Putnam County Mayor Randy Porter is prioritizing infrastructure improvements and quality of life initiatives for local youth following his re-election victory.
Porter said the county currently maintains a strong financial position despite national economic challenges such as inflation and rising gas prices. Porter said he remains optimistic about the future of the community because of the resilience of its citizens.
“I’ve always had a servant’s heart for the people in Putnam County and basically my whole adult life I’ve served them in one way or another from EMS, 911, and now county mayor and it’s just very humbling and I’m so appreciative of the people for electing me to serve for four more years,” Porter said.
Porter said the county must focus on road projects that fall under the jurisdiction of the Tennessee Department of Transportation. Porter said local officials need to coordinate with the state to ensure existing projects are completed and new ones are initiated.
“We’ve got to keep it on infrastructure Larry,” Porter said. “You know as as we talked in your forum, there is a lot of the roads in in the Putnam County and the city that are T-DOT roads that we have no control over. We’ve got to continue to work with T-DOT to try to get some of those projects going and get some of the ones that are in in operation to get them finished.”
Porter said the next four years will also involve evaluating new recreational opportunities for young people. Porter said providing activities beyond traditional sports is a key component of maintaining a high quality of life.
“And we’ve got to make sure that we give the best quality of life that we can give for our citizens here and that probably means looking at more things for children and our youth to do in Putnam County other than sports and there’s just a there’s a list there that I think we’re going to look at going through the next four years and do everything we can to keep Putnam County great,” Porter said.
Porter said his approach to public service is modeled after the philosophy of former Sheriff Jerry Abston. Porter said he views his daily interactions and efforts to help people as a continuous form of campaigning that does not end after the polls close.
“I am campaigning the next day after the election the same way I was the day before the election, not asking for people for their vote, but being respectful and trying to help folks and everything and that’s that’s what I’ve done my whole twelve years and plan to do the next four years,” Porter said.
Porter secured 77.6 percent of the vote to earn his next term in office.
