Waller announces mayoral run

BY BRUCE BRANUM

The Greenville Standard

 

Craig Waller officially announced his candidacy for the position of mayor of Greenville, Saturday afternoon, May 2.

The announcement was made at Greenville 24hr Fitness’ annual customer appreciation crawfish boil. Waller owns and operates Greenville 24hr Fitness along with his wife Amber.

Before the event, Waller stated his family had been in Butler County for over 150 years serving the citizens of Greenville.

It began with the William Waller Hotel and then the Parker Waller Insurance Agency and now with his own business.

He stated, “Taking all that into consideration and looking at the way Greenville is going now with our population decline, our increasing debt, and hospital on life support, I’m very concerned and I want to have a place where people feel safe for themselves and their children. We have to grow but I also want to keep our small town feel.”

He noted that he plans to bring in people from Birmingham and Montgomery with city government experience that know how to get things done and who also have contacts.

He added, “In my 21 years of being self-employed, I plan on using my financial business sense to run the city. Ultimately, it is a business and I do not want to see anymore frivolous waste of our hard earned dollars.

“I think there has been a lot of poor investment here by our city government and I’ve seen some conflict of interest where the city has gotten into competition with small business.

In speaking of schools, Waller said he wants to see more workforce development pushed for trades. He noted, “We have a big void there.”

As for transportation, Waller said there is a real need for the elderly and those less fortunate to get around. “I believe, with proper planning, a system could be achieved,” he added.

Waller said he felt that leadership in Greenville had a disconnect with the common people and they felt they did not have a voice.

“I believe we need to communicate better with the public and that’s why I’m running to be Greenville’s next mayor.