Former Parrottsville Mayor Mike Gilbert announces his candidacy for Cocke County Mayor, vowing to give local residents a second, less complicated chance to cast their votes for him. Gilbert said he has received many requests from supporters who voted for him in the 2006 General Election - as well as those who felt frustrated by the write-in ballot used in the last election for county mayor.

Looking back on his time as Mayor of Parrottsville, Gilbert said he takes great pride in his many accomplishments, including opening the town hall to the public and spearheading the building of the town's first park.

After taking office, Gilbert said he immediately began setting goals and working hard to see them materialize. His first goal, Gilbert said, was to bring back lost sales tax revenue. Gilbert said it was clear to him upon taking office that this revenue - uncollected by the town for many years - was crucial to the progress he envisioned for Parrottsville. After this was accomplished, Gilbert saw to it that Parrottsville got - not only its first park - but replacement of 80 percent of its sidewalks, all city streets repaved, and the size of its sewer system doubled. In addition, Gilbert was instrumental in helping to implement the town's first Christmas Parade and Parrottsville's annual Heritage Days Celebration.

Also, when the town hall burned, Gilbert coordinated the effort to rebuild it, adding a spacious meeting room to facilitate even more community involvement in decisions concerning Parrottsville.

With these and other accomplishments, Gilbert was still able to leave the town's coffers with a greater cash surplus than when he was elected - and all done without having to borrow money or impose a tax on the people of Parrottsville. Furthermore, Gilbert said he believes, to the best of his memory, that every grant he applied for was received - a testimonial to his ability to work closely and efficiently with state and federal agencies.

Gilbert acknowledges that the whole of Cocke County operates on a larger scale than does Parrottsville. "But I will work for Cocke County with the same principles - honesty and integrity - and the same hard work as I did for Parrottsville.

"With the current economy, it's not realistic to promise too much," Gilbert said. "But I will promise to give every resident of Cocke County straight talk, and I promise to be ready for the challenges ahead and to help provide jobs for our people as the economy recovers."

Finally, Gilbert said that he was very aware, leading up to the 2006 election, that the people of Cocke County were not happy, and were looking for a change in leadership.

"So many people have since told me how frustrated they were about the election, and urged me strongly to get my name on the ballot this time," said Gilbert. "To those people, I want to say, 'Nothing can get in the way of your being able to cast your vote easily, and for the candidates of your choice this time.

"Thank you for your support." -Mike Gilbert