This is another in a series of articles on Tuesday’s municipal elections — editor.

RED SPRINGS — Two veteran town leaders are battling each other for the town’s top job in the Tuesday municipal election.

Longtime Mayor George T. Paris is being challenged by John McNeill, a longtime commissioner.

Voters will also be choosing from six candidates for three positions on the Board of Commissioners. They are incumbents John A. Staton and Eula C. McNeill, and challengers Wilson Ray, Murray McKeithan, David Shook and Edward Henderson. Commissioner John C. Ray is not running for re-election.

Paris, 69, a retired U.S. Army colonel and a professional surveyor, has held the mayor’s job for 30 years, and before that he served eight years as a commissioner.

“The biggest issue we’re facing is maintaining the level of service that we’ve afforded the citizens, with the limited resources we have,” Paris said. “And we have to find better ways to do that. We have excellent employees but our tax base is dwindling, and with unfunded mandates we have the additional pressure for the taxes we do collect.

“We need to also look hard at increasing our industrial recruitment efforts ... to get the benefits that we need, to fill up the empty buildings we have.

“... We need to create more opportunities here so people will be attracted to live in our community. ... The economy is a big concern for everyone.”

Red Springs is not unlike most small communities in North Carolina, Paris said.

“Especially in rural sections — we are struggling for our existence ... maybe we can attract other industries. We’re working towards that. We are very conscious of that need.”

Paris talked of the value of working together.

McNeill, 58, has served on the town board for 34 years, and is currently mayor pro tem. This is his first bid for the mayor’s job.

“I think we need to refocus our city government to one that is serving the community and no longer just serving city hall,” said McNeill, who is making his first run for mayor.

“Policies and the focus of our previous town manager and staff ignored many of the needs of the community,” said McNeill, citing a need to clean and maintain facilities, build relationships with the people of the community, seek out economic and industrial development, and improve the general attitude of the town hall and staff.

“Treating people nicely ... finding ways to resolve issues, rather than just telling people ‘No,’ ” McNeill said.

The town board parted ways earlier this year with town manager Billy Joe Farmer, who resigned in February after more than three years in the position. The resignation came on the heels of months of closed-door meetings. Board members refused to discuss the matter publicly, citing confidentiality that is allowed because the issue involved personnel.

“The primary thing that needs to be done to accomplish this refocusing is that the mayor and Board of Commissioners have to reexamine and better understand the relationship between the board and the town manager ...,” McNeill said.

He also spoke of his devotion to the town in the three decades he’s been a commissioner.

“No one has had a greater zest, zeal, passion for government serving the people in the community than I have had. And if elected mayor, I have no intentions of changing this,” he said.

Candidates for commissioner include:

— Incumbent John A. Staton, 74, has served eight years on the town board. He retired in 1993 after 35 years as an educator, the last 19 years at Lumberton High School. Staton’s previous service includes about 25 years on the Robeson Community College board of trustees.

“We have some challenges. One is improving our sewage system and plant and improving our fresh water plant. Those two items we must do something about right away,” he said.

Staton said the town board should work to grow the population and attract new business and industry.

Staton said the town should seek out grants and other sources of money to improve the town and help it prosper, and he’s hoping Red Springs benefits from the BRAC initiative bringing an enlarged military presence to Robeson and Cumberland counties.

— Incumbent Eula C. McNeill, 67, is seeking a ninth term on the town board. She is a retired educator.

“The citizens are looking for change. They are looking for a different type of administrative leadership,” she said. “They want more openness, and they deserve that ...

“We have an obligation to keep the public as informed about what’s going on in town as much as possible. We need to keep an open forum. We are the voices of the people,” she said.

She said people also are looking for more recreational opportunities, and more programs for youths and senior citizens.

“And we need more job opportunities — that’s important,” McNeill said.

— Wilson Ray, 66, is running for political office for the first time. He said he hopes to bring “an atmosphere of openness and friendliness” to the board.

Ray retiring from the Army in 1987 after 26 years of active duty.

“One of the biggest issues is openness ... people want an open and fair government,” said Ray, a Red Spring native. “My goal will be to pull together a good team, to try to emphasize a team effort.

“You can’t do this individually. I want an open, fair, cohesive team, that will include the input and a lot of views from our citizens,” he said.

Ray has served on the Red Springs Planning Board for 15 years and is the current chairman.

— Murray McKeithan, 63, is running for the first time. He retired in 2007 after working 37 years with the Goodyear company. That same year he also retired from the National Guard after 25 years of service.

“The biggest issue we have, more or less, is to get unity within the town board and with the citizens of the community,” he said. “It seems the board has lost contact with the citizens, and there are a lot of complaints that the citizens are not being represented on the board. They feel their concerns are not being addressed properly. It’s always ‘we’ll get back with ya,’ but they never do.”

A common complaint is the high cost of electric power in town, he said, and concerns about abandoned houses that attract vagrants.

“Those are some of the things I’d like to correct,” he said.

McKeithan would also like to see more programs for youths and senior citizens. He has been a coach in the Dixie youth baseball league for 20 years.

“If we had some type of recreation, some place for them, something for them to do, maybe we could steer them away from some of that street activity,” he said.

— David Shook, 46, a self-employed farmer who also runs a trucking company, is seeking office for the first time.

Asked about the biggest issue, Shook said: “I believe it’s the budget and naturally, with the economy and people struggling to pay their taxes, it makes a shortfall ... .”

Rising electric bills are also a concern, he said.

Shook said attention is needed to repair and improve the town’s aging water plant — “our existing system is so old” — and the sewer system.

“I’ll be a team player and I can get along with everybody on the board. I just want to help my town out,” said Shook, who promised to be a conservative steward of taxpayer money.

Shook also looks to BRAC as a possible pipeline.

“We’ve got a good little town here. I think we have a lot to offer,” he said. “I think Red Springs can capture some of that growth. Not everyone likes the hustle and bustle of Fayetteville ... .”

— Edward Henderson, 54, a director for a health care provider, is making his second bid for the board.

He said the biggest issue on the minds of the residents is rising utility costs.

“They want to know what can be done about it ... they want to know if they are being charged correctly,” he said.

“The electric bills are high. It seems like they’ve spiked ... it seems like everyone’s bill has gone up.” Henderson said.

He promised to give residents answers on the high bills.

“If we can relay that information to the people, maybe they’d feel better about the situation,” he said.

Henderson said he wants to look at needed infrastructure improvements, and efforts to attract new business and industry and the jobs that would come with that growth.