By Kyle Poplin
The Mt. Gilead Concerned Citizens hosted a forum on Thursday for the candidates running for mayor in the Nov. 7 municipal election. Sheldon Poplin Morley (above left) and Joseph Valenti (above right) participated, but Simeon McRae did not. NOTE: Early voting is at the Board of Elections office in Troy from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. from tomorrow (Thursday) through Nov. 3, and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 4. Voting on Nov. 7 will be held at the Highland Community Center, 131 Hoffman Road (not at the fire department, as in recent elections).
For a video of the event, recorded by Patsi Frazier Laracuente, click here. Meanwhile, here are some debate highlights:
Joseph Valenti, 56, moved to town nine and a half years ago. He runs a live-action role-play business which lawyers and millionaires have tried to steal from him, he told the audience, but he retained the business when he won a lawsuit.
He wants to reform the way the town interacts with citizens. He plans to hold open meetings every two weeks to learn what citizens want and need. He believes the town needs a stronger mayor and that the Town Board needs to be more active and responsive. He says he’s got some ideas about how to “open up the Highland Community Center,” and he’s willing to donate pool tables to Highland, but he can’t get Town Board members to respond to his ideas. He says we need youth sports leagues in town, and if he were mayor he’d redirect funds from the police department to help start those leagues.
He plans to: set up weekly meetups for single mothers so they can network and learn; organize a program in which local youth could learn job skills; develop a truck route around town; attract big business to Mt. Gilead; and beautify the town.
His most controversial comments concerned the Mt. Gilead Police Department. “We can’t afford a robust police department,” he said. He believes the town should have four policemen, because some bigger cities have only 2.9 officers per 1,000 residents. (The town currently has seven, with an open position, plus a fluctuating number of part-time officers.) He wants the department to focus on drug dealers, speeders and theft “instead of things like writing tickets to people who have a headlight out.” As the meeting was winding down Valenti sent a buzz through the audience of about 50 people when he said the local police “don’t stop a crime from happening, they don’t stop the shootings. … We can’t have the expectation that one officer is going to come running to our neighborhood if we call them up and say shots are fired. That’s a one on one; that’s a 100 percent chance that guy’s getting shot. We need a reserve group of officers made of good men that are willing to hear on radio that there were shots fired … they can actually come over and show up.” When an audience member asked who he’d call for a shootout, Valenti said, “I would call the morgue, because I would have killed them.” Asked if he’d like his neighbor to call the police in the event of a shootout, he said, ”I want him to start firing at the guy in my driveway.”
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Sheldon Poplin Morley, 48, moved to town from Los Angeles during COVID. (He’s been visiting Mt. Gilead for 15 years; his wife Mary Poplin has family in town.) He’s also taking classes with Be the Bridge, an organization that addresses racial healing, reconciliation and equity, and is a member of Leadership Montgomery. He’s employed remotely by Santa Monica College as an events department administrator where he’s responsible for interfacing with potential rental clients.
Morley began the debate by defining the role of mayor in Mt. Gilead: The position carries “little executive authority,” he said – the mayor only votes at Town Board meetings in case of a tie – but the mayor does lead the meetings, set the agenda and “turn concerns into action.”
He said the town has lots of divisions, and healing them starts with listening. He hopes the town can accomplish many of the goals laid out in the 2040 Comprehensive Plan and plans to spearhead upgrades of the town’s public spaces, including Stanback Park and the Highland Community Center, plus revitalize a farmers’ market in town, improve digital connectivity and put a spotlight on arts. “We could turn Mt. Gilead into a cultural hub,” he said.
He pointed out that Mt. Gilead has lost eight businesses in the past year, and he plans to work with the county’s economic developers to prevent more loss. “We need to support local,” he said, adding, “We should have more events in places besides downtown. … We’ve got to get out of our comfort zones, folks.”