Government : City Candidate Profile: Kord Sellers for Mayor of Vinton

Vinton Today asked our mayoral candidates, and the new council member candidates to submit a profile about themselves and to address any issues that they felt were going well, things that need to be improved, or goals that they would like to see accomplished in Vinton, and of course, anything else they'd like to share.

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I am a Vinton native with a wife, two sons (8 and 3,) and a dog that I love like a daughter. I work as a construction specification specialist for Tremco Roofing / RPM out of Cleveland. I also have a real estate license and work as a realtor through Coldwell Banker Hedges on the side. The majority of my day is spent chasing my kids around or working. When I do have a bit of free time I enjoy basketball, (watching the Milwaukee Bucks or playing a pick up game,) bowling, cryptocurrency/NFTs, or trying my hand at DIY. My extended family operates a few small businesses here in town
While I may go into discussions on changes that I would like to see, I think it is important to stay positive about what I already have. Vinton's people and Vinton's businesses do so much to make me feel at home. As far as things that I think are going well, there is no other place I'd rather be.
If I were elected mayor I would work toward the following:
1) Ordinance Review - There are a few specific ordinances I disagree with in general, (curfew restrictions, pole building restrictions, some construction requirements,) but my main goal is to determine the necessity of each ordinance and clarify language where required.

2) Fiscal responsibility - Moving toward best value procurement over lowest bid procurement is a major step I would like to see the city take. The State Auditor's most recent report made light of some issues with change orders, public hearings, and payments made without council approval. I would like to see more careful planning and less change orders after the bid process. Aside from that, I don't feel that the Mayor's primary employer should be able to bid on public projects. Even if every rule is followed, this still can create bad optics to the general public.

3) Better Transparency - I want our City Council agenda/minutes published to social media. I want our City Council meetings recorded and uploaded online to be viewed later. I want our public bid opportunities to be advertised as much as possible. I want no one to feel left out or unrepresented.