Mayor Saunders

Danvillians put Sherman Saunders on the top of the ticket May 6. The longtime council veteran won 4,686 votes, more than 1,000 votes ahead of the second-place finisher.
The story was pretty much the same in 2004, when Saunders won 5,685 votes, 845 votes ahead of second place.
Those numbers tell an important story about how Danvillians feel about Saunders, his leadership and his place on Danville City Council. It’s a message the other eight members of City Council should heed.
While members of Danville City Council are elected by the voters, the mayor and vice mayor are chosen by the members of City Council. For any council member to be “elected” mayor, he or she needs at least four votes, plus their own.
The process tells us about the political alliances and shifting loyalties among the nine Danvillians who lead our city’s government.
But it’s really a chance to select a leader who understands our problems — and our potential.
Saunders is just such a leader, and we strongly urge his election as mayor.
One of the reasons Saunders has been able to do so well at the polls over the past two elections is that he has worked hard to meet Danvillians from all over the city. It is this contact with large swaths of the electorate that has given him the opportunity to understand where the city is and where people want it to go.
On the crime issue, Saunders knows first hand what its like to be on the front lines, because he worked to form a neighborhood watch in Druid Hills, where he lives. As other Danville neighborhoods confront street crime, Mayor Saunders will be a valuable and inspiring example of how cooperation with the police can bring about the crime relief people want and demand.
As a businessman, Saunders knows what local unemployed people have to do to prepare themselves for the new jobs that are coming here. Mayor Saunders will be able to speak on that issue with great authority, passion and persuasion about what those people need to do for themselves.
Finally, Saunders has made an issue of long-simmering concern — Danville’s population loss — a matter of political concern. As the economy continues to grow, Mayor Saunders will look for new ways to entice people back to Danville.
No one knows better than Saunders that Danville has turned a corner. Danville City Council should listen to the voters and keep Saunders as Danville’s mayor.