Business people have asked me to run for Mayor of Monroe because they are concerned about issues that are having a negative financial impact on our city.

Business and community leaders feel that we must make changes now and address the financial issues at hand or we are at risk of failing like other cities have failed.

The politicians talk about temporary surplus fund balances to take the "sunshine" off of debt, new taxes and fee hikes needed to maintain politics for personal gain.

My experience in business leads me to agree with the assessment that the ratio of Monroe's debt-to-revenue is not sustainable because of the ten year decline in population and jobs.

I am a candidate because these issues are so urgent. I am looking at this campaign for Mayor of Monroe as a major community effort.

We can begin to fix the problems if we have new leadership at City Hall. I say we because it will take a team effort to address the problems we face. I hope you will be a part of that team.

Media and Legislative audit reports show:

- Flooding continues because we have no long-range drainage plan,
- Payroll fraud in the engineering department,
- Misappropriation and theft of taxpayer money,
- Possible non-compliance with bond covenants,
- The airport project is over budget and will cost millions more to fix and finish.

These issues (and many more) are symptoms of a very serious leadership problem at City Hall.

We can begin to fix the problems if we have new leadership at City Hall. I say we because it will take a team effort to address the problems we face. I hope you will be a part of that team.

Dr. Ray Armstrong

For a Better Monroe Future