Four candidates running to fill the vacant seat on Roswell City Council say smart economic development would be their top priority if elected.
Sarah Beeson, Jason Miller, Mulham Shbeib and Allen Sells are competing to fill the Post 1 seat vacated by former Councilman Marcelo Zapata, who resigned in June due to medical reasons.
In conversations with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the candidates voiced similar objectives to Mayor Kurt Wilson and City Council members. They want to help draw more development to Roswell and say that it’s vital to the city’s ability to compete with surrounding cities. The contenders discussed different ideas on how to reach that goal.
Credit: Courtesy Sarah Beesom
Credit: Courtesy Sarah Beesom
Beeson, who is working on a doctorate degree in city planning, said her background in that field and working on infrastructure projects at her family’s Roswell-based consulting firm give her an important perspective on the city’s growth.
The candidate said a diversity of residential housing to attract corporations and its employees, as well as first time-home buyers, is essential to supporting local businesses.
“Fewer young professionals are in Roswell than Alpharetta and Sandy Springs,” Beeson said. “That hurts our ability to be family friendly … and to be competitive with recruiting employers. When trying to … recruit new business to Roswell, the CEO is coming to see where they can house their employees.”
Shbeib and Miller said they want to see Roswell become a corporate technology hub similar to Alpharetta.
Credit: MCCALL STUDIO
Credit: MCCALL STUDIO
Miller, who owns a Roswell-based data tech firm dedicated to the automotive industry, said he would like to see a tech makerspace located on the east side of the city. Such places would encourage high school tech students to return to Roswell after college, he said.
“I think if you consider a space where we could teach people to code, teach people to build hardware, to deploy hardware, even build a data center ...” Miller said, adding that it could transform Roswell.
If Roswell decides to move operations at Fire Station No. 27 on Holcomb Bridge Road to another location, Miller said that would be an ideal location for the tech space.
“…I have a strategic vision and things I want to see the city do,” he said.
Credit: DAVE SIMPSON
Credit: DAVE SIMPSON
Shbeib, who is chief financial officer of a poultry company, said that while Roswell is in need of development, the city already has as much to offer as Alpharetta. The sister city to the north has become a model and attraction for corporate development.
Shbeib said he wants to find a way to incentivize existing businesses in Alpharetta to move to Roswell.
“We’re on par with Alpharetta. They’re not ahead of us by any means,” Shbeib said.
The candidate said that old vacant shopping centers in Roswell could be redeveloped into the new home of tech companies currently based in Alpharetta.
Credit: Courtesy Allen Sells
Credit: Courtesy Allen Sells
Sells, a CPA, said that during his professional career working with KPMG, Turner Broadcasting and other corporations, he has learned to understand what the other party wants to achieve and how to close the deal.
“My particular skill is navigating these large transactions,” he said. “What’s happened in the past is that has largely been left to staff and (been) invisible to the elected officials.”
Sells said that in the past, economic development departments in Sandy Springs, Alpharetta, Milton and Johns Creek have been more skilled than Roswell in bringing business to their cities.
Roswell hired its first economic development director earlier this year.
For 50 years, Roswell has been the city of no,” he said. “They’re skipping us. We’re not even getting a trip to the plate … We’re not even in the ballpark.”
Hear more from the candidates in the video at the top of the story.
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