We continue today with our interviews with the Knox city candidates for elective office in the spring Primary on May 3rd.
Mark Smith is the President of the County Council and has been coroner in the past. He is the owner of M.C. Smith Funeral Home in Knox.
Smith noted the improvements made in past administrations, including the highway project through Knox, Gateway Project, renovation of the old depot, and others. He said he feels we’re not progressing now, as we did then.
“Those things don’t happen by accident. That was due to the efforts of a lot of good people, a lot of good leadership, ” said Smith. “I just feel like it takes going outside of the Mayor’s Office, outside of Knox, outside of Starke County and being active in the organizations that can help you bring those good things to our community. I would really look forward to being able to do that for the City.”
Smith said as the President of the Council he has done his homework to keep up with the ever changing rules and regulations that effect the county.
“I’ve worked tirelessly to educate myself on how we can get along with this new system,” said Smith. “Every municipality is forced, once a year, to look at what we’re going to do next year. With the tax revenues we’re going to receive, what can we do for the taxpayers and for this City a year from now, three years from now, five years from now, ten years from now? You have to have long term planning in order to try to keep that ball rolling and keep that good progressive growth that we can to have here on track.”
Smith said industry and small businesses will know that they have a friend in the Mayor’s office if he’s elected.
“My primary goal would be preservation of the jobs that we already have. We need to create an atmosphere of cooperation so that these businesses know that they have an ally at the City of Knox. By creating that atmosphere, good things happen in good places. Equally as important, I’m a small business man. There are lots and lots of small businesses and I think that’s the backbone of our country. It’s what makes the United States so great.”
Smith is opposing Mayor Rick Chambers in the primary election to become the Democrat candidate in the fall election for the office.
