Myers wins in first contested race since taking office

Republican voters in Greenwood want Mark Myers to continue his job as the city’s leader.

Myers is running for his third term as mayor. His opponent on the Republican ballot in Tuesday’s primary was an outspoken voice at public meetings and a long-time Greenwood resident who led a charge to return the rapidly changing city to its former glory in a fight for free enterprise.

Myers got 64 percent of the vote to Dale Marmaduke’s 38 percent.

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So far, no Democrat or Independent candidates have filed for the office, but the parties could slate a candidate to face Myers in the fall election.

“Being contested makes you aware of what the pulse of the city is,” Myers said. “(Now) I want to know what those people who voted for Mr. Marmaduke are thinking — what are their concerns, and how can I address those?

“I’m excited about the number of people who still showed out in support of me, my staff and the work that we’re doing.”

During the last seven years, the son of a former mayor helped revive downtown Greenwood by working to fill vacant storefronts, beautifying facades and improving city streets. He added jobs, attracted Fortune 500 companies such as Amazon to the outskirts of the growing city and built a staff he raves about.

In Greenwood, conversations have centered around future development, particularly downtown and on the southeast side of the city.

Redevelopment of the 16-acre middle school property is part of the mayor’s years-long $24.5 million plan to turn downtown Greenwood into a place to live, work and play. His hope is the area will eventually be home to more than 580 apartments and townhouses, 75,000 square feet of retail shops, restaurants and office space, 9.9 acres of open green space and include 1.9 miles of new or renovated streets.

He has said he wants all of that to come to fruition in the next five years.

Myers is open to industrial development in southeast Greenwood as long as it is attractive and brings new jobs, he said.

He wants to see the mixed-use development the city’s 20-year comprehensive plan calls for — multi-family and commercial right off the interstate followed by single-family homes to the east and higher-end estate-level homes farther out.

Myers would consider light industrial near the Interstate 65 and Worthsville Road interchange depending on the look of the buildings, he said.

He pushed for a 1 percent food and beverage tax the last six years in an effort to add more police officers and firefighters. Just last month, state lawmakers gave Greenwood the ability to impose such a tax. Public safety has been the mayor’s top priority since he took office, but staffing of both agencies has remained virtually the same.

Marmaduke is happy to have had the opportunity to get his message to the public, he said.

“What can I say? I was the underdog. It’s hard to beat an incumbent,” Marmaduke said. “But I’m happy.”

He encouraged Greenwood residents to dig and take everything the administrations says with a grain of salt, he said. He will continue to attend city meetings and encourage new directions, and serve his community as a volunteer, he said.

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Dale Marmaduke;36%

Mark Myers;64%

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