Donald delivered the following 3-minute statement at the Candidate Forum at Alpharetta High School on October 26th.

Thank you for the invitation to join you this evening.  This is an excellent event and it is so refreshing to see this many young people excited about the political process and getting actively involved in their community.

I have chosen to run for City Council for a very simple reason: I want to do everything in my power to help improve the quality of life for my neighbors and my community.  I have a passion and a vision to make this happen and I believe we can accomplish this through three main focuses.

• Economic development
• Downtown redevelopment
• Fiscal responsibility

I believe economic development is the lifeblood of a sustainable community.  I’m in favor of Alpharetta having two economic development commissioners with one being responsible for recruiting large companies to Alpharetta, and the other being an advocate for small businesses by tearing down the road blocks that inhibit small business growth in our city.  I believe Alpharetta can be the  premier city in Georgia for small business and when that happens the quality of life will improve for all citizens because we’ll have better, more competitive services and more local jobs.

Second, I believe the redevelopment of our historic downtown is paramount.  Every premier city in the history of civilization has had a vibrant downtown area where people gather to experience the quality of life and joy that comes with community.  The good news is that the “bones” are in place for Alpharetta to have a vibrant, attractive, healthy downtown district.  The bad news is that we’ve made zoning restrictions so cumbersome that businesses are understandably timid about investing in this critical area of our city.  By electing me to the city council, you’ll be sending the message that the responsible and determined redevelopment of downtown is the council’s top priority.  This will attract and promote business growth, raise property values, lower millage rates, and improve the quality of life for everybody in Alpharetta.

Lastly, fiscal responsibility must continue to be a priority for our city.  The council has done an excellent job of maintaining the city’s financial health despite the economic downturn and I’ll continue to employ the fiscal responsibility that I’ve honed over 22 years as a small business owner.  The quality of life for all our citizens is dependent upon the wise and intelligent use of taxpayer funds and I have a proven record of fiscal responsibility.

Thank you again for this wonderful opportunity.  I’d be honored to help each of you maintain and improve the quality of life which has attracted all of us to this wonderful city.

Donald Mitchell spoke before the council on Tuesday Oct. 4th requesting flowering planters and a maintenance program for downtown.  This has been a personal project of Larry Attig and Donald Mitchell’s for years.  They formed a committee of architects, landscape architects and planting specialists to research and formulate a plan for the beautification of downtown.

“It is so exciting to finally see these planters being unanimously approved by the council”. This is a first step in the revitalization of the downtown area.  The first planters should appear by mid November along the downtown streets.  We can all benefit from the increased curb appeal that this program will afford the residents and businesses of Alpharetta.

In addition to the planters, the committee is exploring an overhaul of the landscaping throughout the downtown area.  New plans are being drawn up and will eventually be sent out for bids.  These are exciting times for Alpharetta as we begin to rethink and reshape the vision for our historic city center.