Ken Hymes, an IT Program/Product Manager and 23-year resident of Smyrna, has launched his campaign to become Smyrna’s next mayor. Speaking to a large and enthusiastic crowd of supporters gathered at the Vineyard Wine Market in Smyrna on Saturday, he shared his reasons for entering the race and his vision of what his administration will work to achieve for the Smyrna community.
“I'm pleased to be living here in this bright, vibrant community. But no community is perfect. We've got some things we want to change, and we want to talk a little bit about that today,” said Hymes. He said he wanted to give the attendees three takeaways: to know more about him personally, to know why he’s running and to know what he envisions the future of Smyrna will look like when he’s mayor.
He began by talking about growing up as a child in a military family and how his family’s moves to various locations around the country affected him and enriched his life. He recalled coming to Atlanta in his teens and deciding he wanted to go to Morehouse College, which he later attended.
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He went on to give some of his reasons for wanting to be mayor. “Look around you, we have a lot of unfinished projects in Smyrna. We have the Windy Hill corridor, the downtown redesign, the brewery, the park we are funding for the brewery, a proposed arts district, the South Cobb Drive Corridor Improvements, and soon there’ll be another project if the Council approves the purchase of the First Baptist Church. Many of these projects have caused a lot of community disruption, community divisiveness, and of course, caused our tax dollars to disappear in ever increasing amounts.”
“I'm a project manager, which means someone gives me a job, says here's your target, here's some resources, some people, some products, and services. Here’s your budget. So, I structure the team and the processes that are going to allow me to achieve the objective. And that's one of the major professional skills that I will bring to the city as your mayor. It's about starting with a realistic comprehensive vision, then planning, budgeting, and delivering the finished project on time and on budget. That is not what we are seeing with the current administration.”
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Another change he wants to make is to be a mayor that involves the community in decision making and to be a mayor that can be trusted. “I'm running because I believe that integrity and trust in your city leadership are non-negotiable.” The crowd cheered this remark as they did many others Hymes made in his speech.
After Hymes’s speech, one Smyrna resident commented, “I am overjoyed that he has stepped into the race because I believe he is trustworthy and will listen to the residents of Smyrna when making plans. I have lived in Smyrna many years and have never put a political yard sign in my front yard, but I will today.”
Hymes is challenging the one term incumbent mayor, lobbyist Derek Norton and retiree Alex Backry.
More about Mr. Hymes’ campaign can be found at Hymes4Smyrna.com.
Smyrna’s municipal election is November 7, 2023.
Committee to Elect Ken Hymes
3316-A South Cobb Drive, Ste 146
Smyrna GA 30080
