I did not attempt to correct the misinformation on the Downtown Master Plant. I made several public statements about the plan at council meetings and directed our staff to compile an FAQ (always asked questions) fact sheet to help citizens better understand the contents of the downtown plan. I went door to door to downtown businesses and community homes to listen and talk about the plan.”
He then questioned Cawley’s role in spreading misinformation, and sowing discord among city residents instead of showing leadership to find common ground.
“Our city commissioners have the same responsibility to bring the truth to the citizens on their public platform. However, my opponent chose to protest the plan and plant fear in the minds of the citizens of Mount Airy… He said that it is not his job as a town commissioner to correct disinformation. Well, what is his job?”
Comprehensive Plan
While Niland argues that Cawley has exhibited these behaviors for a long time, he believes that Cawley took the city’s work to develop that comprehensive plan for the city as an excuse to intensify the attacks on Niland. and so on.
The plan is a working guide to potential development, not a blueprint set in stone, and not just for Main Street – it’s for “eight or ten blocks around Main Street.”
“It’s an aspirational plan,” Niland said. “It’s not a plan that’s been fully adopted.”
Most cities have comprehensive plans — Mount Airy has one in effect, and this can be considered a partial update. Usually, such plans are required for applying for development grants, and can serve as a guide for combining projects, saving money.
For example, Niland said the city is plagued by an aging water and sewer system, especially in the downtown area.
“Some (pipes) are more than a hundred years old. We have to deal with them…some maybe in the next five to seven years.”
It only makes sense, he believes, to have a plan for what the downtown area can do before digging the lines.
“While you have to dig and create disruption, while you’re doing that, it makes sense to think about what you’re putting back in. I don’t have any ideas about what that might be… we can just put the sidewalk back the way it was.”
But, he said, if the idea of moving power lines and utilities underground is something to consider, it should be part of the plan first, to be done while the water and sewer pipes are being replaced, to save money and time.
That plan, he said, was put together slowly, over time, with input from city residents, business owners, and city leaders — except for one commissioner, Cawley. Instead, he believes Cawley is mostly sitting on the sidelines, protesting and making false accusations, rather than being part of the process.
“After voting against the plan, Commissioner Cawley marched in protest downtown with about 50 individuals. He was the only elected official in Mount Airy who did not participate in the nine-month planning process. The commissioners and I were given and the opportunity to be interviewed as stakeholders and attend three public workshops.Commissioner Cawley had the same opportunities to oversee the process but chose not to participate.
That, he believed, was par for the course. While information packets about upcoming meetings are sent to commissioners, containing documents and background information on agenda items, Niland believes Cawley rarely applies himself to the packets to prepare. for meetings.
“He showed a pattern of being unprepared for meetings and a lack of understanding of important issues in the city, including the budget,” said the mayor. “While other officials do their homework, he makes accusations without receiving the same information that is accessible to all of us. He has a comfortable amnesia when it serves to get headlines. His willingness to share those citizen for potential profit.
“Leadership is not attacking others. Leadership is the expectation that you can use your voice for good. That you can make the world a better place by encouraging others to do their best. and achieve goals that help build a community. That’s what I believe in.”
