Mayor endorsing local businessman for office
Murphy – The self-proclaimed “mobile mayor” is hanging up his political hat.
“It’s time,” Mayor Rick Ramsey said. “There’s chapters in your life, and this chapter has been great. I got eight more months; I’m not walking out today, and I hope that on the last day I’m doing as much as I did on every other day.”
Ramsey, who had never run for any political office prior to being elected mayor in November 2017, decided not to seek re-election last
summer.
“If I ran again, I believe that I would do it halfway,” Ramsey said. “I never want to do anything halfway.”
He said the decision not to seek a second term was made easier by knowing that there is a suitable replacement to continue the momentum of town development.
“Imagine someone coming in and taking all of this that we have done and launching it to the next level,” Ramsey said.
“That’s exciting.”
Ramsey grew up downtown. He remembers working at his father’s store off Peachtree Street as young as 7 years old.
After graduating from Murphy High School in 1974, Ramsey attended Mars Hill College and graduated with degrees in economics and business administration. He then spent 35 years employed with Lockheed Martin before retiring and returning to Murphy.
Ramsey said he still has plans for the town, some of which have never been mentioned in public. For starters, he would like to see the downtown district expanded. He also wants locals and visitors to be able to use the Hiwassee and Valley rivers for kayaking and tubing.
“What town has two rivers running through it that connect?” Ramsey rhetorically asked. “Everyone loves tubing, but not everyone wants to go down the Ocoee River or the Nantahala River.”
He also envisions a manmade beach off Payne Street, where the two rivers connect to form Lake Hiwassee.
“In the summer when the lake is full, we’d just dump sand and clear the rocks out of the way,” Ramsey said. “We have plenty of parking. It would give families and young people something to do.”
The mayor also believes the town would benefit from having a full-service recreational vehicle park close to downtown, where visitors can stay on a short-term basis. He envisions the park being frequented by visitors who own “high-end” RVs and travel for several months at a time.
“This town has a lot of things it could still go do,” Ramsey said. “Some of them are so simple that I’m already talking to someone to go into business to do it.”
When Ramsey left Murphy, he “couldn’t imagine coming back” because he “didn’t know what I’d do.” He fears the population decrease may have long-term effects, and he wants the next mayor to continue to facilitate ideas to reverse that trend.
“Our population is dropping because kids have nothing to come back for,” Ramsey said, while also expressing hope in the fact that new businesses continue to set up shop in town.
“It amazes me that someone would take their life savings and open a steakhouse downtown or open a coffee shop on Andrews Road in the middle of a pandemic. That’s faith, and they’re doing well.”
Ramsey said he has the perfect successor in mind, and he’s throwing his full weight behind the endorsement.
“I had no intention of running until Rick asked me,” WKRK owner Tim Radford said, while confirming that he is running for mayor of Murphy. “Five years ago, I would not have been prepared, but since then I’ve become a lot more informed.”
Candidates for mayor must file their notice of candidacy with the Cherokee County Board of Elections between July 2-16. The election will be held Tuesday, Nov. 2.