By Josh Bergeron

josh.bergeron@salisburypost.com

KANNAPOLIS — Mayor Darrell Hinnant says he’s focused on “jobs, jobs, jobs” in his bid for re-election.

Hinnant, a 70-year-old consultant, became mayor of Kannapolis in 2013 and served on the council for 12 years before that. This year, Hinnant faces a single competitor, Dennis Johnson.

Hinnant said he promised voters that as mayor, he would work to recruit a large number of jobs to the area. That promise, he said, included a caveat that those jobs would pay a living wage and allow people to go home at night to be with their children.

Hinnant said Kannapolis has seen significant economic gains in recent years, and he listed multiple examples of new or soon-to-come companies, including a logistics warehouse that’s projected to be more than 1 million square feet and create between 600 and 1,200 jobs.

“I talked to a group the other night and on a single piece of paper I listed nine commercial opportunities to come to Kannapolis,” he said. “There were nine of them, and only one was downtown revitalization.”

Kannapolis City Council members have also been an important part of recruiting jobs to the city, he said.

Another responsibility, he said, includes traveling to Raleigh to lobby legislators. He said the legislature hasn’t been kind to cities in recent years. The legislature should realize that cities aren’t bad and, instead, provide vital services to rural communities, he said.

Hinnant is a two-time graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a master’s degree in education.

In addition to his current consulting business, Hinnant has worked as a teacher, in various roles for chemical companies and as executive director of the N.C. Hazardous Waste Management Commission.

He’s the recipient of the Order of the Long Leaf Pine award, one of the most prestigious honors bestowed by the governor.

Hinnant and his late wife, Connie, have two children — a daughter and a son — and six grandchildren.

He teaches Sunday school at Trinity United Methodist Church in Kannapolis, serves on the United Way advisory board and is involved in Downtown Kannapolis Inc.

Municipal elections are Nov. 7.

Contact Josh Bergeron at 704-797-4246.