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Jackson cites growth, housing as key issues
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Published: September 26, 2009
Dave Jackson said he likes change. As long as it's the right kind.
Jackson, 41, is taking his second shot at a seat on the Statesville City Council in two years. But he swears he is not just throwing his hat in the ring because he has nothing better to do.
Indeed, he said, the truth is exactly the opposite of that.
"When I ran the first time, I just had too much on my plate," Jackson said of his 2007 attempt to win the Ward 3 seat vacated by the retirement of Councilman A.E. "Pete" Peterson.
"I had the desire, then but I really didn't have the time to commit myself to a campaign," he added.
Jackson, 41, is the owner of a cleaning business.
While living in his home state of New Jersey, he worked as a corrections officer for the state's prison system and also taught part-time at a local college.
Family ties brought him to Mooresville several years ago.
"I came here for the simple living and the good quality of life," Jackson said.
He said he lived in Mooresville long enough to witness a transformation of sorts.
"I watched this beautiful town — quaint and friendly — turn into a giant shopping mall with its own huge food court," Jackson said.
When he moved north to Statesville, he said he feared the same thing would happen here. Jackson said he filed as a candidate for city council so he could prevent what he sees as unfettered growth from happening in Statesville.
"I'm not much of a reaction guy," Jackson said. "I'm more of an action guy. And we can bounce back and forth about whether what happened in Mooresville was best for Mooresville, but this is Statesville and I don't think it's best for Statesville."
Jackson is the only African-American on the slate of 14 candidates running for city council seats and he is running against the only woman, Ward 3 incumbent Bonita Eisele.
"But as far as minority representation," Jackson said, "my mind evolves beyond that. I think if you really look at what a minority is, minority would not be defined by skin color or race or gender but by the type of jobs people have and where they are living and the kind of lives they can provide for their families."
Boosting employment rates and shoring up the city's housing market — particularly at the lower end of the market — are important planks in Jackson's political platform.
Progress in Statesville should be marked by improvements in the lives of the city's current residents, he said.
"If you say, 'This action will benefit a person who may be a resident in the future,' " Jackson asks hypothetically, "is that really what you would call progress?"
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