White seeks election as Rutherford mayor
The following announcement is paid for by the candidate.
Robert H. “Bob” White is announcing that he is seeking election as mayor of the Town of Rutherford.
“I have been a citizen of Rutherford for 63 years and raised three sons here, David White of Collierville, Terry White of Springdale, Ark. and Barry White of Rutherford,” Bob White said.
Barry oversees the farming operation, giving White, who is retired, the time to perform the duties of mayor.
“My leadership and experience includes the University of Tennessee at Knoxville staff member and Tennessee National Guard for 42 years,” White said. “I was mayor of Rutherford for four terms and spent 20 years on the board of aldermen. I taught vocational agriculture and coached junior high basketball for 32 years in the Gibson County school district.”
White has also organized many youth programs, which include peewee basketball and football. He worked alongside Dennis Warren and Lela Belle Baier, who was chairperson of Jones Volunteer Park, in cooking barbecue shoulders to be sold during the week of Davy Crockett Days to build and support Jones Volunteer Park.
White served on the Rutherford Board of Aldermen from 2008 to 2013. During that time, Rutherford obtained grants, which included a sewer extension grant for $140,000, $110,000 for all new equipment inside the water plant, and $288,000 to rework the sanitary system at no cost to the citizens. In 2001, he donated one acre of land for the $595,000 water tank.
“I will work all I can to obtain new businesses in Rutherford, which will increase the tax base from the state,” White said. “I will work with the board of aldermen to apply for grants to benefit the citizens.
“The past years while I was alderman and mayor, the property tax rate and water bill did not increase. During this administration, the property tax rate and water bill did increase. There will be another increase in January for the water bill rate because this administration caused the water department to go in the red. The water and sewage must be self-supportive with the use of no other funds.
“If I am elected as your mayor, I will strive to keep the rates from increasing during my administration by using a new budget.
“As mayor, I worked with the railroad authority to tear down the eyesore grain building. This building was a fire hazard as well as a danger to children playing in the old building. The building now has been torn down, the ground leveled, and grass sown that will last.
“Under my mayoral administration, new equipment has been purchased to replace the 32-year-old equipment the maintenance workers were using, including a new tractor and a new backhoe, with no increase in taxes. I think with the help of the board of aldermen, our town is more attractive now by keeping the ditches clean and mowed by the new equipment.”
White said that if he is elected as mayor, he will work with the aldermen and for the citizens of Rutherford in keeping the town looking beautiful.
“With the experience and knowledge I have and for the love of our town, I respectively ask for your vote in the upcoming Nov. 3 election,” White said.
