PLYMOUTH — The election for 3 seats and mayor to serve on the Plymouth Town Council is ahead in November.  

As such, we’ll be posting candidate profiles in the days ahead so our readers can make informed choices about who they think will best serve the community.

Today’s candidate profile features John Shelton, who wants to represent Ward 3 on Plymouth Town Council.

Candidates who want a profile should contact mileslayton1969@gmail.com

REMINDER —  Choose two candidates — Candidates for Ward 3 are:

• John Shelton
• Steven Brown
• Kim Williams
• Tristan Spencer
• Mary Ann Byers

Plymouth

• Benjamin Sexton – Mayor 
• Crystal Davis – Mayor 
• Brian Roth – Mayor 

For each ward – choose 2 candidates

• Selona O’Neil – Ward 1
• Micah Weathersbee — Ward 1 
• Donsenia Teel – Ward 1
• Cornise Debrew – Ward 1
• John Tharps – Ward 1
• Jerry Rhodes — Ward 2
• Karol Freeman – Ward 2
• Terri Pitt – Ward 2
• Danny Wobbleton – Ward 2 

Early voting has started and ends Saturday, Nov. 1, with the Election Day being Nov. 4

Can you (John Shelton) tell me about yourself — provide a brief bio.
I am originally from Thomasville, North Carolina. My mom was a single parent and we
lived with my grandparents and uncle until I was 5 years old. After graduating from Thomasville High School, I attended UNC-Chapel Hill. I graduated with a degree in
Communications and a minor in Geology. After college, I moved to Los Angeles for a brief time and worked in the film business. In 2010, I went back to school and got my
Masters Degree in Leadership and Organizational Change from Pfeiffer University.

When I was a kid, my grandfather was a police officer in Thomasville, so I always had
an interest in that field and eventually decided to return to NC to be a cop. I spent 28 years in law enforcement before retiring in 2022. During my career, I worked the streets, was on the Gang Unit, a School Resource Officer, a Patrol Sergeant, the Academy Sergeant, a Use of Force Instructor, managed a fleet of over 500 vehicles, supervised all of the police facilities for Durham Police Department, Supervised the Quartermaster, Implemented and Ran the TASER Program, Was the Commander of the Detective Bureau at Vance County Sheriff’s Office, and for the last 2 years prior to retirement, ran the Vance County Detention Center where I supervised over 60 employees and managed a budget of 4.2 million dollars.

Currently, I work as a Project Manager for Pay Tel Communications. We provide
telephone, video visitation, and educational tablets for detainees in county jails across
the country.

I have one son who graduated from Cardinal Gibbons Catholic High School in Raleigh
and is a freshman at Carleton College in Minnesota. Once he graduated and went off to
college, I looked to downsize and found Plymouth. When I came here to look at a couple of potential homes, Lou Manring of Riverview Café took me on a walking tour of town and talked at length about the potential for Plymouth. I was sold.

Q: Why are you running for council?  
After I moved here in April of this year, I went to a couple of town council meetings and
saw what I thought were not good, fiscally responsible decisions being made by the
council.

I decided to file for Ward Three, where I have a house and where I live. I know that I
have an uphill battle since I am new to town. I also know that I don’t owe any money or
favors to anyone in town and no one owes me. I want to have a positive impact on
smart growth and sustained or increased property values. I want to see Plymouth
become more of a community instead of a divided town.

Q: What is the most pressing issue facing Plymouth?
Gosh, where to start. We need to take in inventory of deferred maintenance that has not been addressed for several years and prioritize such things as sewer and pump station repairs, repairs of the dock and boardwalk, sidewalks, streets, etc. Then we need to prioritize those maintenance needs and begin to address them.

We need to be helpful with prospective business owners and not obstacles. We should have a packet available with everything someone will need if they want to open a business in Plymouth, such as permits, codes and variance requirements, various rules and regulations and licenses that they may be required to comply with. When someone goes to Town Hall and says they are thinking about opening a business, they should be handed the packet with all of those resources and be guided through the steps.

Along with that, it is a shame that Washington County has an Economic Development Director but no one from Plymouth town governance beside the Mayor attended the community conversation here in town. We have to work cooperatively with other agencies and Non-Government Organizations to pool resources and combine efforts. We need to staff the Police Department.

Q: What do you think about the future of 108 W. Water Street? There was talk of spending around $200K to demolish the building.  
I think it is insane for the town to spend $200,000 to gut the building and brace the exterior walls. That will result in a useless property that is not bringing in tax revenue and is a liability for the town due to ongoing maintenance as well as responsibility if it were to collapse. God forbid someone were to get injured. The town needs to liquidate several properties and get them on the tax rolls, 108 West Water Street being one of them. Let a private investor or developer bear the cost of the rehab and start collecting property taxes. That also is an opportunity to bring more business into downtown which will provide entertainment, retail, or dining to residents and visitors.

Q: Speaking of spending — taxes — what are your thoughts on taxes? Earlier this year,
there was a discussion of raising taxes to support the purchase of a firetruck.  
Unfortunately, the lack of planning for vehicle replacement cycles brought us to a point
where we needed to buy an equipment truck for the Fire Department. Because of that
lack of planning, we are having to buy it from a company that will take three years to
build and deliver it.

Meanwhile, we will be paying interest only on the 1.5 Million Dollar Loan. Once the truck is delivered, the principal of the loan will also be included and the annual payment will go up to over $200,000 a year for 15 more years. That means it will ultimately cost the taxpayers over $3,210,000 total. That will likely result in a 13 to 14 cent increase on the tax rate, meaning $130-140 per year in additional taxes for every $100,000 in property owned.

That is not sustainable, especially if we have to buy any additional apparatus during that 18 year period. I am sure there was a more cost effective way to accomplish the same goal, but whenever that is mentioned, some of the firefighters take it as a personal insult, which it definitely isn’t. But a town of about 3500 residents in a county of about 10,000 residents does not have the financial resources
for an expense this large.

Q: How will you assist the chief of police in attracting and retaining police officers,
particularly since the PPD is understaffed?  
The salary we pay is comparable to salaries of larger towns and cities, so we are
competitive there. The town government needs to be supportive of the Police Department. I suggested to the Chief a few months ago that he propose using lapsed salary funds to offer downpayment assistance to any officer who wants to buy a house inside the town limits. If he turned in $200,000 and has 10 positions, the town could offer $20,000 assistance to each officer to help attract new officers and reward current officers. It would also entice them to move into town, which would help with response times to emergencies, reduce the fuel and maintenance burden on a take home fleet, and it would result in officers who are invested in the community.

Q: How do you intend to attract business and economic development, particularly to the
downtown core that’s in need of revitalization?
I partially addressed that in a previous answer by being more welcoming and facilitating new business rather than impeding it. Again, we have an effort at the County level to improve economic development. The town should partner with the county on those efforts. When potential investors see how Lou and his sister were treated when they tried to build the mini-golf and restaurant along the waterfront, they are naturally going to be hesitant to spend their money. Lou and Marie probably lost over $200,000 trying to develop that parcel. The town cannot operate like that.

Q: Crystal Davis, a mayoral candidate, has been critical, even insulting, of you in posts to social media. If the two of you are elected, will you be able to work with her?
I will say that it is unfortunate that she feels the need to attack me repeatedly with baseless and malicious posts on social media rather than campaign on the real issues that face Plymouth every day.

Whatever the outcome of the election with regard to the mayoral race, when elected, I will uphold my integrity and do what I think is right for Plymouth and all of the fine folks who live and visit here.