April 7, 2018
Earlier this week we challenged serious candidates for Lawrence County Judge/Executive on both parties and candidates for the fiscal court to tell the public how they plan to attract a small to medium sized company here that would provide jobs.
FIRST TO REPLY:
Charlie France II — Republican candidate for judge/executive
Hey Mark!
Some key issues that I’ve been talking about while campaigning is our environment here in Lawrence Co., funding, economic development, getting the county government more involved in our communities and with our youth, and being more transparent with the citizens of Lawrence Co. about governmental issues the county is dealing with.
Any other questions you have I’ll be glad to answer.
Thanks again.
Charlie
* I’ve noticed a lot of litter along our roadways and throughout the county and its very concerning to me. As Judge Executive I would bring a great deal of attention to this subject, enforce ordinances pertaining to litter abatement, work closely with the solid waste coordinator to ensure everything was being done that could be to stop or deter illegal trash dumping, work with law enforcement to investigate and charge those who litter and/or illegally dump trash, have more frequent free garbage disposal periods for county clean up where we could place large dumpsters throughout the county for collection, and partner with non profit organizations and volunteers to clean up our county. I feel as though the Lawrence County recycling center is heavily underutilized and unadvertised so I’d like to initiate some changes with the center if elected. I’d also like to bring back the inmate work program here in Lawrence County so the taxpayers can get some return on the heavy expense of housing inmates in the prison system.
* I’ve heard a lot of comment on our roads and infrastructure and I’m well aware that there are areas throughout our county in poor condition and these issues all boil down to a lack of funding and lack of equipment or at least that’s what the citizens are being told. Ultimately we all know that our county’s bottom line has been affected by a decrease in tax revenue and a decrease in monies related to coal severance dollars. Many of my opponents highlight fixing our roads in their campaign, but I’ve yet to hear how they intend to do so. You can’t fix the roads if we don’t have the cash. If elected Judge Executive I plan on being conservative with the money that the county does have and find ways to decrease expenditures so more money will be freed up to do the things we need to do and to ensure our infrastructure is safe for our citizens. Also while we’re on the subject of funding I’d like to comment that if elected Judge Executive I would aggressively go after grants and other types of funding that we could utilize for growth, development, and maintenance here in Lawrence County.
* Economic growth is a must here in Lawrence County if we plan on maintaining and growing our population while also funding our local government. We have a promising future here in Lawrence County and we have many favorable aspects that companies and corporations look for. If elected Judge Executive I would do all that I could do to attract businesses and work with various organizations that specialize in attracting jobs to our county. We need to market Lawrence County as THE place to live and work. While companies are building factories and plants around us, I’m hopeful that Lawrence County citizens can come away with some of those jobs and we can attract people outside of our county to buy or build homes here in Lawrence County. I’d also like to stress that I want to maintain the businesses that are already here in the county and encourage our citizens to shop local whenever possible.
* Our youth in Lawrence County is our future and if elected Judge Executive I’d like to step up our local government’s efforts to do more to nurture and develop our youth programs, organizations, and facilities. I have two daughters that love to play outside and we utilize many of the parks throughout the county for play. We are fortunate to have parks and ball fields like Stella Moore that a great number of our kids and even adults utilize for recreation that allow us to accomplish a great number of things like building character and establishing relationships that last a lifetime. As a kid growing up here in the county I had some of the best times of my life playing on the fields and in the parks and we need to make sure that these areas are well maintained and further developed for future generations.
* Transparency is important as it pertains to government. Often, issues aren’t fully disclosed to the public and we as citizens become frustrated and feel as though we’re being deceived or become alienated. Though much of the time criticism is met when various issues arise and are discussed, it’s important that full disclosure is achieved through effective communication. If elected County Judge Executive I will work closely with various media outlets to keep the public informed and educated on key issues that the government is handling.
I’ve been asked many times about my work status if elected County Judge Executive. If elected I will resign my current full time position and become a full time County Judge Executive.
Charlie J. France II
Republican Candidate for
Lawrence Co. Judge Executive
