Word running for Centerville Council Post 3: Focused on families

CENTERVILLE — The list of candidates competing for Centerville City Council Post 3 has increased to five, including Larry Word Jr. 

Word grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and later lived in California’s San Fernando Valley before moving to Centerville eight years ago. Now retired and with three generations of family living in his home, Word is dedicated to improving the city for the families who reside there.

“I’ve always been a family-oriented person, and I wanted to do everything I could to try and preserve this wonderful community in a manner that families can thrive and prosper,” he said.

With a smaller pool of voters compared to larger nearby cities, Word is pacing himself and planning outreach closer to the election.

“I’m laid back, waiting for the last couple of weeks of the campaign, and then I plan on spending a couple of weekends up there at Center Park talking to people, see what’s on their mind and what their concerns are, and generally, making the rounds,” he said.

Word states that his top priority is families, emphasizing that homeownership should be accessible. He prioritizes family homes and condominiums over apartment rentals.

“Every family should have an opportunity as soon as possible to own a home that allows them to build equity. Equity gives them a financial reserve. So when something rears its ugly head up — and it will — Instead of finding themselves homeless, they have a means of recovering,” Word said.

Homeownership also provides seniors with the opportunity to pass on an inheritance. Word mentioned that offering tax relief can give them more leverage to keep and maintain their homes amid rising costs and fixed incomes.

“We need to do something about lightening the tax burden, and enabling our seniors to hang on to their homes so that they have something to pass on to their families,” he said.

While new families contribute to economic development, Word believes most of the growth has been like a seesaw.

“Centerville is creating jobs, but those jobs are in retail. That means we’re passing the same dollar around back and forth among us,” he said.

In contrast, Word aims to attract more diverse industrial growth to the city by focusing on attracting smaller companies with a lower environmental impact.

“Strictly light manufacturing, assembly and research and development facilities,” he said. “They’re not large businesses. They’re a collection of small businesses that have little to no impact on the environment because they’re light manufacturing, they’re not heavy manufacturing.” 

According to Word, the crime rate in Centerville is lower, primarily because families own homes in the city. Word said maintaining a family-oriented environment is crucial for keeping crime at bay.

“Homeowners have an invested interest in their communities. They keep an eye out for their neighbors. They don’t engage in crimes because they have too much to lose. They’ve got a home that they’ve invested years and years of their life; a criminal conviction could cost them their home,” he said.

Stretching beyond Centerville, Word is passionate about several national issues, the first being marriage and immigration within the military. He mentioned that while overseas, a service member must undergo counseling and interviews before marrying someone who is not American.

He advocated for implementing a similar process for service members stateside who wish to marry non-American partners and streamlining their path to citizenship. This perspective was inspired by a neighbor whose wife was detained while he was serving overseas.

“The base commander needs to be given the same rights and authority as an immigration judge. So if he decides this is going to be a good match, I think this will work. He can wave his magic wand and say, ‘Your paperwork problems are solved. Here’s your green card. Please go get your citizenship,’” he said.

The second issue is to enhance consumer protection, drawing inspiration from the times when Word has faced challenges.

“During the eight years that I’ve been here in Centerville, there have been five instances where I’ve literally been taken advantage of by big businesses here in the Warner Robins-Centerville area. Businesses get away with that because Georgia has very weak consumer protection laws. I would like to see those strengthened so that people actually get what they’re paying for,” he said.

Closer to home, Word aims to responsibly manage Centerville’s resources and maintain a family-oriented lifestyle, he mentioned.

“We’re one big family and we need to continue to look after one another,” he said.

Word is running against Logan Cowperthwaite, Lisa Lowe, Timothy McEady and Scott Rorie. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 4.