Chris Lawless and Ray Reynolds pushed back this week after Henry County Sheriff Wayne Davis questioned their campaign’s focus on “grass and trash” issues.
Reynolds, who is challenging incumbent Jim Adams for the Blackberry District seat on the Henry County Board of Supervisors, posted a YouTube video. Lawless, running against Joe Bryant in the Collinsville District, held a press conference Tuesday, Sept. 30.
During an interview with Star News at the Henry County Fair, Davis said, “What we’ve seen is a race about who can clean up the most trash and who can clean up the most grass. A board of supervisors position is a high-level position…. What I want to hear about from members and candidates is … your economic strategy,” long-term fiscal planning, tax policies, and what will benefit every resident.
Lawless said beautification efforts are tied to economic growth.
“Well, the reason the grass and trash matters to me is I want to try to get every business I can that comes to this area to stay in this area. And when they see this area, they look at it and they say, ‘This is the place I want to be,’” he said.
Lawless pointed to several changes in Collinsville since he began his campaign, including the annual bass competition relocated to the Smith River Sports Complex. He also cited the demolition of a house near Fenders and the repair of a sinkhole beside a laundromat.
Lawless said some citizens doubt his understanding of economic development, but he pointed to his business experience and the new Stultz Road site.
“A million-dollar investment. Lawless is putting in its own money to make sure that this community survives,” he said. “Not only that, but we put it in Villa Heights. And the reason that I put it in Villa Heights is I want to make sure that everybody knows that we believe in every neighborhood here, good or bad. I want to try to change those neighborhoods. So, I put my money where my mouth is.”
He said small businesses deserve greater recognition in economic discussions.
“Please never forget your small businesses usually employ more than anybody in your area,” Lawless said, adding that workforce development is central to his campaign, particularly trade education.
“My plan is to get out there and keep trying, keep working and dealing with people and making things happen for this community and never giving up, right? So that’s my economics,” he said. “What makes our economy strong is a skilled labor force.”
He said trade skills give workers the flexibility to leave the area for higher wages while maintaining roots in the county, and added he would work to keep tax rates low if elected.
Reynolds also said the way communities look is tied to economic development.
“I support Sheriff Davis. The community should be the ones that step up and take care of the trash and grass, especially if the elderly need help. It’s obvious the incumbent supervisors have not done their job with all the dilapidated buildings. What haven’t they done the job they’ve been elected and paid to do? As a candidate, I’m getting dozens and dozens of people contacting me about dilapidated houses like the one that burned on Sunnybrook.”
He suggested that unpaid taxes are another concern.
“A house on Riverside Drive has no door on it, no windows,” tall grass, and taxes have not been paid on the property since 2017, Reynolds said. “There’s $2,700 in taxes owed on it, but it has to be auctioned off. An individual cannot pay it off.”
The auction is set for January, “is what I’ve been told,” Reynolds said, and added that when he took a real estate class, “one of the things we learned is the neighborhood has to look presentable,” or it will not attract development.
When an area is littered with trash and grass or dilapidated structures, Reynolds said home/building values fall, and a host of other problems develop. One of the most significant is “developers will not come into an area that has trash and grass.”
