With respect for incumbent, current mayor pro-tem enters mayoral race to ‘Run the Show’

Calypso is the only town in Duplin County where the incumbent mayor’s seat is being challenged by the sitting mayor pro-tem in the upcoming municipal elections.

Duplin Journal spoke with Mayor Pro-Tem Marty Taylor last week who said with the exception of living and working out of town for about 10 years, he had been a lifelong resident of Calypso and served in the town’s fire department for 35 years. After returning to town, he became interested in and involved with local politics.

“We finally bought a house and moved back in town about seven years ago,” Taylor said. “I started going to town meetings and they put me on the planning board. From there, it just moved up.”

Taylor said his decision to run was motivated by a desire to preserve the town’s legacy.

“I noticed the board was getting a lot of age on it,” he said. “I wanted to carry on some of their legacy. Two or three of the older ones have passed away. That’s the main reason I wanted to do it, to keep the town going like it’s supposed to.”

As far as issues facing the town, the wastewater woes of Mount Olive, who the town depends on for treatment of its wastewater, is the biggest challenge, according to Taylor.

“They guaranteed us so many gallons of waste (treatment) and now they can’t give it to us,” Taylor said. “So, it’s stopping any kind of business that would want to start up. Even if you wanted to put up a new house, nobody can do it right now because of the situation in Mount Olive.”

Calypso is hindered by the state’s moratorium on Mount Olive’s ability to increase capacity at its wastewater treatment plant. Taylor pointed out that Calypso does not have the resources to create its own wastewater treatment solution.

“With a town of only 350 citizens, there’s no way we could afford to do it. That’s millions of dollars,” he said.

Aside from the wastewater issue, Taylor believes the town is generally in good shape.

“I would like to see some of the ditches redone and drain water (problems fixed). I’m actually working on that now because I’m in charge of streets and ditches now,” said Taylor.

He had praise for his opponent, incumbent Mayor Jo Anne Wilson.

“I wouldn’t dare say anything about my opponent, because she is great,” he said. “I think the world of her. I just felt it was time to move. I prayed about it and thought about it. I just felt like it was time for me to try running the show, so to speak.”

The only criticism Taylor expressed was regarding the pursuit of funding for the town’s infrastructure issues.

“My opponent is not pushing as hard as I want on getting some grants,” he added. “I want to see the infrastructure get better. I want my town to stay like it is, a beautiful little town that everybody loves.”

Duplin Journal attempted to contact Wilson several times over the course of a week, leaving phone messages, but did not receive a response by press time.