Meet the Perry Council Post 1 and 2 candidates – Jimmy McLeod

Perry District 2 Post 2 Council Candidate Jimmy McLeod says his run for council was years in the making. He’d attended multiple council meetings to bring forth various issues and sat by while the Perry City Council made decisions he simply did not agree with.

He mentioned one decision in particular that blocked the installation of a Home Depot store in Perry. According to McLeod, District 2 Post 2 Councilman William Jackson is mostly to blame for this. He says Jackson, owner of the Perry ACE Hardware, purposely blocked the installation because he didn’t want the competition. “He didn’t want it conflicting with his business,” said McLeod.

The Perry High alum says he didn’t agree with the decision because it was unfair to the business community and the residents of Perry. “It [Home Depot] would add more employment and it would add more tax revenue in Perry without us having to go to Warner Robins.” He said he would most certainly revisit the topic if elected to the Post 2 seat.

A 60-year resident of Perry, McLeod’s had a front row seat to the city’s growth spurts. He says he even had a hand in some of that growth through his fourteen years working with the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter in the maintenance department. But now, he says the council should take on a new approach in managing that growth

McLeod says Perry Council should focus on creating a more business friendly environment to attract retail stores, restaurants and entertainment spaces. According to him, this would prevent residents from traveling to Warner Robins and feeding another city’s economy.

He used bowling alleys and movie theaters as an example of the kind of businesses the city should be looking toward in the future. He says the open land along Perry Parkway, Perimeter Road and Sam Nunn Boulevard would be an ideal location for these enterprises.

But first, McLeod says the city needs to take a serious look at its codes ordinances and regulations that, he says, halts prospective businesses from crossing city lines. Having heard from multiple business owners that, while they enjoyed owning and operating a business in Perry, they also had a few grievances with the restrictive guidelines they had to follow. It’s McLeod’s belief that this is a major reason why businesses owners won’t set up shop in his hometown.

If elected, he says he would look over these guidelines and determine what they really mean and why they’re being enforced. “If we need to deregulate to get these businesses in here [then] I think we should do it.”

Another point of interest for McLeod is the uneven placement of low income housing in the city. Previously, he mentioned his disapproval of the City Council’s decision to approve a 72-unit multi-family development along Hwy. 41. He says the traffic along the highway was way too dense and made it difficult for residents to pick up their children from school. He suggested spreading the subdivisions out through the city instead of just placing them in one location.

He, however, does not agree with those who wish to keep Perry a small town. He says the lack of tourist attractions and job opportunities limits potential tax revenue growth for the city. He says being mindful of the type of business allowed in the city would prevent Perry from becoming too expensive for its residents.

McLeod says he wants to strike a balance between restricted and non-restricted growth, meaning he would encourage the city to be mindful about placing subdivisions in areas that are already oversaturated or of a certain property value.

He also questioned who was actually making the decisions at City Hall. He implied that Perry City Manager Lee Gilmour was the primary decision maker for the city and reported concerns from residents as to whether or not such a position was even necessary in a city so small. “I think Lee Gilmour makes a lot of decisions and City Council votes for them. You got some [council members] down there that are going to vote just because the rest of them vote for it. It just seems like to me that he is, more or less, persuading the City Council a lot of times.”

McLeod graduated from Perry High in 1975. After graduation, he worked for Kellwood Industries for 5 years before taking on a position with the Continental Can Company in 1974 and later began his 14 year career at the agricenter in 1995.McLeod is an active member of First Baptist Church, where he sat on multiple boards and committees and provides sound for events. He is married to his wife, Vivian, and has two children and one grandchild. He was formerly a member of the Perry JCs and the Perry Lion’s Club.