By William Smith
Community Editor
Antonio Bailey of Burlington knows how to lead.
As one of the founders of the Burlington Express semi-pro football team and a coach at the Burlington School District, Bailey is familiar with taking charge.
Bailey is seeking to use his leadership experience in a new role — on the Burlington City Council. He is one of six candidates seeking a seat on the council in November’s city election.
“I really have no set agenda. I want to see the city of Burlington thrive. It’s a beautiful city,” he said.
However, a lack of agenda doesn’t translate to a lack of opinion. There’s plenty of improvements Bailey would like to help implement – from improved sidewalks to more structured activity for youth.
“I’m a new face. A face that isn’t afraid to be upfront,” he said.
Bailey is the owner and operator of Express Mobile Details. He and his wife Stephanie have two children and met when she became his tutor at Southeastern Community College.
“I decided to run for city council at the last minute,” he said. “Everyone was telling me I should do it.”
Bailey has kept a mental checklist of city issues he would like to tackle. He suggested improving sidewalks by providing incentives for low-income residents and getting landlords to pitch in.
“Most of the people around here rent,” he said.
Bailey would like to see increased incentives to bring in more industry, increased police patrols, and more officers. Expanded hours for the Burlington Area Homeless shelter is another of his goals.
Bailey recently took in a homeless youth for the night. He was unable to get them into the shelter because it was after midnight.
He is also up for pursuing outside grant money for city development projects.
“I would like to see some of that grant money going to help our Farmers Market,” he said.
Bailey can’t wait to see the downtown redevelopment project funded through a national TIGER grant come to fruition in 2023. Bailey said he understands the hardship businesses along Jefferson Street will face, but the city needs to evolve.
“The TIGER grant is a beautiful thing for the city. It can be used to make downtown more presentable, which it was designed to do,” he said.
He is hoping increased advertising and signage can make up for some of the lost business.
“I would like to see it not interrupt business, but realistically, there’s no way to get around that. That’s a part of growing,” he said.
Though Bailey would like to increase police patrols, he doesn’t believe the crime and violence are nearly as bad as in other similar-sized cities throughout the nation. But being vigilant is important, and that’s where the importance of neighborhood watch and similar programs becomes evident.
“We have one of the best police forces I’ve seen anywhere,” he said. “It’s time for us as a community to take our neighborhoods back.”
Editor’s
note: This is part one of a six-part series profiling the city council candidates. There are six candidates vying for three open seats. In
Burlington, all city council seats are at-large, meaning anyone from
anywhere in the city may run for a seat on city council. The council
election is Nov. 2.