By DAVID MELSON - dmelson@t-g.com
Newly elected Shelbyville Mayor Randy Carroll says he’s looking forward to taking office.
Carroll earned 1,341 votes (44.76%) to Bryan Nerren’s 924 (30.84%) and Lizzie Peoples’ 706 (23.58%). Current mayor Wallace Cartwright did not seek re-election.
“I had been asked by a few people to run,” Carroll, a retired Duck River Electric Membership Corp. executive, said.
“It was a good campaign and a lot of people also worked to assist me,” Carroll said.
He spent what he termed a “peaceful” Election Day,
“I felt calm about it, a little anxiety but not very much when the results were coming in.”
The new mayor said he spent a “joyful” day Wednesday.
“We ran a clean race, did the right things,” Carroll said. “I met so many wonderful people I haven’t seen in years while campaigning.”
He has no illusions of an easy road ahead.
“I know it’s going to be a big job. I’m going to do what’s best for the people and not for me as the city grows, and we’re going to grow,” Carroll said.
“We want the voice of the people,” Carroll said, promising to listen to citizens’ concerns.
Carroll promised to work to lower Shelbyville taxes during his campaign.
“I think we can be more efficient,” Carroll said. Plans include studying the city’s budgets to see where costs can be cut and possibly reducing the amount of money kept in reserve by the city. Carroll praised City Treasurer Kay Parker for her help in providing information on the city’s finances.
Additional goals of Carroll include making the city cleaner and more attractive to visitors and increasing activities for youth.
