Meet Your Trustees: Post-Election Interviews
Hardwick, McCoy, and Hamilton weigh in after the election.
The Reader spoke with Trustee-elects Keith Hamilton, Danny Hardwick, and Gail McCoy the day after the election. Here’s what they had to say about village priorities, the new council—and their message to voters.
Danny Hardwick
How are you feeling after last night’s election?
Hardwick: “Pretty good. I just wanted a 2-year term, but it looks like I’ll get a 4-year term instead, but I guess I’ll have to do what I have to do.”
What would you say to your supporters?
Hardwick: “I thank them for turning out. I’m glad that Dusty won. I think we’re going to see a big change real fast. You’re going back to the way Cloudcroft used to be. We’ll have a police force again. We’ll fix roads again and I think that’s going to be good for the constituents that voted for us.”
What are your priorities for the new year? It’ll be a relatively new council.
Hardwick: “Well, just making sure that we can all work together and stay on the same page.”
“I think that things are going to take a turn just really fast— the minutes will be out on time, and we’ll have a balance, we’ll balance your budget, and try to move the city forward. You know, let us grow as a city at the speed that we can grow at as we take care of infrastructure and water problems and things like that.”
”I’m really looking forward to getting in there on January 1st. I think it’s going to be a very busy month. I’m really optimistic about it.”
Gail McCoy
What are you hoping to accomplish in your two-year term?
McCoy: “I think where we were heading. A lot of that is already on the on the books, what we’re doing. So in 2 years, you can’t do a whole lot. Even in 4 years, you don’t get a whole lot done. It takes time. I think the cohesiveness of us coming together. What we’re all looking for is the betterment of the community.”
”The principles never change. The methods change.”
You were supporting King in the election. Are you feeling confident with Wiley coming in?
McCoy: “For anybody who gets elected, there is that trial point. They have to prove, you’re going to have to prove— the proof is in the pudding, right?”
You’re already on the council with Hamilton, and now, with Hardwick. How do you feel about that working relationship?
McCoy: “To get things done, you’re gonna have to work together. You can’t always have opposing views. You’re gonna have to work it out. In order for these things to pass, the ordinances, resolutions…especially as the budget comes up, this is budget season coming up. Soon.”
”We’re all gonna have to work together to get that budget balanced.”
”And do the best we can. There’ll be some cuts. I mean, we have already seen that with the audit. So, we already know that there’s going to have to be some things that will be deleted or cut.”
What do you think will be cut then?
McCoy: “I don’t know yet. I don’t know because I haven’t seen the full budget yet. We don’t have a whole—it’s not completed.”
When is that scheduled to be completed? When will you feel confident in that?
McCoy: “There’s been a little pressure on people to get it done. So I’m hoping soon.”
What would you like to say to your supporters?
McCoy: “I’m grateful. I really am that as many people showed up.”
Keith Hamilton
What is your plan between now and the administrative turnover in January?
Hamilton: “Having a new mayor, my focus between now and January is going to be trying to learn as much as I can about our budget through the audit that we just had. You know, the ins and outs of everything having to do with the budget, where our revenues are coming from, what our different accounts are, and how they’re spent. There’s just so much, there’s so much to learn about the budget and the budget process, and I want to be completely on board as much as possible by the time Mr. Wiley takes over.”
You’ve been working with Mayor King for about 2 months as a trustee. There’s going to be a relatively new council going into next year—what do you anticipate?
Hamilton: “We’re going to have a learning curve.”
“I mean, Gail’s been on council for a while. I’ve been attending meetings for most of a year now and have been on the council for a while. But with a new mayor, one new trustee, and soon another new trustee… I think we’re going to have a time of getting to know each other, learning processes.”
”I guess my biggest concern is that we don’t drop the ball on some of the improvements in the processes that Mayor King has put in place. Working with COG (Council of Governments), working with Lauren Grossbeck… I just want to make sure that none of the progress that has been started is dropped or ended.”
What do you have to say to your supporters?
Hamilton: “I was nominated as a trustee first, but, when it came time to file for candidacy to run for the open seats, I was certainly hoping that it was going to be more contested than it was.”
“I was hoping for a campaign so that we could share ideas and all that. It turned out to be the three of us. We will be the next three trustees. And I would have rather that been different. But having received the most votes, I feel like at least there’s a portion of this village that has some confidence in me. And I’m very excited about that.”
Are you ready for these next four years?
Hamilton: “It just hit me last night as I was getting ready for bed. It’s like, four years. Keith, you signed up for 4 years.”
”Four years is a long time. I expect some dramatic changes in the trends that have been occurring in Cloudcroft, particularly in terms of turnover and acrimony. I fully expect that to come to an end in the next four years.”
”It may not be the case, but that’s certainly my goal. We’ve got so much potential over the next four years. I am so excited about what we can accomplish. We’re going to continue the process of getting our financial records in order.”
“I think within a year we’re going to be one of those villages that gets mentioned at the annual Municipal League by the state auditor, that we are we’re going to be the most improved. My goal is for Cloudcroft to be the most improved village.”
“Second big goal is… I’d like to see employees who have stuck around and made a difference for the village of Cloudcroft over the next four years.”
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