Jay Yingling Details Augusta City Council Candidacy

I’m Jay Yingling and I’m running for Augusta City Council. First, I’d like to thank Todd for letting me express some of my thoughts here on his blog! ​You may have noticed I have some campaign signs around Augusta with the word “Leadership” at the top. This is a quality I believe your city leaders need, to see us through the next several years. Leadership is a quality I believe I possess after serving 35 years in the Army and my goal is to put that leadership experience to use, serving the citizens of Augusta. ​I know that recreation for our young people (including the pool!) is important to many, myself included. Of course, the trick is how to pay for these things without burdening our own citizens. This is why I would like to see an increase in our tourism revenue. I know sometimes we want to keep our spot of the world all to ourselves and we resist change, but I believe that bringing in more tourism dollars would be an impactful way to support our city. We have some exciting opportunities coming our way, with the addition of the Beehive Augusta Tavern and a distillery, to build upon the great businesses which have come before them. Now is the time to move forward and help Augusta shine! ​Another area I believe will especially need our attention in the next few years is the maintenance and repair of Augusta’s infrastructure: street and sidewalk repairs, sewer lines and storm runoff enhancements, additional public docks to support tourism, and ensuring our water supply remains safe for our citizens. ​ ​Finally, I believe your City officials should be more transparent in all their dealings and should keep the people of Augusta informed on the issues. If elected, I would write citizen updates, posted in the paper and on the City’s website, so Augusta residents would fully understand the issues that come before the Mayor and City Council. ​I first came to Augusta in 1975 when my family bought property here and it was love at first sight. So much so that upon my retirement from the Army, after traveling the world, my wife and I chose to make Augusta our home. I ask for your vote on November 6th!