Joey Wiginton wants to see Tallassee thrive.
He moved to Tallassee from Montgomery about 30 years ago with his wife Nancy.
“We wanted to get out to find a place to raise our children,” Wiginton said. “All five of our children graduated from Tallassee schools with a great education. It served as a great launching pad for them.”
Wiginton believes Tallassee is a great place to live and raise a family. He has announced his intentions to qualify for the office of mayor in Tallassee. He wants to promote what the town has to offer, improve quality of life while also improving infrastructure and recruiting small businesses.
“I just feel like there's not enough vision in this town,” Wiginton said. “I want to see downtown grow. From there I think the rest of Tallassee will grow too.”
It all begins with quality of life for Wigington. He believes Tallassee is in the perfect location with Lake Martin to the north, the Tallapoosa River running through its city limits and close proximity to Montgomery, Auburn, Wetumpka and Alexander City.
Wiginton believes Tallassee does a good job when someone approaches the city about locating a business in the city limits.
“We're very accommodating when somebody calls and says, ‘Hey, I'd like to open a pizza place,’” Wiginton said. “That's great, but we don't go to the people that might have a business idea and say, ‘Hey, we got a place just for you.’”
Wiginton wants to see the city do a better job at connecting those with business ideas with property owners willing to rent or sell to bring growth to town, especially downtown. He has put his money where his mouth is as a new co-owner of the Mt. Vernon Performing Arts Center.
“Downtown Tallassee is the cornerstone,” Wiginton said. “This building is one of the cornerstones. We got to get downtown revitalized. That's where my first focus is going to be.”
Wiginton envisions people walking around downtown going into boutiques, antique stores, ice cream shops and more.
“When people see that, they think about moving here,” Wiginton said. “When we get people moving here and spending money, we will have more funds for infrastructure.”
Wiginton said there are many who work in Tallassee’s industries, such as engineers, but live in Auburn and Pike Road. He believes they are looking for activities for family and children and it begins with a downtown atmosphere.
“I believe Tallassee is a place that people want to come and live,” Wiginton said. “But they want more things to do.”
Wiginton sees retired military personnel as a way to help grow Tallassee.
“There are some with lake homes already,” Wiginton said. “Some are looking for a working retirement.”
Wiginton is hopeful the new planned recreation center, mostly funded by the Elmore County Commission will help too. He believes it will give needed activities for children and adults.
Wiginton believes Tallassee has potential for tourism. He sees a kayaker coming to town for the weekend going down the Coosa River one day, the Tallapoosa River below the Fitzpatrick Bridge the next day and going to Montgomery Whitewater Park the next.
“I don't know of any other place you could do that at,” Wiginton said. “We have three different venues to do it at. We gotta showcase that.”
Tallassee City Schools can also help grow the town. Wiginton said when you look at places like Auburn, Hoover and beyond, people move there because of K-12 education. He believes the school system is good and with improving test scores, the city can do more to help highlight Tallassee schools.
Wiginton spent 39 years at Faulkner University in student services, admissions and fundraising. He believes the skills he learned along the way would translate well to helping Tallassee.
“I don't have all the answers,” Wiginton said. “I don't, but I love getting smart people together and picking their brain and letting them come up with the answers. That comes from the education world. You set a committee or a task force and charge them with a job. This is a project we would like to do and this is the amount of money we have. ‘Y'all help us figure this out.’”
Wiginton has shared many of the ideas with friends and family. It was them who encouraged him to run for mayor, even after being defeated for a city council spot about 25 years ago.
“When I retired I started thinking about what I wanted to do when I grow up.” Wiginton said. “Then somebody mentioned, ‘Joey, you ought to run for mayor.’ It just sort of planted that seed. I decided that's what I wanted to do.”
Wiginton will officially kick off his campaign for mayor at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Restoration 49.