For the first time in eight years Franklin has a new mayor. Jack Horton was sworn into office at the Town Council meeting on Monday, Dec. 6 after running unopposed in the November election.
Former Mayor Bob Scott announced in July he would not run for re-election after having served as mayor since 2013 and 10 years on the town board prior to that. His wife, Nancy, also previously served on the town board. “It’s been close to 30 years that the Scott family has served the town,” Scott said Monday before swearing in Horton and the new council members.
After taking office Monday night, Horton said, “I never intended to sit in this chair, it just worked out that way, but I appreciate the opportunity to do that. I appreciate the support of this board, and I appreciate the support of the people of this town.”
Horton ran for Town Council in 2019 after a friend encouraged him to do so, saying the town could use someone with his experience. Then this summer after Scott decided not to run for re-election, the former mayor persuaded Horton to run.
“One of the things I thought long and hard about was, if you are going to run for public office, why should you run,” Horton said. He remembers some years ago the National Association of Counties had the theme “public service in the public interest.”
“I adopted that as my basic theme,” he said. “Why do you want to run for local government? Because you want to do what you can as a public official for the public that you serve.”
He said most local elected officials and people who work in local government don’t do it because they make a lot of money. “They do it because they think and feel they are making a contribution to their community. I think that has always been my motivation.”
Horton has more than 35 years of experience in local government including two stints as county manager for Macon County from 1985-1991 and 2008-2013. He was elected to the Town Council in 2019 and was serving as vice mayor after the death of Barbara McRae in March.
He currently serves as vice chairman of the Macon County Airport Authority and Macon Citizens Habilities. He is chairman of the State of Franklin Health Council for Senior Citizens, is a life member of the North Carolina City/County Managers Association and is a member of the Franklin Rotary Club. He holds a master’s degree from Appalachian State University.
Horton said he has a great appreciation for both city and county government. “I think local government is the government closest to the people,” he said. “You see the people that you represent everyday whether at church, at the grocery store, at the barber shop, at Lowe’s or Walmart. You are directly in contact with the people you represent, and they are not bashful many times about giving you their suggestions and input.”
In Franklin’s form of government, the mayor only gets a vote if there is a tie. The mayor conducts the Town Council meetings and represents the town at community events. Horton sees the mayor’s role as being a leader on the town board. Working with the town manager, he wants to make sure the council members are up to date on issues affecting the town and that they have all the information they need when making decisions and voting.
He says the mayor also serves as spokesperson to provide responses on behalf of the town. “The mayor needs to be able to make clear statements on what the town’s position is when it comes to dealing with issues that affect all the town people.”
Town Growth
During the election, the council candidates discussed a variety of issues including growth, housing, jobs, local business support, and the need for better sidewalks to make the town more walkable.
Horton said the town has implemented a sidewalk replacement/installation plan, but it will take time to complete.
The mayor said the town will continue to grow as more people hear about Franklin. “People have discovered Franklin, N.C., and they think it is a great place to live, and it is a great place to live. When the word gets out, and it’s getting out a lot more now than it used to, people are going to want to move to this area, if they can afford to do so.”
Affordable housing is an obstacle for current residents as well as potential newcomers. Horton said in the past it was mostly retirees moving here, and there is still a fair share of that, but younger people with families are also drawn to the area.
Growth creates and demand for housing and infrastructure such as adequate water and sewer service. Horton also acknowledges that along with growth comes other issues such as code violations. The town is currently advertising to hire a code enforcement officer.
“The purpose of the town hiring a code enforcement officer is to be able to put somebody on the job to make sure they can deal with these issues as they come up rather instead of letting them linger,” Horton said.
“My vision for Franklin is to be the cleanest, neatest, most livable town that anyone would want to live in. I tell people Franklin will be the kind of town where everybody would like to live if they could.”
He said the town and county can work to help create a favorable business environment, but people should understand the role of local government in economic development. “Counties and towns just don’t go out and create jobs – the private sector creates jobs,” he said.
He said while incentives are helpful in attracting new businesses, it’s also important to support the businesses that are already here and making sure they have the resources and tools they need. In addition to infrastructure needs such as water, sewer, electric, internet, roads and utilities, companies want to know their workers have good access to education, health care, housing and retail. “All that goes to the bottom line – livability,” Horton said.
He said municipal government often affects everyone in the county, and that solving problems will take a community effort with the town, county and its residents working together. Over the years, he has seen Franklin and Macon County be a leader amongst the Western North Carolina counties.
“We’ve been a leader in a lot of ways, and I think we can continue to be a leader by showing people what a community can be if people work together,” he said, also quoting UCLA basketball coach John Wooden: “It’s amazing how much you can accomplish when no one cares who gets the credit.”
He does give credit to the dedicated town employees, the department leaders and new Town Manager Amie Owens. “The town employees are a terrific asset.”
The new mayor brings with him a guiding principle he has used throughout his career. “My philosophy has always been to do everything you can while you are there to make sure it’s in better shape when you leave than when you first arrived,” he said. “At the end of two years, we need to be able to look back and say we have made a gallant effort and done everything we could within our power and our resources to meet the needs of the people who call this home. I hope when two years is up, they’ll say, ‘Well Done.’”
Town Council
The Town Council voted Monday night to appoint Joe Collins as vice mayor. Collins has served on the town board since 2015, including 10 years as mayor.
The council will hold a called session at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 13 to discuss appointing someone to serve out Horton’s remaining two years on the council. Anyone interested in serving on the council can contact Mayor Horton, one of the council members or Town Manager Amie Owens at 828-524-2516.