Editor’s note: The general election for city and school district offices is Tuesday, Nov.7. In anticipation, ThePerryNews.com asked each candidate for a Perry city or school district office to answer a few questions in order to give voters a sense of who the candidate is and what issues motivate him or her. These candidate profiles will be published over the coming days. Interested voters might also wish to attend a candidate forum for the mayor and city council candidates, scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 10 ay 6:30 p.m. at the Perry Public Library.
Sir A. W. Adams II is running for mayor of Perry. Adams lives at 1627 Willis Ave. in Perry. He can be reached at 515-726-0847 of sirawadams@gmail.com.
1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself, Sir. What do you want voters to know about you, your qualifications, your intentions as an officeholder?
My name is Sir Adams. I am 39 years old. I currently work at Woodward Resource Center as a resident treatment supervisor. I have been there for over 1 and 1/2 years. I received my associate of liberal arts degree from Iowa Western Community College and am pursuing my bachelor’s degree in psychology. I currently have two daughters attending Perry Elementary School and a daughter who graduated from Perry High School. I also have three other daughters who live out of town. As an officeholder, I would ensure our city ordinances are followed and fair if elected.
2. Why are you running for elected office? Is it something that you have done before? Are other forms of public service a part of your background?
I am running for mayor because Perry needs fresh and new ideas in city government. Our city government needs a blend of the younger and older generations. I haven’t held a city office before, but I was student council president in college for my last year and student council treasurer the year back. As student council president, I initiated the first college campus spring break trip and campus summer carnival for the community and college families.
3. Are there particular issues that you believe are urgent or important and are facing the residents of Perry? If so, what issues are these? How to you think the city council can address or resolve these issues?
A critical issue that Perry’s residents face is the decrease in retail and entertainment stores. We are losing many of our small businesses around town, which concerns younger families leaving Perry. The mayor and city council can address this issue by working together to bring some attraction to the town of Perry. If elected, I would work on expanding the recreation department by building a community center equipped with entertainment for all generations and bringing an aquatic center to our town. The community center would include arcade games, shuffleboards, pickleball and many other activities. Bringing some of these attractions back to the community would make people want to stay in Perry, making businesses remain.
4. What do you envision as the future of Perry? In what direction would you like to lead the town?
My vision for the future of Perry is to be a town that everyone is talking about and wants to see. I know we have the beautification project currently going on, which is a step in the right direction, but if we don’t have people within the community or businesses, then that project fails.
