I wrote this letter to ask you to vote for me as the mayor of Ironton. I’m a lifelong resident of Ironton, have operated my business and raised my family here. I have a very special interest in the well being of this city. In this letter, I want to explain what I will do as mayor of Ironton. Also, I want to assure every voter that I have no hidden agenda or personal aspiration in seeking this office. I truly want to serve the citizens of this city to make Ironton a special place to live, work and enjoy life.

I have a total of 23 years of public service in Ironton. I’ve served 17 years on city council of which 4 years were served as Vice-Mayor and I served 6 years as Mayor. I am still on City Council and certainly enjoy my service to the city. Yet, as mayor, I can make a stronger contribution to better our city’s future.

I understand the operations of this city. I am job ready on day one. The other candidates do not offer you the same “job and task ready” experience that I bring to the office. Through my 23 years of experience, I understand the challenges we face and the job we must do. I have a heart-felt concern for this city and the citizens. Voters can count on me to serve with enthusiasm and compassion. I’m not climbing a political ladder or padding my resume. Also, I do not need health insurance or retirement. I sincerely just want to serve as the Mayor of Ironton.

Please notice that I am the only mayoral candidate with a specific action plan for the city of Ironton. I am not bragging, but rather stating facts. I have a plan of action that I will begin implementing the first day in the office and continue to pursue over the next four years. When you elect me mayor, I will.

(1) Enact a strategy to confront the “drug pipeline” activity that directly affects the city of Ironton. To achieve this goal I will guide the city to purchase a new, unmarked police cruiser and add an additional officer for working drug related activities. I will also work closely with county and state officials to arrange additional special training for our city law enforcement to better deal with the influx of drugs and related crimes.

(2) I will take immediate steps to fund additional city firefighters to increase the security of the citizens of Ironton. We cannot forfeit the safety of our citizens for the sake of other less important pursuits. We have a fine fire department. We must continue to support the first responders over the next four years.

(3) I will begin the process of cleaning and repairing the city infrastructure which includes our streets and alley ways, and continue the work on sewer improvements. We have water lines, sewers and streets in disrepair. I pledge an active and aggressive program to repair, replace and improve the infrastructure of Ironton.

(4) I will immediately freeze the water bill rates while pursuing a way to lower theses costs for every paying citizen in Ironton. I know how the budget works in Ironton. I’m studying and crunching the numbers and I want to lower this monthly fee to ease the financial burdens we all face.

(5) During my tenure as mayor, I will promote Ironton with a vigorous marketing and public relations campaign. I have already secured the cooperation of a marketing firm to achieve this goal. This will come at no increased cost to the city. I believe in our city and want to promote Ironton regionally and nationally.

And finally, one of my major goals would be to bring new employment and job opportunities to our city. All of this positive work that I plan to do will naturally help us in recruiting new employment possibilities for Ironton. Yet, I realize that this can only happen when we prepare our city to receive interested parties who want to start or bring business here. We must all work together to make growth happen.

Thank you for your support.

 

Bob Cleary

Ironton mayoral candidate