Candidate for Gray Town Council:
Richard "Dick" Walls By
Elizabeth Prata
Dick Walls retired from Chrysler Financial in 1998.
Formerly the Customer Service Manager and Credit Manager,
Walls credits his experience there as teaching him
how to be patient, a good listener, fair-minded, how
to empower people, consensus building and team building.
A widower, Walls lost his wife Shirley after a long
battle with cancer in 2005. He has five grown children
and seven grandchildren, and is active in his church,
serving on the Finance Committee, Building Committee,
and Fundraising Committee.
Walls said his top three concerns are to control taxes,
find a way to make taxes less burdensome on the people
with fixed incomes or who live paycheck to paycheck,
and continue the zero-based budgeting initiated by
this council this year.
"I've been held accountable for every aspect
in my life for all my life," Walls said. "Employees
and department heads should be held accountable, too."
He would draw on his past experience to help him on
the council with consensus building and resolution.
"In management, the more people you are involved
with, the more potential there is for conflict,"
Walls said. "I have learned to weed through,
listen and to come to a mutually satisfying resolution
for the people."
He said that there is a lot of concern in the community
that the council should come together in unity on
issues that are before the town and to not allow the
antagonism to get the better of the situation. Asked
how he plans to do this, he said, "By being open
inviting comment, and demonstrate that I will listen."
Walls said, "This council has started in a new
direction. I like what I see and I want to participate
in the process."
