ECU Professor joins race for mayor

A religious studies professor at East Carolina University, Calvin Mercer, announced Saturday his intention to join the race to become mayor for the city of Greenville.

Mercer, who has taught at ECU since 1986, has served in the political arena as a Greenville city council member since 2007.

“I’ve served on the city council for 10 years and whenever it’s election time I take a look at where I can best serve the community and given my experience at the university and on the city council I think that I can help facilitate a really excellent ‘town and gown’ relationship,” Mercer said.

Mercer added Greenville could benefit with a politician who has experience and history with the area.

“The city is in a great transition right now with a change in (city) manager, assistant manager, (city) attorney and now mayor,” Mercer said. “We need someone with a steady, experienced hand on the wheel to get us through this transition in a way that positions us to move the city forward.”

Mercer said it is important for a city to have strong relationships with different organizations inside the community.

“Well the mayor is in a good position to foster partnerships between the city, the university and the county,” Mercer said. “I’m a pretty big believer in working in partnerships in order to accomplish big, important projects.”

According to Mercer, several of these important project focus on ECU students. If elected mayor, Mercer said he wants to focus on making Greenville a safer place for those who live here.

“I want downtown to be safe, fun and profitable,” Mercer said “We want a good and close working relationship between the Greenville Police Department and the ECU Police Department.”

He said the city and the university should do everything possible to make sure students are safe.

Mercer added the importance of proactive thinking when he shared another goal he’d have as mayor.

“Another big emphasis are ways to make Greenville attractive for East Carolina graduates,” Mercer said. “Good jobs, that will keep students here when they graduate. We want them to be a part of the Greenville community. We want them to have that option.”

As Mercer outlined some of his campaign strategies, many of them focused on student involvement, not just for his campaign but city politics in general.

He said social media, as well as his campaign website, will serve as important tools for those interested in his political journey.

“I am going to make myself available as my schedule permits to speak to student groups, listen to their concerns, to incorporate their ideas into our city policies,” Mercer said. “There will be a big mailing that will be going out next week giving more info about the campaign and we will be using social media in order to spread our message of student involvement and listening to students and what their needs are.”

Mercer spoke about the importance of student involvement. Throughout his career as both a professor and politician, students have been at the center of his attention, he said.

“I’ve committed a good bit of my professional life to education and to working with students and I want to have a very good relationship between the university and the city,” Mercer said.

In past years, Mercer has usually worked with students at the university on his campaigns, he said. This year’s campaign will be no different as an ECU student will serve as his campaign manager.

As Mercer moves through campaign season towards election time, he reiterated his focus will be the safety of students and the needs of the Greenville community.

“A thing of fundamental importance is safety,” Mercer said. “We have worked very, very hard and I have been involved in making sure that our center city, where students live and play and go to school, is safe.”