Improving infrastructure, fiscal responsibility and diligently serving the needs of the people are common goals of three Republican candidates running for District 5 supervisor in Lincoln County. This election year, there are seven candidates seeking the District 5 seat at the table of the one body that supervises almost everything that goes on in Lincoln County government.

Lincoln County Board of Supervisors’ meetings are held twice a month on Mondays at 9 a.m. and are open to the public.

Three of the five Republican candidates running for the District 5 seat are Doug Falvey, Matt Golmon and Rex Smith.

Matt Golmon said the job of supervisor means understanding the needs of the community and leadership. Golmon said he has worked as a logger most of his life, so he knows a thing or two about hard work and meeting needs.

“I have worked hard all of my life and am not afraid to get dirty,” Golmon said. “I have logged most of my life and know a lot about our roads and bridges. I am out working for the community and know their needs.”

Golmon said he is running for supervisor because he wants to improve the community and make it a better place for children and families.

“I see the conditions of our roads, problems of litter and graffiti that covers our signs and bridges. That’s just a start of what I see that needs work,” Golmon said. “In the past people enjoyed riding around on Sunday afternoons. I want to try and help make our community enjoyable to look at. I want to be there to listen to my neighbors and their needs and do whatever it takes to help them with what they need.”

Golmon said his work experience makes him knowledgeable about infrastructure, and his dedication will help him meet needs if the budget does not allow it.

“I will do whatever it takes to make it happen,” he said. “Speaking out, fundraising, going to whomever I need to and asking for help.”

Golmon is married to Paula Smith and has three children, two step-children and three step-grandchildren. They are of the Baptist faith and attend Centerpoint Church.

Doug Falvey was born and raised in Lincoln County and said being supervisor means making sure that tax dollars are spent wisely and that all taxpayers benefit from the way that money is being spent.

“I know how hard it is to make a dollar and when you make it you make sure it is spent wisely and not just thrown away,” Falvey said.

Falvey worked for Bellsouth for 33 years managing budgets, supervising people and working with the public. He spent time in construction doing similar work and two years owning his own company. Falvey said his career prepares him to be a responsible leader of the taxpayers and the county budget.

“I just want to serve the people of Lincoln County and District 5,” Falvey said. “I feel like we need some good leadership and somebody to stand up for the right thing and I’m willing to do that. I feel like I’ve got the education and the work knowledge to do a good job, and the only promise I’d make [residents] would be to give them 110 percent to make sure that we spend our money wisely.”

Falvey said if elected, efficient methods would be used to address infrastructure. He said he would aggressively seek funding.

“The roads need some attention, and it’s a problem that’s not going to go away,” Falvey said. “We’ve got to do something, and we need to have a long-term plan of what we’re going to do to fix that. I know money is tight, and we don’t have a lot of money to work with, but here again we can’t use that excuse. When money is tight and we don’t have a lot, we’ve got to do a better job planning and organizing and prioritize our work so that we do the right thing in the right places.

“I’m not going to sit here and tell you I’m going to blacktop roads and overlay roads and build bridges because I know money’s not there, and it’s tight,” he continued. “But if there’s a way to get money we need to seek it and seek it aggressively to get as much money as we can and apply it to the roads.”

Falvey is married to his wife Nancy, with five children and 11 grandchildren. They attend First Baptist Church.

Rex Smith has lived in Lincoln County for five years, but says he wants to be a part of the Brookhaven-Lincoln County community very much and can think of no better way than being a supervisor. Smith has been a manager and engineer for more than 45 years, 37 of which were spent in the automotive industry. Smith said being a supervisor means serving the people.

“If I’m elected, I will treat everybody fair and equal,” Smith said. “The way I look at it, they elected me, gave me the job so therefore I will do my best to help them and all of their concerns and improve them. I think every politician should be a servant to the taxpayer.”

Smith said his history in industry and work experience give him the know-how to bring businesses to Lincoln County, as well as how to make work more efficient and things run more smoothly. Smith said if elected he would be a hands-on supervisor with an open-door policy.

Smith said developing roads with special attention to water drainage in ditches would be a focus of his, as well as developing community programs for young people and the elderly community.

“Water on roads is very dangerous. […] Many a teenager have ended up in ditches because of rain on the road,” he said. “And some have even lost their lives and that is something we need to be very foresighted in.”

Smith said he has plans to eliminate potholes and change the way the county addresses them. He said he also wants to be sure right of ways are clear so that oncoming traffic can be more visible. Smith said bridges that are no longer viable need to be addressed immediately.

“I would like to start a program to start blacktopping as many roads as we can,” Smith said. “Improve the roads that buses travel on and making and finishing bus turnarounds. I’d work with the local committees for business and industry because both of them would be employing residents in Lincoln County. I will help them to develop a package to illustrate the values of locating a plant to this county, because I have a thorough knowledge of what business expects.”

Smith was married for 37 years and is a father of three with four grandchildren. Smith attends New Hope Methodist Church.