South Mississippi's newest mayors-elect have visions for their cities
The new kids on the block are ready to lead their cities to success.
Six South Mississippi cities elected new mayors Tuesday: Democrat Billy Broomfield in Moss Point, and Republicans Tommy Schafer in Diamondhead, Jim Blevins in Pascagoula, Billy Hewes III in Gulfport, Gordon Gollott in Gautier and Joel Miles in Wiggins.
They're each eager to get to work in their city, to begin to fix what's broken while leaving well enough alone when it's not.
They also plan to look to each other for answers and have already started planning for a quarterly get-together of mayors to brainstorm ideas and concerns.
Between now and July 1, when the new terms begin, the mayors-elect will be busy getting up to speed on their jobs.
Moss Point
Broomfield, 68, wants to follow the money.
He's calling for a complete audit "so we'll know where we are and what we have to work with in terms of finances," he said.
After he reviews the budget, he'll be able to make assessments in other parts of Moss Point.
"We're going to be cautiously
moving forward, but making sure that the changes that we make are conducive to the growth plan that we have prepared for the city," he said.
He doesn't foresee making any big changes when he first goes into office.
"Making changes could be a devastating thing if you don't do it correctly," he said.
"I don't like making changes for the sake of making changes. If I make changes, they're going to be positive changes that are necessary."
Diamondhead
Schafer, 46, will continue to meet with City Manager Richard Rose and Mayor Chuck Ingraham.
He plans to review the city's budget and its amendments with "trusted government experts," he said.
Any big changes he'll propose will come as the budget dictates, including the purchase of the former Diamondhead Baptist Church. The building, on Diamondhead Drive, is being used as City Hall.
Its purchase has not been finalized and some taxpayers don't want the city to spend the money on it.
Pascagoula
"I'm not going to try to disrupt a sale unless I have a better alternative," he said.
Blevins, 62, has been engaged in city business for 20 years and knows all of the department heads, officials and "many of the key players."
He plans to tour the city and get "boots on the ground" to look at projects in place and talk to the people involved in them. He's also attended several council meetings.
Pascagoula saw a complete turnover with its council. "The mayor and all council members are all brand-new, so our first order of business will be to build a strong, functionally efficient council team," he said.
Gulfport
Hewes, 51, has created a transition committee of 40 to 50 residents, chosen because they had interest, knowledge or expertise in various aspects of the city's government.
The committee was broken into teams to interview and evaluate departments.
"They will be making their recommendations to me over the next couple of weeks, which will allow us to determine if any restructuring is needed, any personnel changes are needed and help us set direction in policy for the city," he said.
Mayor George Schloegel has also been "extremely accommodating" and has engaged Hewes already in the decision-making process, starting with the selection of the city's new police chief, Leonard Papania.
Wiggins
Miles and Gollott both say they're up to speed in their cities.
Miles, 60, is alderman at large in Wiggins and Gollott, 71, is Ward 3 councilman for Gautier.
"I feel like being alderman at large, I pretty well know where we are on projects," Miles said.
Mayor Jerry Alexander has agreed to work with him to ensure a successful changeover.
"I'm going to meet with the aldermen who have been elected, and let's make it a smooth transition," Alexander said. "If there are changes, it will be changes agreed on by everyone involved."
Gautier
Gollott, 71, hasn't missed a meeting in four years.
He said he's aware of what needs to be done in Gautier and is ready to do it.
"We want to put Gautier on the map," he said.
JOHN FITZHUGH/SUN HERALDSouth Mississippi's newly elected mayors --
Gordon Gollott of Gautier, left, Tommy Schafer of Diamondhead, Jim
Blevins of Pascagoula, Billy Broomfield of Moss Point, Billy Hewes III
of Gulfport and Joel Miles of Wiggins -- gather in front of Gulfport
City Hall on Wednesday.Six South Mississippi cities elected new mayors Tuesday: Democrat Billy Broomfield in Moss Point, and Republicans Tommy Schafer in Diamondhead, Jim Blevins in Pascagoula, Billy Hewes III in Gulfport, Gordon Gollott in Gautier and Joel Miles in Wiggins.
They're each eager to get to work in their city, to begin to fix what's broken while leaving well enough alone when it's not.
They also plan to look to each other for answers and have already started planning for a quarterly get-together of mayors to brainstorm ideas and concerns.
Between now and July 1, when the new terms begin, the mayors-elect will be busy getting up to speed on their jobs.
Moss Point
Broomfield, 68, wants to follow the money.
He's calling for a complete audit "so we'll know where we are and what we have to work with in terms of finances," he said.
After he reviews the budget, he'll be able to make assessments in other parts of Moss Point.
"We're going to be cautiously
moving forward, but making sure that the changes that we make are conducive to the growth plan that we have prepared for the city," he said.
He doesn't foresee making any big changes when he first goes into office.
"Making changes could be a devastating thing if you don't do it correctly," he said.
"I don't like making changes for the sake of making changes. If I make changes, they're going to be positive changes that are necessary."
Diamondhead
Schafer, 46, will continue to meet with City Manager Richard Rose and Mayor Chuck Ingraham.
He plans to review the city's budget and its amendments with "trusted government experts," he said.
Any big changes he'll propose will come as the budget dictates, including the purchase of the former Diamondhead Baptist Church. The building, on Diamondhead Drive, is being used as City Hall.
Its purchase has not been finalized and some taxpayers don't want the city to spend the money on it.
Pascagoula
"I'm not going to try to disrupt a sale unless I have a better alternative," he said.
Blevins, 62, has been engaged in city business for 20 years and knows all of the department heads, officials and "many of the key players."
He plans to tour the city and get "boots on the ground" to look at projects in place and talk to the people involved in them. He's also attended several council meetings.
Pascagoula saw a complete turnover with its council. "The mayor and all council members are all brand-new, so our first order of business will be to build a strong, functionally efficient council team," he said.
Gulfport
Hewes, 51, has created a transition committee of 40 to 50 residents, chosen because they had interest, knowledge or expertise in various aspects of the city's government.
The committee was broken into teams to interview and evaluate departments.
"They will be making their recommendations to me over the next couple of weeks, which will allow us to determine if any restructuring is needed, any personnel changes are needed and help us set direction in policy for the city," he said.
Mayor George Schloegel has also been "extremely accommodating" and has engaged Hewes already in the decision-making process, starting with the selection of the city's new police chief, Leonard Papania.
Wiggins
Miles and Gollott both say they're up to speed in their cities.
Miles, 60, is alderman at large in Wiggins and Gollott, 71, is Ward 3 councilman for Gautier.
"I feel like being alderman at large, I pretty well know where we are on projects," Miles said.
Mayor Jerry Alexander has agreed to work with him to ensure a successful changeover.
"I'm going to meet with the aldermen who have been elected, and let's make it a smooth transition," Alexander said. "If there are changes, it will be changes agreed on by everyone involved."
Gautier
Gollott, 71, hasn't missed a meeting in four years.
He said he's aware of what needs to be done in Gautier and is ready to do it.
"We want to put Gautier on the map," he said.
JOHN FITZHUGH — SUN HERALD
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