Two more candidates for Conway mayor talk about election

By: Thema Ponton | SCNow
Published: October 29, 2008

The voters in one local community will be casting another ballot in December.

Conway's special election on December 9th fills the mayoral term for the late Greg Martin’s, which runs through the end of 2011.

Conway mayoral candidate Leslie H. McIver, Sr. said after serving on council for 12 years and coming in a close second in the last race for mayor, he is no stranger to government and wants to help make Conway a better place to live for everybody. McIver said, "It time now for us to be about the business of consensus building to be about smart growth so that we can prepare for the next twenty years.” McIver said he wants to make sure downtown business owners are comfortable with the city's policies and everyone is able to share in what Conway is about.

Candidate Vivian Chestnut said after her 13 1/2 years on council, she wants to see the completion of many plans that are already in place, and maybe start some new ones. Chestnut said, "I would like t see a building built here near the city hall that would house the planning department, the building department, the police department and the finance department.” Chestnut adds while that may be her vision for the future, she does realize the economy is tough and doesn't believe in spending money the town doesn't have.

Both candidates said they were very close to Greg Martin and hope to honor his memory by serving the people of Conway and moving the city forward. Martin died unexpectedly in September at his home in North Carolina.

The deadline to register to vote for the special election is Nov. 8.