Terry Dalton is seeking a third term on the Stuart Town Council.
Dalton is among three candidates seeking three seats. Rebecca Adcock also is an incumbent, and newcomer Jeff Houchins is seeking a first term.
A Stuart resident since 2000, Dalton, 54, said he decided to seek reelection because of his love for the community.
“I enjoy the town of Stuart and I enjoy living here. I like the community and the council itself. We don’t argue, fuss, or fight,” he said.
During his tenure on the board, Dalton said he’s most proud of the consistently balanced budget.
“We’ve been able to save money and we’ve been able to make the town work with what we have – with the budget that we have,” he said.
He said this is possible because every council member shares the same common goal of staying within the parameters of the budget and not wasting money.
“We work together and they’re very frugal. We don’t go buy new equipment and we don’t waste money,” he said.
Dalton noted these fiscal restrictions allow the council to further help the community through donations. The council regularly donates to the Patrick County Music Association (PCMA), the Caring Hearts Free Clinic, Spooktacular, and other organizations, and provides funds to host the annual Strawberry and Apple Dumpling Festivals.
Another accomplishment Dalton is proud of is the town’s small employee turnover rate.
“We have employees that have been employed for a long time, which is a good sign of what we’re doing because we’ve had employees be with the town for around 40 years. It’s a sign that it’s a good place to work,” he said, adding the council recently gave all employees raises and started giving Christmas bonuses about five years ago.
In the future, Dalton said he wants the council to continue on with its doing regarding public work projects.
“We’re always doing water and sewer projects; those are the two big things we always work on. We’re working on some sidewalks to make it safer for people to walk and we’re trying to get some grants for that as well,” he said.
Dalton also wants to continue being transparent with town residents and getting their input on town matters.
“Transparency is everything. It’s not our money and it’s not our budget. They trust us to do the right things with the tax money. So, I’m 100 percent for transparency,” he said.
One thing he particularly likes about the council meetings is how open they are for the public.
“Nobody’s ever felt intimidated to come before our before, or nobody’s ever been embarrassed to come speak to our board. We make everyone feel welcome and we appreciate everyone’s opinion,” he said.
Dalton graduated from North Stokes High School in 1987 and from Surry Community College with a degree in Business Administration. Dalton attended Rhena College in OK for Youth Ministry.
Dalton has owned U.S. Safety, a fire security business, since 1993. The Daltons have owned Precious Clips in Patrick Springs since 2003 and Lucky Bones Country Club in Mt. Airy, NC for about eight years.
Dalton is also a manager at Wendy’s in Stuart, where he has worked for just over a year.
He’s volunteered with the Stuart Volunteer Fire Department since 2003 and obtained his Firefighter I and Firefighter II certifications.
Dalton previously served on the Patrick County Economic Development Authority (EDA) for 10 years.
He and his wife, Debbie Dalton, have been married since 1994. The couple have three daughters and four grandchildren.
In his limited free time, he enjoys riding his motorcycle and attending riding events.