PHOTO FROM FACEBOOK
A new group, “Snow Hill Now,” describes itself as a “non-partisan group of Snow Hill Residents striving to engage the community in helping the town to thrive and grow.”

By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(Jan. 31, 2019) Snow Hill Resident Edward Lee has formed a new group, Snow Hill Now, to help recruit candidates for the upcoming election on May 7.

“It’s a nonpartisan group of residents that have come together to engage the community in helping the town to thrive and grow. That’s who we are,” he said. “Why we’re doing this, is we want to ensure that forward-thinking candidates are encouraged to run for office in the upcoming election.”

Lee said Mayor Stephen Mathews agreed to add the town’s 2025 strategic plan to the agenda for an upcoming work session, adding that the plan should be “a baseline for discussion” going forward.

“It will give the residents and candidates – candidates in particular – an idea of what it is that we should be doing to revitalize and create a new birth for Snow Hill,” Lee said. “That’s non-confrontational and we do not want to be confrontational – it’s not our purpose to say anything about anyone in government, only what we’re looking for from government.

“We want to create an opportunity for candidates to come before the people of Snow Hill and let them know our expectations,” he added.

So far, Lee said, public response to the group’s activities has been good.

“We’re very pleased,” he said. “There’s going to be a town hall meeting on Feb. 6 at the Snow Hill Middle School, and we’re inviting all residents – this is not for candidates, this is for residents – to come to let them be heard of what their ideas are, what’s their input to moving Snow Hill to its next level,” Lee said.

He said the town hall is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. Lee also encouraged residents to join the “Snow Hill Now” group on Facebook.

“I’m excited about the people who are coming together and their belief in that we can make a difference – and the courage, it takes courage,” he said.

“The thing that I would want to encourage is participation in the electoral process for Snow Hill for this coming election,” Lee continued, “and to let candidates know … you don’t have to be a Rhodes Scholar to be a candidate – you have to be concerned, you have to have commitment to people and understand it’s people’s government that you represent. That’s what we want to do – we want people to be involved and get involved in their government, and to have a say in their government.”