A relative newcomer to the public stage has thrown his name into the quickly crowded council race in Christiansburg. 22-year-old Jonathon Taylor hopes to bring a fresh group of eyes to growing issues like public safety, the conditions of the road’s in the town and spending that he feels can be improved by allotting money differently.
“With an open mind, willingness and drive to succeed, I feel that these are a few great qualities about myself where I can help change pain points in our town,” he said.
Taylor was born on the Ft. Bragg (North Carolina) Army base and was a military brat for some time as his father was in the military for 23 years. He has lived in Christiansburg with his mother since 2000. He attended Belview Elementary School, Christiansburg Middle School and then Christiansburg High School, where he graduated from in 2013.
He cites the ongoing struggle for small businesses, and hopes the town can come up with better solutions, maybe creating a small business incubator to help small startup businesses succeed through guidance, possible small grants and exposure to the public.
One of those small businesses, Taylor feels is being adversary affected is the ongoing volume controversy at the Starlite Drive-In. He stands behind the drive-in’s argument and believes there needs to be more clarity in the town code when it comes to the noise ordinance. He even finds time to work at the drive-in on the weekends.
“We need to work together to clarify writing, make the public aware and act as a team on current matters and in the future,” he said.
Taylor believes he can provide facts to other council members and the town about clarifying the ordinance, and possibly adding an exemption into the current noise ordinance that will allow specifically provide a Decibel rating or Db rating of no more than 100 Db at property lines of business.
According to Taylor, he is running because he loves the town and calls it a special place to live.
“What I find unfortunate about Christiansburg, is not a lot of citizens have the ability to voice their opinion about issues without having some kind of black lash. I want to see that change with more open door meetings, public hearings and possible live streams on Facebook for the people who want to attend town council meeting/town meetings, but are unable to.”
Taylor does not think his lack of involvement in public office should be an issue. “I know this will be a challenge for me to be elected onto council, but i feel my age should not stop people from knowing that i am a strong individual. When I have my heart set on something, I go for it to the best of my abilities and use all potential resources i have to get the job done,” he concluded.
Taylor is one of five candidates seeking three spots on Christiansburg Town Council. The election scheduled for November and includes three incumbents.
