David Horton and Keith Marshall are running for mayor in the May 1 election. The mayor serves a four-year term that begins July 1.
The Radford News Journal sent questionnaires to both candidates who were asked to answer seven questions in approximately 100 words each.
A similar format for the city council election will appear in Saturday’s edition. Answers appear as the candidates submitted them with only minimal formatting adjustments.
Precincts are open from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m. Voters must have a valid ID. For more information, visit www.elections.virginia.gov or call the registrar’s office at 540-731-3639
David Horton
Why do you want to be mayor of the City of Radford?
I love my hometown of Radford and it has always been a great place to live, but we are facing some tough decisions. We have so much potential, but we are not doing enough to capitalize on our assets and to prepare for the future.
Some of our current challenges have been building for years, and I feel that we need to expect more from our leadership to help find solutions. We have not done enough recently to build our economy, improve our quality of life, and prepare our community finances for upcoming needs.
It is my hope to be able to provide leadership that will move us forward.
Why are you qualified to be the Mayor?
I’ve been preparing for this role since I began volunteering and participating in local government in high school. I’m currently serving as President of the Radford Chamber of Commerce and the Chair of the Radford Beautification and Municipal Forestry Commission, where I’ve run hundreds of meetings on behalf of our city and community organizations. We’ve had great results as well with more than 70% revenue growth and 30 percent membership growth at the Chamber and finally achieving Tree City USA for Radford. I feel my leadership has been an important component in facilitating these team efforts.
Professionally, I’ve been an employee of Radford University for 27 years in a variety of roles. In all of my professional roles, I have had experience with staff supervision, hiring, discipline, budgets, and strategic planning.
What do you believe to be the city’s biggest strengths?
Our biggest strengths are our citizens. We can accomplish anything when we put our minds together and have leadership facilitating a path to success. We need more people in Radford to be engaged in our local government.
Radford City schools are a leader in the Commonwealth. If we continue to invest in them, we will see even greater opportunity and progress.
We are blessed to live in one of the loveliest parts of Virginia and the US. If we can better market ourselves, visitor revenue will grow.
We have world-class manufacturing in our city, employing hundreds of residents, and we have an outstanding university bringing new opportunities every day.
What are the city’s biggest challenges?
Like many communities, Radford has struggled economically in the last decade as the global and regional economies have changed. Once-stable employers have left our community. Many of our residents are struggling economically.
We must invest in ourselves to build the city we need and deserve to thrive in the coming years. Supporting our current business partners and helping them grow along with the recruitment of new, in-demand, modern jobs will help meet this challenge. We need to attract 21st century jobs to Radford, and to help train our workforce to meet employers’ needs.
Our schools need to be updated to continue to succeed. Our leadership has not prepared our finances to meet this challenge. The longer we wait to take action, the tougher it will be.
What would be your first act as mayor be?
I will meet with our new economic development director, city staff, and local businesses to chart a course to identify and meet the needs we have to grow industry in Radford.
We will create a support network for entrepreneurs and start-up companies who want to sow the seeds for success in the city and rebuild our economy. We will also establish a timeline and explore funding possibilities to enhance our business districts and neighborhoods.
Our schools and general quality of life are central to economic development as well, as many businesses will only locate where they believe they can recruit employees. We need to find a way to invest in these areas with new money coming into the city.
What is your five-year plan for the city?
My five year goals for the city are evident in the actions of my first months as Mayor.
Within 30 days:
1. Conduct economic development planning and establish benchmarks and needed resources for 2018-2023 period.
2. Conduct a public safety audit with our police, fire, and EMS to address any lingering concerns and areas we need to improve.
3. Begin a new marketing group to better share the story of Radford.
Within 60 days:
1 .Conduct an Education Summit with our school board and other stakeholders to identify a path to meeting the needs of our schools within the next several years.
2. Explore options to improve the environment through better recycling and liter management.
Within 90 days:
1. Explore new money for investment through grants and new partners, create the Radford Area Municipal Projects group to assist in identifying and securing resources that will enhance our community assets (parks, recreation, education, the New River, etc) to build the quality of life for residents and guests.
Within 120 days:
Review our Information Technology infrastructure with our local ISPs and explore ways to improve service and become a gigabit city within 5 years.
What would you like the voters to know about you?
No one will work harder to help Radford thrive. I will open our processes so that more residents can participate in our efforts and understand what it will take to make our vision a reality.
Together, we can tell the story of our great city to bring new people to Radford to have fun with friends and family, to connect with others, and to grow. If we are all ambassadors for our community, we can prosper.
