Courtesy of Tony Picklesimer
Tony Picklesimer is running for Mayor of Chelsea.
Chelsea Park resident and city council member Tony Picklesimer is running for mayor.
Picklesimer has lived in Chelsea for 10 years and served three terms on the city council, including one term as mayor pro tempore. He said the decision to run for mayor came from a love for the city and community.
“I have grown to love Chelsea and see great potential for its growth,” he said. “Being mayor would also allow me to give back to the Highway 280 corridor that is where I made my living.”
Picklesimer said he has several goals for the city of Chelsea, including public safety and street and road improvements.
“What do I want to get started doing as soon as I get there? I want to get started renegotiating the contract with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, I want to get the wheels moving to get our municipal court going and I want to get a contract with a business recruitment firm,” Picklesimer said.
The city has outgrown its current contract with the Sheriff’s Office, Picklesimer said, and it is necessary to renegotiate the coverage for Chelsea. In regard to public safety, Picklesimer said he would also like to lay the groundwork to start growing the circle of coverage from the Chelsea Fire Department in the first quarter of 2017.
If elected, Picklesimer said he realizes he will have plenty to learn as mayor, including delving further into the city’s finances. His background as a business owner and his experience in city government, however, have helped give him a leg up, Picklesimer said.
“I ran a business for 14 years. My business had about the same number of employees as the City of Chelsea does,” he said. “My business had about the same budget as the City of Chelsea. … My business and government experience mirror each other in many different ways, and I think that makes me the most qualified candidate for the next mayor.”
In regard to the city’s roads, Picklesimer said he would like to put together a maintenance schedule and be more responsive to citizens when they bring problems to the administration’s attention.
“We’re 20 years old now, we have some streets and roads that are 20 years old, so we have some streets and roads in Chelsea that need attention, just from a maintenance standpoint,” he said.
Streets that need extra attention include those in neighborhoods where the developer went bankrupt and left the streets unfinished, Picklesimer said. Those citizens need the help of the city to complete those projects.
“In all my years on the council, that is something that is constantly coming back up,” Picklesimer said. “Those people have no one else to turn to except us.”
Picklesimer said partnering with a business recruiting firm to bring new businesses into Chelsea is another priority, as it will help expand the city’s tax base without increasing taxes or adding a property tax. New businesses also benefit Chelsea citizens by giving them more shopping and dining options, and new business owners might be encouraged to move into Chelsea.
Picklesimer said he also hopes to partner with the Shelby County Board of Education in regard to Chelsea’s schools. While they are part of a county system, Picklesimer said he would like the city to be financially able to support county projects for the schools, or to undertake projects such as the gymnasium the city helped fund at Forest Oaks Elementary School.
“I think that’s a responsibility of our city,” he said. “Even though it’s not a city school system, it’s the system that serves our city.”
For more information, visit tonypicklesimer.com or Tony Picklesimer Serving the City of Chelsea on Facebook.
The election for Chelsea mayor and five city council seats is scheduled for Aug. 23. Council members Alison Moore Nichols and Dale Neuendorf are also running for mayor.
If you are running for city council or mayor in Chelsea, you can reach our community reporter Erica Techo at erica@starnespublishing.com.
