Special to Iredell Free News
Mooresville Mayor Miles Atkins has announced that he will seek re-election in 2023.
“I am passionate about the greater Mooresville community and believe we have made significant strides towards becoming a seamless town — a place where all citizens, in all neighborhoods, enjoy safe streets, reliable infrastructure, access to amenities, and more opportunities for a good quality of life,” Atkins said in his official campaign announcement. “I have a proven record of positive changes resulting in a more connected, inclusive, and innovative Mooresville.”
In addition to the mayoral race, Mooresville voters will elect one at-large commissioner in 2023. Voters in Wards 1 and 2 will also select their commissioners. The election is November 7. If necessary, a primary will be held on October 10. Candidate filing begins on July 7.
Atkins, who won 52 percent of the vote to defeat challenger Angela Stutts in 2019, has served as Mooresville mayor since 2011 after being elected as an at-large town commissioners in 2007.
That experience, Atkins said, has provided a deep understanding of the complexities of municipal governance, which he has used to lobby state and federal officials for funding for roads and infrastructure.
While in office, Atkins has prioritized fiscal responsibility and government transparency, which has resulted in no increase in property taxes or utility rates since 2008. Atkins also touted his role in the town’s sale of MI-Connection.
Meanwhile, the town has invested in public safety and improving the quality of life for residents.
“This past year was very rewarding seeing Mooresville Fire-Rescue Station 6 open along with the new Mooresville Police Department Headquarters, the opening of the largest skatepark in the Southeast, along with a west-side library branch,” the mayor said. “These projects have all been in the works for several years, and the fruits of those labors finally came to reality in 2022.”
Atkins said he is also proud of the work he has done to champion programs to address the increasing needs of a diverse community, including the Mooresville Youth Council, Veterans Benefits Assistance, Mayor’s Senior Roundtable, Council for Individuals with Disabilities, Community Needs Taskforce, and the Mooresville Suicide Prevention Working Group. He has been a consistent activist for crucial social issues such as anti-bullying, substance misuse, affordable housing, accessible healthcare, child abuse and domestic violence. He implemented the annual Mooresville Veterans Celebration in 2015, which in its inaugural year, helped uncover over $650,000 in retroactive benefits for local vets.
The mayor has also been a vocal supporter of restructured strategies on controlled growth.
“We’ve faced some big challenges together as a community, and we need to implement a more intentional, proactive management strategy to contain the growth, and support planned development that provides significant community benefit and infrastructure improvements,” Atkins explained. “I support putting a pause on proposed multi-family development that is just throwing more congestion into the mix while we update our Comprehensive Land Use Plan and evaluate any needed modifications to the Unified Development Ordinance.”
Traffic congestion continues to be a top concern of town residents.
Local and state elected leaders, including Atkins, have been working to get $850 million in state funding for various road widening and improvement projects.
“We’ve had to take a lot of initiative in finding solutions for alleviating traffic issues,” the mayor said. ““We are currently implementing the first phase of a Traffic Control Center to manage the signalization of lights to address the traffic and congestion problems we are experiencing at almost every major intersection throughout the town. While I strongly believe in tenaciously advocating to our state officials and NCDOT about the urgency of addressing infrastructure problems in our Town, we ultimately are at the mercy of their timeline. However, we continue to diligently work to address as many of the traffic issues as possible before we take on more growth.”
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For any additional information about Mayor Miles Atkins’ re-election, contact Atkins at atkins4mayor@gmail.com or visit MilesAtkins.com.