With Mayor Jack Horton stepping down after two, two-year terms leading the Franklin Town Council, current Vice Mayor Stacy Guffey is throwing his hat into the ring for the 2025 election. After he announced last week on social media of his intentions, Macon Sense caught up with Guffey and posed a few questions.
Macon Sense: How long have you been in a public service capacity and what role(s) have you filled?
Stacy Guffey: I’ve been on the council since 2021. My first public service project was with the Little Tennessee River Greenway board when we were building the Greenway. So, I’ve been in public service now for almost 25 years.
I was the county planner for 4 and 1/2 years, have served and volunteered on dozens of projects and initiatives. And, along with the community, I helped start the Cowee School Arts and Heritage Center, where I served as project manager for several years.
Currently, I’m the Senior Program Manager at NCGrowth, UNC Chapel Hill. In that role, I manage economic development, job creation, and business expansion projects in the 17 western counties of the state. This region has given so much to my family for generations, I figure public service is an opportunity to give back.
MS: How do you feel you have contributed thus far? How has your time and opportunities contributed positively to Macon County and especially Franklin?
S.G.: If you talk to my colleagues on the council, I think they’d tell you hard work is what I’ve contributed so far. I take the role and my obligation to the people of Franklin seriously and I put in the time.
Over the years of my public service, I’ve developed relationships locally, regionally, and statewide that are beneficial to the work we’re doing here. And, I’ve learned how complex public projects are and how long they sometimes take and how to navigate [through them]. Because we have a board that works well together and a professional staff, since I came on board, we’ve accomplished a lot.
MS: How do you intend to conduct business from the mayor’s chair that might add to or improve how things have been done previously?
S.G.: Mayor Horton has set a great example of how to lead from the mayor’s position. Jack has guided our board in a professional and even-tempered manner. He was the driver behind the commitment to civility that we all agreed to and were awarded for earlier this year. Jack knows that to get things done, we have to get along. I plan to continue our work in that manner.
For me, our role as public servants is not to argue politics or grandstand – it’s to get to work and get things done for the benefit of the people who live here.
MS: In general, how do you view your approach and priorities different from those of others who may choose to run for mayor also?
S.G.: Maybe I’m old fashioned this way, but I believe public service is a calling. My grandfather was a preacher. I saw him visit the sick, take care of the grieving, volunteer to help the elderly and the needy, and many other acts of service. I knew at an early age I wanted to serve like he did.
I can’t claim to live a life as righteous as he did but he, along with the rest of my family, instilled the drive to serve. That drive to serve, the experience I’ve gained, and my focus on the future generations of our town are the things that set me apart from another candidate.