MACON, Ga. — Georgia's general primary election is less than a month away, and we're highlighting candidates in our local races so you can learn more about your potential leaders.
This election season, two Macon natives are competing for the District 2 commission seat. It's currently held by Larry Schlesinger who is running for mayor.
District 2 covers a parts of north, east, south and downtown Macon. It's shaded in orange on the map below.
The two men hoping to lead the area are Paul Bronson and Weston Stroud.
Stroud is a transit planner for Macon-Bibb and previously worked in the city's planning and zoning office.
He's a graduate of Syracuse University and Mount de Sales High School.
If elected, Stroud will focus on expanding Macon-Bibb's public transportation so that citizens can access a larger variety of high-quality jobs throughout the city.
He also plans to enhance public safety measures through "environmental design."
"You can help remediate crime just through having adequate lighting, having adequate eyes on the street. The more lively that your community is, the more that people are able to watch the street and feel comfortable in their community," says Stroud.
Additionally, Stroud plans to attack blight and create more commercial business opportunities in struggling neighborhoods.
"We now need more progressive zoning policies to accommodate the loss of grocery stores, the loss of retail, the loss of different businesses," says Stroud.
Bronson also wants to tackle blight if elected.
"Every 3 months, we will tackle 4 areas. Just imagine if we had every other commissioner jump on to this same plan. We would be able to expedite the amount of houses that we either demolish, revitalize, or do what we need to do like knocking back the brush, boarding it up and so forth," says Bronson.
The Georgia National Guardsman is currently a human resources officer for a U.S. Army Reserve unit.
Bronson spent several years working as a Macon-Bibb firefighter, ran for mayor in 2011, and recently worked as a public affairs officer at The Pentagon in Washington D.C.
He's also a graduate of Central High School, Georgia Military College, Fort Valley State, and Wesleyan College.
In addition to combating blight, the Maconite says his campaign is concentrated on things like fixing the city's infrastructure problems, increasing pedestrian safety, and making sure students have ample educational opportunities.
"If we had wi-fi hubs that were stationed in east Macon, stationed throughout south Macon, then students would have the resources that they need, the capabilities to get assignments done. It will assist parents that need that access as well to fill out job applications and so forth," says Bronson.
Election day is less than a month away on June 9th.
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