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Newcomer Pickrell would push public safety, economic growth
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Published: September 27, 2009
Brian Pickrell is not your typical candidate for city council.
At a recent candidates forum, he showed up with his shirt unbuttoned and untucked, and he had to cancel an R&L interview because he got a call to pick up a broken-down car in South Carolina.
Pickrell is running the Statesville City Council Ward 5 seat currently occupied by Ron Mat-thews.
He answers to the name "Captain Hook," an allusion to his job as the owner of a towing service.
His name will appear on the ballot as "Brian 'Hook' Pickrell."
Pickrell says he is running for council as a kind of payback for the good times he has enjoyed as a 31-year resident of Statesville.
"I feel it's time to give back to the community," he said in a prepared release. "And I will fill the position to the best of my ability."
Pickrell, 57, admits he is going into the race as something of a political novice, and says there will be an adjustment period if he wins the Oct. 6 election.
"What I do not know, I will learn," he said. "What I cannot answer, I will find out."
The main planks in Pickrell's platform are public safety, economic and downtown development and tightening the budget.
On the issue of public safety, Pickrell, an Army veteran who served in Vietnam, believes that the slight national downturn in crime has bypassed smaller cities such as Statesville.
"Many of the residents I have talked to feel that the police aren't doing enough about low-key, non-violent crimes because they are feverishly trying to get the gang situation under control, the drug situation under control and keep the crime rate down," Pickrell said.
He added: "The truth is that they are doing the best they can with funds available. The police need our support if they are to meet the needs of a growing community."
Pickrell sees Statesville's downtown as an area that could gain a lot from new ideas.
One idea, he suggests, is to bring the community together to work on a single project. He said he got the idea from a program offered by Lowe's in which parents, grandparents and children work on projects together.
"Sometimes the simplest ideas can be a springboard for bigger things," he said.
Pickrell said he also supports the N.C. 115 & Downtown Statesville Streetscape/Land Use Master Plan that was recently unveiled by city leaders.
Pickrell says having an open door is an important part of being a good council member.
"Accessibility is the key to reconnecting citizens with government and making them feel they have a voice in their community," he said. "And who knows, they might just have some better ideas."
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