MONROE - One more candidate has decided to challenging Mayor Ron Marsh next April, and he feels he has youth on his side.
Tyler Schultz, 25, Monroe, took out nomination papers last week.
"We need to take a new direction - something different than the last 16 years," Schultz said, in a telephone call to the Times Thursday.
Schultz will be up against former mayor Bill Ross who announced his decision to run on Nov. 30. Ross served as mayor from 1994 to 2006.
"(Ross) has more experience, obviously," Schultz said. "But problems in town stem from more than four years ago."
Marsh, who served as mayor after Ross, from 2006 to 2010, has not announced his decision to run for a third term.
Becoming a first-time home owner in 2006 solidified his feeling that Monroe needed new ideas, Schultz said.
"Higher taxes in the current economy, the talk of more utility taxes, and expanding the boundaries of Business Improvement District, which will draw its tax levy from more business owners. I'm not happy about that," he said.
Being much younger than his opponents and still single, Schultz said many people who know him were "shocked" to find out he was attempting to run for Mayor.
"They thought I was too young to try to tackle such an obstacle," he said.
But Schultz is determined and finds his age to be a plus for him.
"I'm willing to run and willing to listen to taxpayers and the council. And we have a large retirement population on a fixed income who shouldn't have to work to pay for taxes," he said.
Schultz has his own ideas to spur economic development in Monroe, he said.
"Oh, yeah," he said. "For so long we have been losing jobs and more businesses are laying off. We don't need any more retail businesses and food (restaurants). We need to get more manufacturing jobs back up and running."
Living and working in Monroe is not an option for many of Monroe's youth, Schultz said.
"Kids graduate and never come back," he said. "Friends of mine drive to Madison, or (like) another friend elect to live in Juda, because it's cheaper. Not many live and work in the city," he said.
Raised in Monroe, Schultz himself has found employment outside Monroe, but he came back to live in the city.
"This is where I was born," he said. "It's my home town, it's hard to leave."
Tyler Schultz, 25, Monroe, took out nomination papers last week.
"We need to take a new direction - something different than the last 16 years," Schultz said, in a telephone call to the Times Thursday.
Schultz will be up against former mayor Bill Ross who announced his decision to run on Nov. 30. Ross served as mayor from 1994 to 2006.
"(Ross) has more experience, obviously," Schultz said. "But problems in town stem from more than four years ago."
Marsh, who served as mayor after Ross, from 2006 to 2010, has not announced his decision to run for a third term.
Becoming a first-time home owner in 2006 solidified his feeling that Monroe needed new ideas, Schultz said.
"Higher taxes in the current economy, the talk of more utility taxes, and expanding the boundaries of Business Improvement District, which will draw its tax levy from more business owners. I'm not happy about that," he said.
Being much younger than his opponents and still single, Schultz said many people who know him were "shocked" to find out he was attempting to run for Mayor.
"They thought I was too young to try to tackle such an obstacle," he said.
But Schultz is determined and finds his age to be a plus for him.
"I'm willing to run and willing to listen to taxpayers and the council. And we have a large retirement population on a fixed income who shouldn't have to work to pay for taxes," he said.
Schultz has his own ideas to spur economic development in Monroe, he said.
"Oh, yeah," he said. "For so long we have been losing jobs and more businesses are laying off. We don't need any more retail businesses and food (restaurants). We need to get more manufacturing jobs back up and running."
Living and working in Monroe is not an option for many of Monroe's youth, Schultz said.
"Kids graduate and never come back," he said. "Friends of mine drive to Madison, or (like) another friend elect to live in Juda, because it's cheaper. Not many live and work in the city," he said.
Raised in Monroe, Schultz himself has found employment outside Monroe, but he came back to live in the city.
"This is where I was born," he said. "It's my home town, it's hard to leave."