A candidate for Trafalgar Town Council who said he was dropping out is back in the race again.
Mike Peters is running in the Republican primary in Trafalgar, hoping to get a chance to snag of the five seats available on the town council. He is facing eight other candidates: Jackie Bryant, Ashley Chaney, Jeff Eisenmenger, Jessica Jones, David Moore, Rick Morgan, Jason Ramey and Kyle Siegfred. Eisenmenger, Jones, Ramey and Siegfred are incumbents.
Peters is running for the council because he wants to make a positive change in town, he said. He’s lived in Trafalgar for 28 years, and he said it seems like many residents are unhappy.
One of the biggest issues he noticed is the current town council members spend a lot of time dragging problems out, with few solutions in place.
“Items are brought up at meetings, and they’re talked to death. Then, instead of coming to a resolution that I feel could have been reached, they table it for the next meeting. Then they do the same thing all over again,” Peters said. “That that type of leadership needs to stop.”
He said also wants more checks and balances to be in place to make sure town employees are doing the jobs they say they are doing. Trafalgar spends a lot of money on the town, and the residents want to see improvements, he said.
On growth, Peters said he wants to see Trafalgar grow in a positive and managed way, similar to how Bargersville is growing. He pictures Trafalgar possibly becoming like Nashville, with small local shops, and maybe a small grocery store.
“I want to just make (Trafalgar) a nice, wholesome place that a family can be raised, and not have to worry about things,” Peters said.
He is up for the idea of trying out adding a town manager or community development director to the town full-time. He said the town could hire someone for a position like that for a year, to just try it and to see if the town really needs a town manager.
The Peters File
Name: Mike Peters
Party: Republican
Age: 64
Years lived in Trafalgar: 28
Family: Wife Sharon Lynn; two adult children
Occupation: Retired technical service manager for International Truck and Engine
Educational background: Monroe High School in Monroe, Michigan; Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan
Memberships: Grace United Methodist Church in Franklin
Political experience: First-time candidate