I support Al Heggins for Salisbury City Council, the engine that powers Rowan County.

When casting your ballot, consider the role the top vote-getter plays in setting the agenda for the city. The mayor sets the moral tone for all of Salisbury as its chief representative. Identical to a fighter pilot aligning with the compass rose’s geodetic north, Al possesses the principled drive to navigate the strong headwinds of deflection, the sleight-of-hand distractions and the deceptions devised to thwart change.

Al puts in the intellectual effort needed for strategic decisions. She exudes the moral courage and virtue to address the difficult issues of today.

Al addresses national issues, such as the $15 minimum wage. However, her primary focus is on the grassroots work of delivering services, participatory budgeting and community empowerment. She supports wholeheartedly programs such as dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline, Project Safe Neighborhoods, and the forward-leaning community policing initiative.

Al leads the effort to shift the paradigm from “speaking truth to power” to “the power resides in the people.” 

Al recognizes that the continued pockets of poverty, spanning the decades from 1860 to present, limit full development of the community. Salisbury’s recent overall assessment reveals an unacceptable 14% without health insurance, 23% live below the poverty line and a dismal homeownership rate of just 48%. The inertia of wealth and power is overcome by people casting ballots. “If you always do what you’ve always done, you always get what you’ve always gotten.”

Her innovative methodology to the city’s challenges, instead of a myopic approach, ensures key issues are addressed. Championing legislation promoting common-sense firearm laws, affordable housing, stabilizing the community and promoting equitable wealth-building opportunities are her top priorities.  

With Al’s nationally recognized leadership, Salisbury will turn its potential into realization.

— Michael Stringer

Cleveland