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With just weeks left in the 2024 election season, candidates for the Martinsville City Council are looking to endear themselves to voters by emphasizing the local issues that impact them directly.
Five candidates are vying for three available city council seats: incumbent Kathy Lawson, and challengers John Wilson, LaNita Herlem, Julian Mei and Rayshaun Gravely. All of Martinsville’s candidates run as independents.
While the candidates share some thoughts on key issues, their perspectives differ on how best to keep the city moving forward in the coming years.
Increase housing
Among the city’s list of concerns, housing is one that garners significant attention from both residents and public officials. This past year, projects like the Martinsville Lofts increased the city’s housing stock by a few dozen apartments.
Herlem, a Bassett native and political newcomer, said that while more projects are needed, affordability has to be prioritized.
“We need to attract younger workers, and one of the biggest issues facing the younger generations is the fear they may not be able to afford a home, so I am focused on bringing worker-affordable housing to this area,” Herlem said. “That can be apartments, condominiums, townhouses or small starter homes.”
Others echoed Herlem’s thoughts on housing affordability and the importance of making sure new construction is affordable.
“The city of Martinsville is currently facing a shortage of housing, particularly in the realm of affordable housing,” said Gravely, a Martinsville native, adding that there are enough empty lots to accommodate new construction.
Mei, a Realtor and housing advocate, did not respond to questions for this story. He wrote the following in his responses to a Cardinal News candidate questionnaire, featured in Cardinal’s voting guide.
“In 2022, I was an advocate for the creation of The Martinsville City Emergency Housing and Community Support Commission,” Mei wrote. “Since its inception, the Commission’s success has been monumental. One of its greatest achievements thus far was to fully fund the Warming Center for the 2023 and 2024 seasons, something previously never achieved.”
According to figures from the most recent census, median household income in Martinsville was $39,127.
While candidates agreed that affordability couldn’t be ignored, Wilson, the father of four children and seven grandchildren, suggested an approach that included new housing and existing structures.
“We need to look at all possible avenues to offer good, dependable housing & to boost our inventory of affordable housing in Martinsville,” Wilson wrote in an email. “We need to increase housing stock through facilitation of private/public partnerships, including new builds & rehabilitation of existing buildings.”
Housing rehabilitation is one avenue the city has explored. Earlier this year, the city received grant funding for rehabilitating three houses from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.
Lawson said housing issues impact other factors, like jobs.
“Housing has increasingly become a main issue for our community,” Lawson said. “Regionally as well as locally there are jobs, but for people to locate here to take those jobs, we have to have adequate and suitable housing.”
Attracting industry
With a number of industrial parks in and around Martinsville, local officials have made an effort to make Martinsville business-friendly. As the race’s sole incumbent, Lawson touched on the steps she and other council members have taken to attract businesses. Lawson served on the council from 2006 to 2010 and was elected again in 2020.
“The City Council made a decision several years ago to redirect some funds previously allocated to the Economic Development Corporation to focus on small businesses within the City,” Lawson wrote in an email, referencing several of the city’s startup programs. “Our EDC focuses on the big companies and due to our city being landlocked, those big employers are more suited for our Industrial Parks that we fortunately have revenue-sharing agreements with.”
Martinsville has a revenue-sharing agreement with Henry County for parks, including the Patriot Centre and the Commonwealth Crossing Business Center. Both have space for large industries to establish new locations.
“I do believe it is important to attract industry, but a metric analyzed by industry is the workforce to potentially support it,” Mei wrote in the questionnaire. “We live in a world where many expect instant success via having a degree in a particular field. What is needed, more than credentials and expectations, are skills to effectively achieve success in trade fields. Specific programs for workforce education, with an emphasis on trade skills, are critical to better arm a potential workforce for success in these industries.”
Herlem said officials must consider certain realities when working to make the city more business-friendly. She said not only do cities like Martinsville have their limitations, but officials must be careful to balance business interests with the needs of residents.
“Martinsville is a very small city, though, so bringing large industries to the city is not likely to happen, but we do work with Henry County to attract larger industries to the industrial parks in the area,” Herlem said. “In Martinsville, I want to focus more on small business and specifically on what the community needs.”
Gravely agreed, saying small businesses should be as much of a focus as large corporations.
“It is essential to focus on Martinsville’s development as a community effort and emphasize the advancement of individual businesses, particularly small enterprises,” Gravely said. “Creating an environment conducive to business activities within the city of Martinsville and identifying and supporting local entrepreneurs are paramount.”
Wilson said incentives shouldn’t go too far. He added that updating laws is something officials can do that would benefit both businesses and residents. Updating ordinances could be incentive enough since businesses prefer cities with more modern regulations, he said.
“We must not promise everything just to get a particular business,” Wilson wrote. “I feel we should look at outdated regulations & update or tweak them to bring them more in line with times now. We need to promote the City of Martinsville & our resources to yield economic viability & sustainability.”
Best practices
Building affordable housing and attracting new industries were primary points of concern, but candidates differed on how best to approach these issues.
Opinions ranged from updating infrastructure to the city embracing a new identity. Gravely offered a three-solution approach to improving the city.
“My proposal is to take decisive action by supporting an in-depth infrastructure study, the crafting of a comprehensive housing plan, and voting to put a firm stop to any further utility rate increases until we can present a clear path forward to the public,” Gravely said. “This plan should include state and federal support, outline cost allocations, timelines, the scope of work and the substantial benefits to the city.”
Mei talked about the city’s identity.
“If Martinsville faces one opportunity for growth above any other, it would be to fully commit to a more positive and proactive sense of its identity and its role in the rapidly changing environment within and without,” Mei said.
Wilson said the city’s marketing has been a blind spot.
“I feel Martinsville has not been marketed as well as it should have been in the past,” he said, adding that Martinsville is a sort of geographic fulcrum between booming cities like Danville and Greensboro, North Carolina.
Herlem touched on what she felt was an overlooked but important focal point affecting both businesses and residents.
“A major topic impacting the city is infrastructure,” she said, adding that it tends to be one of those needs that governments large and small can put off but will have to eventually contend with.
Lawson reiterated housing and the economy as the major focal points, saying that these are what the voters care most about.
“The topics that make it to the top of the list are generally two things, the economy and housing,” Lawson said. “People want to know that their tax dollars are being spent wisely and that the services being provided are done so at a fair rate. They want safe and clean neighborhoods.”
