City Council Endorsements

Bristol, Tenn., voters have candidates running in three City Council districts in the May 19 election.

The Bristol Herald Courier’s editorial board interviewed all the candidates in contested races and arrived at the following endorsements:

* South District: We endorse incumbent Margaret Feierabend over newcomer Danny Marshall. Feierabend has served multiple terms on council, including being chosen vice mayor and mayor in the late 1990s. She lost her seat in 2001 but was re-elected in 2005. Feierabend is a Louisiana native and has lived in the region for nearly 30 years. She is an advocate of strategic planning and setting measurable goals to drive future growth.

Feierabend said the city is doing an improved job of promoting itself as a tourism destination, the birthplace of country music and the home of Bristol Motor Speedway. “We are definitely doing a better job of taking greater pride in ourselves and having greater vision for the future,” she told the editorial board, which includes Opinion Page Editor Suzanne Tate, Publisher Carl Esposito and Managing Editor J. Todd Foster. “We need to continue along these lines with developing a focused plan, a strategic plan for growth.”

Feierabend’s challenger, Marshall, is a Wise, Va., native who has lived in Bristol for about a year. He drives for Childers Oil Co., and said he believes the current council members have become too comfortable with each other with few accomplishments.

Marshall said he would push for greater tourism promotion of regional sites, like Bristol Caverns, if he were elected. He said he decided to run because of dissatisfaction with politics generally and believes he has an obligation to step up as a candidate.

But Marshall skipped an April 28 candidate forum at the Slater Center. He told the editorial board that he didn’t think that venue would have been helpful to him and spent that evening campaigning door-to-door. Asked if he thought his failure to appear hurt him, he said no. Marshall said he is relying on the publicity from newspaper coverage to promote his campaign.

Marshall was asked about several initiatives he had suggested during previous interviews, including business incentives and local job creation. He was unable to give any specific measures or elaborate on the ideas. Marshall admitted he does not expect to win the election.

He is obviously unprepared for council service at this time.

Therefore, we endorse Feierabend.

* West District: We endorse incumbent David Shumaker over strong challenger Steven Willinger.

Shumaker is the longest-serving member of the City Council, 11 years, including two terms as vice mayor and mayor. He supports and helped found Bristol’s Rhythm & Roots music festival, the downtown farmer’s market and the Sullivan County Networks regional industrial development program that gives Sullivan County, Bristol, Bluff City and Kingsport, Tenn., incentives to work together to bring business prospects to the region.

Shumaker believes Bristol will be well-positioned for business growth when the economy improves, hopefully by the end of this year, but acknowledged that large manufacturers, such as Raytheon and others that have left the city, might be gone for good.

He has focused on small business and on quality-of-life issues such as the train station, new library, farmer’s market and downtown revitalization during his council service and pledges to continue promoting similar initiatives.

The Rhythm & Roots festival has given residents a “large sense of pride in who we are,” he said. And downtown revitalization draws people downtown to shop, eat and stay, he said. “My fingerprints are all over that work,” Shumaker said.

Willinger, who has lived in Bristol for six years, has obvious business acumen and drive. He is eager and enthusiastic in his desire to help the city grow new businesses. And he has a proven record of success in Virginia and Tennessee as a member of various business organizations, including the Sullivan County Networks Board, the Bristol Industrial Development Board and the Bristol Chamber of Commerce.

Citizens may want to believe that a large manufacturer will come into an area and provide many jobs, but business growth is more likely to come from small, locally grown businesses, maintains Willinger, who has attended recent council meetings and believes council needs new perspective. “There are plateaus when you stay in a position for a long time,” he said. “There is a good mix of people on council, but I think it could be freshened up a bit.”

Willinger’s strengths obviously lie in the business arena, but during the editorial board interview, he was weaker on questions about funding needs for education, tax increases and general budget questions. He was quick to acknowledge the things he did not know, and said he aimed to learn more on the job.

In the West District, Bristol residents have two strong candidates, but we give our support to Shumaker because he has achieved a series of important goals and wants to continue leading. He deserves a chance to continue his work.

Regarding Willinger: He is an extremely popular candidate in the business community. If he does not win a seat on council at this time, council members should consider how to better use him and his networking to increase the number of small businesses in the city.

During his editorial board interview, he said two important things: that he has a responsibility to be more active in the community and that he doesn’t have to lead any project, just be a team member. City leaders should find a way to use the talents of Willinger and talented people like him to help start businesses and promote existing ones.

A note: In the East District, Mayor Joel Staton is running unopposed and will be returned to council. Staton, along with the rest of the council, followed through on a promise to push for residential development on Lakeview Street property owned by Aurora Casket Co. The site largely has been vacant since a 2006 fire. Staton, who lives nearby, and Shumaker, were the most vocal members at a recent meeting in opposition to anything but residential development.

We agree. Nearby residents deserve compatible neighbors, not a foundry or truck terminal.