Jackson County Mayor Republican nominee Brian Lee said his focus continues on economic growth and healthcare access.
Lee beginning preparations for the August election. Lee said he spent 24 years in education, including the last six years as a public school principal. Lee said his decade of service as a Jackson County Commissioner allowed him to see multiple sides of how local government functions before he decided to run for the mayor’s office.
“I had the opportunity to serve on various committees there and so kind of got to see both sides of the how local government works and had been been thinking and praying about it and I just felt like after the passing of Mayor Hetty we’d kind of been in this limbo period of a couple of interim mayors and they’ve done a good job of keeping things afloat,” Lee said. “But I feel like we need some excitement in there to move forward and there’s some important things coming for Jackson County and just wanted to try to lead Jackson County into the future.”
Lee said he intends to build upon the tourism momentum established by Heady. Lee said the revitalization of the square has been driven by private investors who opened businesses like the Stolen Coin and the Boardroom.
“I think supporting those businesses that have invested in Jackson County and continuing to help those, you know you’ve got the the stalwarts of the county in Helen’s Restaurant and that kind of thing and so lots of good good things you’ve of course the bell cow of tourism for us as far as is really the Granville area,” Lee said. “That brings in a lot of folks from outside the county into there and you’ve also got Cummins Falls which is one of the most visited state parks in the state.”
Lee said the county is also preparing for the reopening of the old Shamrock, which will be renamed the Cordell Hotel.
“So lots of exciting things in Jackson County to promote and so I think just picking up with what he had kind of left with there was some other projects that I was a part of before he had gotten sick that would like to revitalize and look at but you know just continuing that tourism and that area and aspect of it,” Lee said.
Lee said his top priority for the county is the establishment of an acute care center to address emergency medical needs. Lee said the county has faced a weakness in healthcare infrastructure since the loss of its hospital several years ago.
“We need an acute care center of some type in Jackson County,” Lee said. “We lost the hospital in the several years ago and so that’s been an area of weakness that we have is not being able to have a place of if there’s an emergency that that we can go and so that would be my first.”
Lee said his vision for the county is driven by a focus on faith, family, and community. Lee said he wants to facilitate the creation of decent-paying jobs so local students can afford to build homes and raise their own families within the county.
“The primary is over and so now we’re running for all of Jackson County and so just doing the best I can to represent all citizens,” Lee said.