It is time for us to reinvent our local economy and invest in ourselves to build the city we need and deserve. I will proudly lead that charge for Radford.
Keith Marshall
Why do you want to be Mayor of the City of Radford?
As a long-time resident I am deeply appreciative of the opportunities afforded me growing up in Radford.
I grew up in this city with exceptional schools, thriving neighborhoods, and a strong economic base.
It is my goal to use my experience, my time, and all of my abilities to make sure that my children and all of Radford’s families are afforded these same opportunities.
Why are you qualified to be the Mayor?
I have spent the last eight years serving on Radford City Council, serving two of those years as Radford’s Vice Mayor.
In addition to my work on council, I serve on multiple boards and commissions including the New River District Planning Commission, the Radford Social Services Board, the Recreation Commission, and the Fire Department Special Fund Committee.
I believe that this service and the many hours of work and preparation it entails has made me uniquely qualified and ready to step into the position of Mayor and begin immediately to work in the best interest of our city.
What do you believe to be the city’s biggest strengths?
Radford to me falls into a very special niche. We are just small enough that our city has a family feel to it while at the same time being large enough to enjoy a variety of services often enjoyed by larger cities.
Radford has beautiful parks and a wonderful trail system. We enjoy the incredible New River and the mountains that surround us. Our children and families are blessed to have unparalleled educational opportunities with exceptional public schools, as well as Radford University, New River Community College, and Virginia Tech just a few miles away.
Radford’s strongest asset has always been our families. You will not find a locality anywhere whose citizens are more giving and caring than ours.
What are the city’s biggest challenges?
Two of Radford’s biggest challenges are the loss of a major portion of our industrial base (Foundry) and a rising poverty rate.
The loss of the foundry not only was a hard blow to Radford’s employment base but it also meant the loss of millions of dollars to Radford’s tax base.
Our challenge is to regrow the industrial manufacturing base that we lost and provide the needed jobs and opportunities to give many of our citizens the hand up to lift themselves out of poverty.
What would be your first act as Mayor?
I would immediately begin work in two areas.
I would pull every council member and every appropriate city staff member together to develop a city-wide business recruitment and retention marketing plan.
This plan would contain individual sub-strategies focusing on the strengths and opportunities of each district. Implementing this plan is critical and should be immediate.
Sitting down with my counterpart of the Radford City School Board is critical to begin the process of meeting both current and future school needs.
I want myself and all of our council members to understand first-hand the needs described to us by our friends at RCPS while at the same time openly discussing the financial needs and restraints that face our city.
Doing so begins the process of setting realistic goals and insuring that the needs of our children and all citizens are met.
What is your five-year plan for the city?
- Complete redevelopment of the Radford Foundry Site into new retail, dining, or other service and support businesses in the front half while developing the back half into Radford’s new industrial park, full to capacity with new industrial and/or manufacturing business opportunities. This can be done through a purchase and redevelopment or partnerships and redevelopment process.
- Fill to capacity Radford’s existing industrial park through a strong economic recruitment and retention program.
- Recruit a new grocery store in west end Radford by partnering with willing developers with enhanced marketing and recruitment plans.
- Strong start on a workable renovation and revitalization plan for Radford City Public Schools with the most urgent needs addressed and accomplished while we work through the schools’ entire needs assessment list.
- Add at least one or potentially two new hotels to Radford by marketing Exit 105 property and available land in close proximity to Exit 109. These exits offer significant opportunities for retail and dining as well.
- Improve Radford’s communication process between city hall and our citizens with regular released updates from myself and other council members to keep our citizenry informed.
- Upgrade Bisset Park with painting, bench replacement, and overall renovations of existing facilities.
- Significant small business growth in east, west, and central Radford developed through a citywide complete marketing plan where we identify what we want to recruit and where we want to recruit it.
What would you like the voters to know about you?
I want the voters to know that I am very much like them: I want the best for my family. I want my children to grow up in a safe, supportive community with strong schools, safe neighborhoods, and endless opportunities.
In me, you will find a Mayor that will take a common-sense, fiscally conservative approach to budgeting while addressing all current and future needs and issues that we face.
I will not ignore our shortcomings and will hold to account both myself and others to insure that our city takes new and more productive approaches to business recruitment, school funding, and other major concerns in our city. I believe in keeping our taxes and utility rates fair and competitive.
I favor strong well-funded schools where our children’s safety and education is paramount.
I will put the interest of all of Radford’s citizens first in all that I do, always choosing to act and vote in their best interest alone.
