"Kevin Drum’s candidacy for mayor declines to pander to the noise by making a promise that resonates with a vast majority of Pinehurst’s residents. He will “fix” what actually is broken. He is committed to restoring transparent governance, which has vanished here in recent years. He will repair damaged relationships with surrounding municipalities to engender collaboration on long-term planning. Kevin will reopen Pinehurst’s lines of communication with state legislators and government agencies, including the Department of Transportation without whom no progress will be made on dispersing traffic volume. As mayor, Kevin will focus on reunifying the Village Council, setting goals and priorities based on responsiveness to public input, and promoting vibrancy within our village throughout the year. No candidate is more qualified than Kevin to advocate for Pinehurst as mayor." __________________ "Three candidates are running for mayor in Pinehurst. Jeff Morgan and Patrick Pizzella are current, elected members of the Pinehurst Village Council who entered the mayoral race last Spring only two years into their four-year terms. If Morgan or Pizzella would be elected mayor, one will abandon his council seat with two years remaining. What happens next? A newly seated council is tasked with appointing a willing citizen who would serve out the two years. As a practical matter, that means the council will have one member going forward who was not elected, and who has not been vetted by Pinehurst residents. Mayoral candidate Kevin Drum was elected to the village council in 2017. He fulfilled his obligation to voters. He served on council for a full term, four years. Drum’s record of volunteer service to groups that do the hard work in the shadows is exemplary. He was a member of teams that authored the Pinehurst 40-year Land Use Plan, and developed updated historic Village guidelines. His qualifications to be mayor are unrivaled. And remember this: If Drum is elected mayor, Morgan and Pizzella will remain on the village council to do the jobs they were elected to do in the first place. A council with that trio’s skill sets, and two newly elected members, will be a force behind many positive outcomes in Pinehurst in the crucial years ahead." __________________ "I have reviewed information associated with three candidates for mayor of Pinehurst. My conclusion is that I have a clear choice between now and November 7. I am voting for Kevin Drum. All three candidates are accomplished men with varying professional experiences. Simply put, Drum’s lifetime of professional and volunteer accomplishments have amounted to perpetual training to become Pinehurst’s mayor at this very moment in time. Drum has made great decisions along the way. Not only did he launch a golf consulting business as the sport was expanding around the world, he deliberately based it in one of the few places in the world entirely associated with golf’s heritage and evolution — Pinehurst. Growing up here made that choice a no-brainer for Drum. He also looked around his hometown for ways to serve, and he pursued them with energy. Drum was thinking about the future of Pinehurst that today is our here and now. That’s why decision makers have access to a 40-year Land Use plan. That’s why Pinehurst Elementary School was rebuilt in the heart of the village, where it belongs. That’s why the Given Library and Tufts Archive “now” belong to our village as a treasured asset. That’s why during his four-year term on the Village Council, “ he helped broker a deal to” bring the U.S. Golf Association headquarters to Pinehurst, and eventually golf’s U.S. Hall of Fame."
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