Tom Causby
Three candidates are vying for mayor of Dalton.
They include Tom Causby, jason Burgin and Annalee Harlan Sims, who has been serving as an alderman.
Laura Orr and Pablo Perez are running against incumber Dalton School Board member John "Tulley" Johnson.
Sam Sanders and Jody McClurg are running again for school board.
Mayor candidate Tom Causby said, "I’m Tom Causby and I am running for Mayor for the City of Dalton. You deserve to know why: Our City is at war and in a fight for its life.
"In 2019 the City of Rome filed suit against the floorcovering industry, its suppliers, and ultimately the City by suing Dalton Utilities, and a class-action filed suit against the same Defendants. They sued us because of chemicals which leech, for the most part, from the 9,600-acre Land Application Site owned by Dalton Utilities we use to treat wastewater. Those chemicals, commonly called forever chemicals, flow into the Conasauga and ultimately into the drinking water of those downstream.
"Rome’s suit is settled; the class action case remains pending, but these are for us the tip of the spear of a problem that will not go away without us addressing it head on. It must be our priority to be proactive about ensuring we get out ahead of this, and potential future suits, in ways I look forward to having conversations with each of you about; that will take a lot more than 500 words.
"We have to do so because the estimates of what it would cost to totally eliminate the problem at the Land Application Site is near $1 billion. That’s not a typo, but a billion with a “b”. We have to do so because if we fail to handle it properly it means Dalton won’t be what it is today - a success story of entrepreneurship, domestic manufacturing, industry, art and culture-but a city at risk of going broke.
"We have to do so that we can do what I would really like to see this City do, grow. Grow downtown, by expanding its footprint along Morris Street and to the north. Grow it by emphasizing projects to make the city more walkable. Grow it by fast-tracking the Greenway to Haig Mill lake. Grow it by continuing to encourage small businesses. Grow it by not only making this a community where people visit-but by making it more appealing so that the world-class talent our Industries attract want to not just make this where they live but to make it their home. Grow it by making all of our citizens feel like this place is their home regardless of which part of it they live in. I’m for Dalton, I’m willing to fight for it, and I know that you all are too."
Click here to see the list of qualified candidates in Whitfield County.