Asheboro mayor opts not to run again

A tearful David Smith announced Sept. 5 that he will not seek re-election to another term as Asheboro mayor.

He took time early during the City Council’s monthly meeting to reveal his decision while the room was filled with people who were there for items on the agenda. Smith noted that by the end of meetings, the gallery can be nearly empty.

“I’ve been your mayor for 16 years and on the Council for 28 years,” he said. “It’s been the highlight of my life.”

In consideration of those who may be thinking of running for mayor, Smith said, “I will not be running again for mayor. It’s a pretty emotional time. Next year we’ll elect four Council members and the mayor. It’s time to step down.”

Later, near the end of the meeting, Smith said, “It’s been fun. I’ve got another year. It’ll be my farewell tour.” 

He will continue as mayor until after the 2025 municipal elections and turn over the gavel in December of next year.

Smith was first elected to the City Council in 1997 and served 12 years as a voting member. “I worked with Joe Trogdon one term and with David Jarrell for two terms,” he said. 

He was mayor pro tem under Jarrell before choosing to run for mayor in 2009 and Jarrell chose not to seek re-election.

During most of Smith’s years on the Council, John Ogburn served as city manager. “John and I have been a good team,” Smith said. The two of them along with city staff, he said, took “a city recognized as one of the fastest dying (in America) to a viable city with the best recreational facilities around.” 

In an interview on Sept. 6, Smith recounted the “Sixty Minutes” TV segment based on the Forbes Magazine story listing Asheboro as one of the four fastest dying towns in America. 

“Many of us knew that wasn’t true,” he said. “John and I made it our mission to let people know it wasn’t true, and to create in Asheboro a good, welcoming, tolerant community (that fulfills) our motto, ‘Exactly where you want to be.’ ”

Now, Smith said, he sees people regularly who have moved here from other states because “there is so much to do.”

Asked to name projects that he feels improved the city, Smith said his first project involved the development of Bicentennial Park in downtown Asheboro. “I had started a concert series at Frazier Park, brought in the musicians,” he said. But they began looking for another venue.

That was an industrial site downtown next to the railroad. City crews cleaned up the area, planted grass, built a stage, laid a sidewalk, created a fountain and brought in a clock. When it opened during the time of the Asheboro bicentennial in 1996, the new venue was designated Bicentennial Park.

Smith talked about building the skate park across the street from Memorial Park. People complain, he said, because “nobody ever uses it.”

The point for building the skate park, with state funds, was because skate boarders “were tearing things up,” including curbing and handrails. “We created the skate park to enforce rules about skating on private property.”

Other projects the city has completed during Smith’s tenure on the City Council include upgrades to Lake Lucas, with a cabin for people to check in for fishing and rowing. That came from state funds.

“We were trying to do things to make Asheboro noticeable and attractive and to complement the zoo,” Smith said. “We have art downtown on loan from the zoo. We have crosswalks and road signs (relating to zoo animals). We’re the home of the North Carolina Zoo and we should market that. It’s an asset nobody else in the state has and we need to capitalize on that. The zoo asked to be annexed into Asheboro and we’re good partners.”

The Cone Health Zoo City Sportsplex is another jewel in Asheboro’s crown, a recreational mecca with eight lighted fields with artificial turf, a playground, pickleball courts, beach volleyball, a walking trail and dog park. Smith said there were about 4,000 soccer players using the fields on Labor Day weekend and all the city staff did was keep things cleaned up and the bathrooms stocked. The tournament sponsor, Fusion, ran its own event and paid the city $8,800. Meanwhile, all the local hotel rooms were filled and local businesses had more sales.

In the future, the David and Pauline Jarrell Center City Garden is in the planning stage as grant funding is expected soon. “Green space is a finite resource,” Smith said, “and it’s historic property worth saving.”
Other improvements during the past 28 years are renovations to the Sunset Theatre, to create a “nice performing arts venue.” Smith said, adding that Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, Lonesome River Band and Sister Sadie were performing in a series called Zoo Grass.

Smith also mentioned major improvements to McCrary Park, the legendary baseball field used by the Asheboro ZooKeepers, American Legion teams and Asheboro High School baseball. Then there’s the Asheboro Recreation Center, a renovated McCrary Gym that’s now owned and used by the citizens of Asheboro.

During the Sept. 5 Council meeting, Smith said that he and Ogburn always thought they would retire together. Ogburn has announced that he’ll be leaving next March.

Smith said Ogburn has been one of the biggest influencers during his time on the Council. “He’s a planner and thinker. We have a great working relationship.

“John and I have worked hard to improve the quality of life,” he said. “We could do just the core services, pick up trash, provide water and sewer, police and fire protection, but that’s not what people want. It’s all about quality of life and bringing people to town to have fun and spend their money.”
Smith also gives credit to his parents for their influence.

“My dad was my biggest influencer. My mom and dad — Paul and Ola Smith — were my biggest fans.”
With Ogburn leaving and a couple of council members suggesting they may not run for re-election, Smith felt the time was right to step down. But he’s also not enjoying the job as much, saying that criticism of him is “more tiresome and worrisome than ever. I’m tired of reading it on Facebook. They need to walk a mile in my shoes before criticizing.

“I’ve always tried to do the best for the community,” Smith said, “but I’m not as patient and tolerant as I used to be. My father used to say, ‘Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but everyone is not entitled to his own facts.’

“Life’s too short. I’m going to take better care of myself.”