Native son seeks Reidsville mayor’s office

Mayor Pro Tem Donald Gorham says to be a successful mayor, a candidate has to love the city he’s serving.

“You’ve got to have that love,” Gorham said. “I love Reidsville. I chose to stay here.”

Gorham, who is currently serving his first term on Reidsville City Council, announced earlier this month that he will challenge current Mayor James Festerman in the city’s Oct. 6 election. He will also be running against local realtor Chuck Faint.

When he initially decided to run for city council, Gorham, 56, said many people had urged him to seek the mayor’s post instead, but he said he wanted to gain some political experience as a city councilman first.

“You wouldn’t want to walk in a surgeon’s office who had never actually operated on someone,” he said.

Gorham, a lifelong Reidsville resident, is a former educator who retired as principal at Lawsonville Elementary School in 2005. Before serving as principal, Gorham spent 15 years as a fifth grade teacher. He also held the position of assistant principal and football coach at Reidsville High School.

Gorham has been married to his wife, Gloria, for 29 years. They have two children, Nikia, who is married to Ricky Hairston, and Donald II. They also have an 18-month-old granddaughter, Chelsea.

Continuing recent improvements to Reidsville’s downtown area is at the top of Gorham’s list of projects he’d like to tackle if elected.

“I want to keep rebuilding downtown,” he said.

According to Gorham, Market Square, which was scheduled to hold its grand opening Saturday evening, gives downtown Reidsville an opportunity to attract events which the city has never had a venue to accommodate.

“I don’t think there’s anything in North Carolina to compare Market Square to,” Gorham said. “Reidsville may be a small town, but we’ve got big city things, too.”

Attracting new jobs to the area is also an important issue for Gorham. He said he believes the Horse Park of the South will help accomplish that goal by attracting hotels, restaurants and other businesses. The effect of the equestrian center will be felt outside of the city as well, he said.

“Hotels will flourish all over the county,” he said, adding that he would like to see more unity throughout the city of Reidsville and the rest of Rockingham County.

“We all need to come together,” he said. “The unemployment rate is not just in Reidsville.”

While Gorham said Reidsville is fortunate to not have a gang problem as large as a lot of cities, reducing violence throughout the city is another goal he would like to accomplish if elected mayor.

“I attend as many community watch meetings as I can,” he said, but city officials and local residents have to work together to make Reidsville a safer place to live. He said he wants to see more people involved.

“Whenever there’s a problem, there’s a large crowd at the community watch meetings, but when things are fine, people don’t come,” he said. “I’d like to see there be a large crowd at all the meetings.”

Gorham said his experience working with youth gives him a unique perspective.

Giving the city’s youth more constructive activities to be involved in would help curb gang violence and help keep kids off the streets, he said. Also, he’d like to see more young people come back to Reidsville after college. To do that, he said, recruiting more jobs to the area is crucial.

“We’re going to have to have something for them to do,” he said.

Gorham said he has several characteristics that set him apart from the other candidates. His administrative experience as an educator has given him the ability to work well with a diverse population. In being active in the community, he said he understands the socioeconomic differences in the city.

“It qualifies me to know what the needs are,” he said.

Gorham said probably the biggest qualification he has is the fact that he’s lived in Reidsville his entire life, minus while he was in college.

“I’ve always loved Reidsville,” he said.