Oxford, Miss (May 7, 2013) – City of Oxford Mayoral Candidate Todd Wade said today that, if elected, he will not participate in any real estate development transactions in the City of Oxford.
“It is well known that Oxford’s current Mayor [George “Pat” Patterson] has a vast portfolio of student housing and business property,” Wade said. “It is important to Oxford to remove any question of whether our Mayor is using his public office for personal gain.”
Wade continued, “We must work harder to make sure that the public fully trusts the Office of Mayor and, regardless of actual impropriety or not, an outright prohibition on private real estate business dealings for the Mayor will remove any misperceptions and make it crystal clear to the public that I am here to serve them and them alone.”
“The Office of Mayor is privy to numerous city transactions that affect property values well ahead of private citizens, and I believe that policies such as these are necessary to safeguard the public’s trust. Numerous state and federal officials are required to place their assets in ‘blind trusts’ while in office, but such safeguards are rare at the local level.”
Wade continued, “I encourage my opponent to join me in this pledge to restore the public’s confidence. Public office is a privilege, not a right, and government should serve the people. A key to that service is trust, and we should hold ourselves to the highest standards in this area. This can only be proven to the people by open and clear policies that remove all doubt. Further, regardless of this election, I hope that our current Mayor will join me in this common sense pledge to raise the bar for Oxford.”
