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Bringing more commercial development and jobs to Mount Pleasant is Rick McCluskey’s primary reason for giving a run for village board another go.
He ran in 2012 but came in fourth behind the late Harry Manning and was okay with continuing as the chair of the Fire/EMS Oversight Committee and the vice president of the Police & Fire commission. But, supporters he didn’t know he had in the village approached him for another run this year, and after he thought about what he called lost growth opportunities, McCluskey decided to throw his hat into the ring one more time.
The last time he ran for a seat on the board, he said it was pretty much a one-man show, but now he has support.
“Now that I have support and people willing to help, I think I have a realistic shot,” McCluskey said. “Most important, though, was the support of my wife. She told me if I wanted to do it, she’d be behind me 100 percent.”
McCluskey said he named development as his number one concern because he’s read too much about large companies like Amazon moving into other communities.
“We have Highway 11, which is ideal for development, so it’s time to draw these big companies and bring jobs to our area,” he said.
McCluskey is also committed to working on improving Mount Pleasant’s reputation so village leaders can better take advantage of business leads.