Jeremy Taylor big on referendum funding

Jeremy Taylor uses a leaky roof analogy when discussing what to do about various issues facing Waynesboro.
The leak might be small, but if not taken care of early on, eventually the roof will need to be replaced.
He said the city is in the position of having to overhaul its infrastructure because of past neglect.
“We need to make sure we keep our infrastructure up to par,” Taylor said.
Taylor is seeking the at-large City Council seat currently held by Frank Lucente. His top priority, he said, would be to ensure that the projects supported by voters in last fall’s bond referendum – a west-end fire station, stormwater projects and a library expansion – come to fruition.
“It’s not at all assured that they’re going to be completed, or that they’re going to be completed in a reasonable amount of time given what Mr. Lucente, for instance, has said in the past,” Taylor said. “One of my top priorities is going to be to see those through, to make certain that the voters’ will is honored and that these programs, these projects, are approached in the most effective, efficient manner, and we just get them done.”
Lucente’s past opposition to the projects, Taylor said, could pose a problem should Lucente get elected to the council, along with Ward B candidate Bruce Allen, a Lucente ally.
“We still could face a difficult problem going in if we get a majority on council that isn’t committed to seeing them through,” Taylor said.
He said he believes, as he has done on the board, that he can establish good working relationships with council members and work civilly to solve problems. He said the recent council discord has been a problem.
“A lot of voters have been coming to me in our conversations in an unsolicited kind of way to tell me, ‘Look, we just don’t like the bickering on the council,’” Taylor said. “We don’t believe that things are getting addressed the way they should be. There seems to be a divide between factions.”
Council members should discuss issues as “independent thinkers,” he said, but discuss them “fairly and fully” before reaching a decision.
Taylor said his experience on the city school board dealing with major issues would be an asset on the City Council.
“We bring our own ideas to the board, but we work together,” Taylor said.
He said his experience as a lawyer allows him to express his thoughts concisely and think linearally.
“I approach everything from a factual, sort of evidentiary perspective, and analyze everything in front of me and apply it to the decision that needs to be made,” Taylor said.