By: Charles Romans
Carter County Times
Troy Combs has filed for reelection as mayor of Grayson. Combs has served approximately two-thirds of his current term, and filed as soon as he was able to do so. Before running and being elected to the office of mayor Combs served on the city council and said he enjoyed taking part in the process of local government.
“In those two years (as part of the council) I enjoyed being part of the process, and I became aware that someone needed to do more to address the concerns the city faced,” Combs said.
Because, he explained, the city was getting ready to face changes.
“We were going to have an exchange of leadership,” Combs clarified. “Because Mayor George Steele had made it clear that he was not going to run for reelection.”
Combs said at that time he had neither planned nor expected to run for the office of mayor.
“I would have been comfortable staying on city council,” he said. “But there was no indication that anyone was going to run for the office.”
This would of course leave something of an administrative vacuum and ultimately be bad for the city.
“It wasn’t so much political ambition as moral obligation,” Combs said of both his write in campaign for city council (to fill a void) and his filing to run for mayor.
During his time on the council, he said that he worked hard to understand the entire process, so he determined that when the city needed someone to step into a larger leadership role, he would do what the city needed done.
“I just knew someone needed to do it, and none of the other current council members had indicated a desire to run.”
Combs said that there were no ‘shock’ moments taking over as mayor of Grayson, but there was a learning curve that he, being a student of law, found fascinating.
“And the City of Grayson has been fortunate that there was no controversy in city government,” Combs said. “So, instead of being shocked in a bad way, I was more shocked in a good way because my council has been very easy to work with.”
One thing in his role as mayor that differed from being a council member was the responsibility to provide useful information to council, he said.
“The council has an obligation to learn about things that impact the city,” Combs said. “But the mayor has an obligation to inform them of those things to help them make good decisions.”
Combs said that he was aware of what his general duties would be going into the office of the mayor.
“But there are extra mayoral duties that aren’t listed,” he said. “There are things you don’t see in the statutes that govern the office of mayor. For example, I have to appoint people to these boards and commissions.”
For instance, the tourism commission was challenging, he said, due to the fact there were so many factors to address.
“They are a separate entity, but the city has a certain degree of oversight over the commission. We (the city) have to approve their budget, and I have to appoint people to be on the commission,” he said. “So, these extra mayoral duties kind of took me by surprise.”
The need to stay informed of current and changing state statutes by default also requires the mayor to be both researcher and teacher because that information needs to be gathered and applied to city government. Combs has a law degree and has been trained to understand and interpret statutes, but that does not always make his job easier when communicating that interpretation.
“It is surprising sometimes how resistant people can be to the information they need. And also, how resistant people are to even necessary change.”
Sometimes, Combs said, change is the best and most logical option. But change has to be implemented with respect for what precedes it.
Combs said that he has spent his first term dedicated to making Grayson better; and that is something that is always his first goal. He believes that his second term should continue along the same vein, with goals such as improving the city’s infrastructure, managing city projects while minimizing costs and keeping expenses at a reasonable level, and attracting businesses and individuals to the city.
“We want to bring all of our community partners together to improve the economy as well,” Combs said.
The future of Grayson is bright, Combs said, and he is determined to keep working to make the city a place where people want to work, live, and visit.
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
