Mayor Chuck Travis
July 21. By Dave Vieser. At the Cornelius Board of Commissioners meeting this week, a quartet of speakers came out to support Mayor Chuck Travis.
Travis has come under intense fire recently from both residents and commissioners for the way he has handled discussions regarding the toll lanes on I-77. He has been censured 5-0 by the board, and asked to resign as well.
“I don’t know all the varied conversations that have been held regarding the toll lanes,” said Michelle Hoverson, who moved from Huntersville to the Antiquity section three years ago. “There are people who I admire greatly that say the toll lanes are best for our community and our real estate values, while others say it’s not. Meanwhile, Mayor Travis has done many wonderful things for our community so I would encourage you to not relegate his tenure to one issue. Take into account the whole of his impact.” Hoverson is a pastor at Grace Covenant Church.
Tracy Gallagher from Cornelius voiced similar sentiments. “I came to the last meeting and was appalled by the treatment of Chuck. I understand the frustration with the interstate but this problem goes back long before his term as Mayor. It goes back to decisions made years ago when officials failed to make sure our infrastructure would be in place for our continued growth.”
Resident Janet Spain directed her comments at the commissioners. “Does anyone in this room tonight think for one minute that Raleigh and the DOT will drop a huge bag of money into our laps? For all the noise and trouble caused over this project, we would be at the very bottom of their list. Shame on you for asking for our Mayor’s resignation.”
The Mayor did not respond to any of the comments initially, but as the meeting was about to move on to the next calendar item, he addressed those who spoke:
“Thank you all for your support this evening. I know there’s been a great outpouring of support to my wife Janice and myself, and I appreciate you being here this evening. We’re going to do great things for this town.”
The next town board meeting where public comments is Monday August 1.
