Meet the Perry Council Post 1 and 2 candidates – Joy Peterson

Joy Peterson described her run for Perry City Council as a natural progression of her involvement in the city.

The District 2 Post 2 candidate moved to Perry 10 years ago and quickly entangled herself in the community through volunteer work and civic engagement. Peterson joined the Perry Arts Group 7 years ago and works alongside other volunteers to shed light on the art community in middle Georgia.

A self-described lover of the arts, she says she was later appointed by the city to the Perry Public Arts Commission. She says her experience with the two entities, along with personal observations made at City Hall, prepared her for another form of service through the City Council.

As a representative of the Perry Arts Group, Peterson said she attended the downtown merchants meetings and heard directly the highs and lows of owning a business in Perry. She described the experience as educational, learning exactly how the business community felt about certain rules and regulations.

“I have encountered various reactions to doing business here, and for as glowing as some have been, they’ve been less than glowing for others,” she said. She says some of the lackluster responses may stem from a lapse in communication between the merchant community and the Perry Community Development Department, creating a less than positive business environment.

After taking these concerns directly to the department head, Bryan Wood, Peterson learned that there was more to the story when it came to code enforcement. “Some of our building codes are international codes; it’s not like somebody sits at City Hall and thinks them up,” she said. “And it’s important that we enforce them because enforcement equals safety for the people that are going to live in that structure or do business there.”

This is why Peterson suggests forming a designated group that consists of merchants and representatives from the Chamber of Commerce, City Hall, Community Development and more. The proposed business forum would give business owners the opportunity to speak their peace and hear directly from informed members of the government. “I want the business owner to be able to speak with confidence that the people they’re talking to are in a position to help them.”

This forum is part of a three-part plan Peterson previously outlined for improving the business community. The remaining parts include adding a one-page outline of the process of opening a business in Perry and ensuring that the Community Development staff is well informed and welcoming to prospective business owners. She encourages new business owners to sit down with Community Development Department and learn, in detail, the ins and outs of owning a business in Perry before spending a single penny.

Another major campaign point for Peterson is protecting and preserving the small town charm she fell in love with years ago as a child. She and her family would visit travel from Macon, where she spent her formative years, to Perry to enjoy the downtown atmosphere. She says Perry is one of very few towns that still have that unique essence.

“There are so many things about Perry I wouldn’t want to lose, but at the same time, we’re not going to be able to opt out of progress and growth. It’s all around us.”

She says the growth plan for the City of Perry needs to be proactive and intentional so as to avoid any pitfalls in the coming future. Peterson promises voters that she will be intentional with any and every decision she makes and ensures she would not cast a vote without getting the entire story. “I’ll research, and I will not cast an uninformed vote.“

Peterson was born in Opelika, Alabama and moved to Macon permanently when she was in the 3rd grade. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia and additional certifications in intellectual disabilities from Georgia College & State University. She worked for the Bibb County Board of Education and was a speech language pathologist working with special needs students. She later was promoted to supervise other special needs teachers in the Bibb County. After 30 years in public education, she retired and spent the next eight years doing contract work for school systems throughout the state. She is also a member of the Perry Presbyterian Church. She’s married to Dan Peterson and together they have five children and multiple grandchildren.