Councilman Robert Foxworth is passionate about Porterdale, and he's proud of the time and effort he's put into making the town better. He's seeking reelection to a third term for the Post 1 council seat.
From leading the charge to get Porterdale $500,000 in 2005SPLOST money for the renovation of the Porterdale Gym to personally collecting more than $30,000 in donations for the past three July 4th celebrations, Foxworth said he's made bettering the city a top priority.
"I want to let people know I've been actively supporting the city, not just going to the council meetings," Foxworth said Thursday.
Foxworth, 52, said he's also worked to bring respect to the town of Porterdale.
When Newton County and the city of Covington threatened to cut Porterdale out of receiving emergency 911 service, he attended Newton County Board of Commissioners meetings to argue the city's case. Eventually an agreement was reached that Foxworth feels was more fair to Porterdale than the one first offered.
"People respect Porterdale now. Nobody shoves a contract at us and says sign this tomorrow," he said.
Regarding the 2005 SPLOST, Foxworth said the city wouldn't have received $500,000 for the gym if he hadn't met with then-Chairman Aaron Varner and personally lobbied every county commissioner.
"There wasn't any discussion of the SPLOST by any other Porterdale members. I was so proud because I went to bat for Porterdale," Foxworth said.
During Foxworth's efforts, Commissioner Mort Ewing suggested that $55,000 of the money be used to provide matching funds for a grant to renovate the train depot.
He said he's also been a big supporter of city employees, working to reduce their health insurance costs by 20 percent. City employees only have to pay 20 percent of their costs, instead of the previous 40 percent.
He said he also regularly attends council training at the Georgia Municipal Association, because he believes the education makes him a better member.
Finally, Foxworth helped get the radar signs installed in town to slow down traffic, and he also managed to get a trailer donated to the city to collect aluminum cans, which are then sold to Oconee Metal Recovery, and the proceeds pay for annual Christmas donations.
Foxworth was born in Oceanside, Calif., attended Port Neches High School in Texas and moved to Newton County 25 years ago. He purchased his house in Porterdale in 1991.
He has owned Foxworth Tree Service for 27 years. He also worked at Astro Plastics for four years and with Vantage Products for nine years.
He is a member of Grace Baptist Church and was a volunteer firefighter from 1989 to 2005.
He has been with his girlfriend Katrina for 17 years, and the couple has two daughters and four grandchildren.
Foxworth will face off against challenger Anita Rainey in the Nov. 8 election.