‘Enhance, not change’ Mayor’s goal
It was an anxiety-inducing race for incumbent Clinton City Mayor Scott Burton and opponent Stephen McNally, but in the end, Burton won his bid for re-election.
“Yeah, I was nervous,” Burton said. “Anytime you have a contested race, it’ll make you nervous. But I felt good. I love knocking on doors, and I think people really understood what we’ve been doing the past eight years.”
He looks forward to completing projects that he began during his term, from seeing the bridge completed — “a centerpiece of our town” — to big changes at Magnet Mills. Nov. 30 is the big day; that’s when everyone finds out whether the developer will purchase Magnet Mills or not. The city has stalled its legal action against the current Magnet Mills owners and hopes this sale will go through.
Burton’s goal: Make the city, and county as a whole, as investor-friendly as possible.
But, in a thoughtful, intentional way.
“Clinton is a beautiful place to shop and see friends, and hopefully have a bite to eat,” Burton said. “We need to enhance what we already have, not change it. I’m looking forward to seeing those things accomplished.”
He plans to continue his partnerships with Anderson County Chamber of Commerce’s president Rick Meredith, as well as with county officials and the tourism department, to see their vision come to life.
As for McNally: he may not be mayor, but he’s not done with this community.
“I felt strongly that this was the right time and race for me,” he said.
While he isn’t ruling out ever running for office again, he felt that this race was the best time “for the greatest impact.”
McNally runs the operation of super computers at Oak Ridge National Laboratories, something that takes up a big chunk of time. He enjoys his job.
“I’d have a hard time trading this to be a full-time public servant,” he said.
The office of mayor was intriguing to him as it isn’t full-time, but would allow him to have a say in what he believes is best for the community. He hasn’t ruled out serving on city boards or committees.
McNally and his wife, Christina, have two children, and are in the process of getting approved as foster parents. Christina was a teacher at Clinton Elementary but now stays home with her children.
It’s a passion they both share: improving the lives of children.
McNally was recently selected to be on the board of the Child Advocacy Center. When he was a child, he said, he had a strong network of friends and family to support him.
“It could have been different, though,” he said.
He and Christina want to be a blessing to other people. They connected with David and Natalie Erb this year through their efforts to build an inclusive playground.
“We wrote over 20 grant applications,” he said.
Together, the McNallys, the Erbs and others succeeded in establishing a playground in South Clinton that would be accessible to children with special needs or requirements.
“This is the community that raised me,” he said. “It’s the community I want to be a part of. We’re disappointed, but we’re not going to run and hide.”