If I Were Mayor For A Day, I Would Start Here…..

I wrote about this idea a while back but as a gymnasts might say, I must not have stuck the landing. No one said, “Now that’s brilliant.” I thought I’d try it again. I can’t put away the thought that it is unrealistic to think we can fix this financial crisis with those who created it in the first place, knowingly or unknowingly.

I can do a lot of things and so can you, but in my case, I can’t figure how much to leave for a tip. You see what I am saying here? We are not given all the gifts, but together, ah……..Not everyone on the Council is a financial wizard. So let’s find some people who are.

If I were mayor for the day I would pick up the phone and call the leaders of Rocky Mount’s strongest institutions and ask them to gather in one room at City Hall at one o’clock on a weekday afternoon for an initial meeting. No cameras. No speeches. No politics. Just practical leadership to become the advisors we need.

I would ask Pfizer to send its top operational and financial minds. I would ask Cummins. UNC Health Nash. Boddie-Noell. Honeywell. Corning. Eagle Transport. ABB. Rocky Mount Mills, all to do the same.

These companies and institutions are filled with people who every single day manage budgets larger than many municipal departments, oversee complicated logistics, direct thousands of employees, recover from crises, plan years ahead, and understand accountability because they live by it. City staff would be at their disposal for the records they will need.

And I would say something simple:

“We need your help.”

Not because government should be turned over to business leaders. Not because elected officials should surrender authority. But because Rocky Mount has extraordinary leadership a phone call away, and practical leadership is needed right now.

Our solutions thus far have led to fisticuffs in the hallway.

Pfizer’s Rocky Mount facility has shown the nation what resilience and recovery look like. Cummins manages complex manufacturing systems with precision and discipline. UNC Nash operates around the clock in an environment where mistakes matter and efficiency saves lives.

Boddie-Noell has spent decades building businesses rooted in this community. Eagle Transport understands logistics, fleet management, and operational costs in ways most municipalities never will. Honeywell and ABB live in the world of systems, infrastructure, measurement, and modernization. Rocky Mount Mills took what once seemed forgotten and transformed it into possibility with great imagination.

These are not abstract corporations. These are institutions filled with experienced men and women whose employees live here, raise children here, worship here, volunteer here, and hope for this city’s future just like the rest of us.

If I were Mayor for a day, I would ask them to become a temporary civic council to concentrate on the financial business of the city until they solve the problem.

I would place financial reports at their disposal. Infrastructure needs. Utility challenges. Deferred maintenance. Staffing realities. Long-term obligations. Then I would ask the people in that room what successful organizations ask every day:

What is working?
What is failing?
What can be fixed now?
What must change long term?

Because the truth is, Rocky Mount does not lack intelligence. It does not lack talent. It does not lack capable people. Some of the finest operational minds in North Carolina drive through this city every morning on their way to work.

The strongest communities are not the ones that pretend nothing is wrong. They recognize the assets around them. In this scenario, when I ask, as mayor, you know these leaders will respectfully come to see me and help.

We all know Rocky Mount is worth saving. But not through anger.
Not through blame. Not through endless political division, which in 2026 is ridiculous, but is what we still have going on.

How about experienced financial people sitting around the table, looking at reality, and deciding what is to be done in order that the keys of the city are given back to us.

I’ll say it again, Rocky Mount ‘ain’t happening’ unless it is happening for everyone. Black nor white can succeed alone, but together, we can become be a poster child city on the East Coast of NC.

The time this civic council will need will be determined as they tackle the work. From the generosity of their leadership and expertise, they will get to the bottom of what must be fixed in quick order I’m sure.

We don’t need the State to come in if we can show that the work that is needed is in the hands of the most capable leaders we have. I’m sure the citizens would welcome this solution and trust qualified action and decisions that they make on our behalf.

If I were Mayor for a day, this is where I would start by making these phone calls.