Gilbreath: Building a city for our children to call home

All of us simply want to feel safe.

Safe at home. Safe at work. Safe at school. Safe while driving. Safe while shopping. Safe while spending time with our family and friends.

But how many of us who reside in Montgomery can honestly say we possess the sense of safety and security that is so fundamental to our basic human needs?

When Montgomery is thrust into national headlines by an armed eight-year-old who leads police officers on a high-speed chase in a stolen car, it offers solid evidence the city we call home is headed in the wrong direction.

Crime does not care if its victims are black or white or rich or poor. It does not care which neighborhood you live in, where you worship, or where you were born. It does not care that it hurts your property values and prevents jobs and businesses from locating here.

Too many among us have fallen prey to rampant crime while being told we must accept it as “just the way it is these days.” No crime is acceptable, and we cannot allow it to destroy the city we love.

I want to be able to sit on the corner of my children’s bed at night and not have our prayers interrupted by the sound of gunfire, and when they begin to drive in a few years, I want them to be able to stop at a stoplight without being approached and accosted by strangers.

That is why I am running for mayor of Montgomery.

The officers patrolling our streets need to know they have the support of their city leaders, and they must never feel the need to look over their shoulders when lawfully carrying out the duties they took an oath to uphold. 

Our citizens need to know that every action is being taken to protect them, their families, and property. 

And the criminals need to know they can no longer victimize their fellow Montgomerians without suffering the strongest consequences.

I am fully committed to providing the men and women of the Montgomery Police Department with the personnel, funding, equipment, and resources necessary to do their jobs as effectively as possible.

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Great neighborhoods across our city have fallen into disrepair, and the sense of connection our city’s residents once felt for each other seems to have waned, so I want to reinvigorate these areas and recruit new businesses and retail storefronts so the boards covering long-shuttered buildings may finally be removed.

Streets in many areas of our city have more seams than a patchwork quilt, and some seem to resemble the lunar surface with its many craters, all of which is yet another symptom of a city in decline.  

In order for a city to grow, thrive, and prosper, it must have the streets and infrastructure necessary to support commerce and industry and provide its residents with the quality of life they deserve.  

I will work with our city, county, state and federal officials to place a renewed emphasis on improving our roads, maintaining their condition, and restoring the lost beauty of our cityscape.

And while Montgomery has traditionally been known for providing outstanding city services, I believe we can do even more to enhance the experience not only for our taxpayers and residents, but also for our hardworking municipal employees who serve them.

Unprecedented numbers of our children and grandchildren are leaving Montgomery for places offering safer streets and better opportunities, and unless we adopt a bolder vision and a better plan, the steady stream flowing away from our city limits will soon become a tidal wave.

We can reverse this steady slide toward decline by electing a leader who is committed to ending crime, possesses the courage to make hard choices, and embraces an independent spirt pointing all of us toward a brighter tomorrow.

Montgomery can absolutely reach its potential and become a great city, but for the dream to become a reality, we must all stand tall together.

Barrett Gilbreath is a businessman and candidate for mayor of Montgomery. He’s a graduate of Jefferson Davis High School and Auburn University. He and his wife Ashley have three children.