From The Tribune staff reports
ARGO — It would be his first experience with local government, but don’t expect that to slow Shawn-Patrick Hynes as he enters the 2020 mayoral race in Argo. At 28, Hynes has earned four college degrees, including a pair of master’s degrees (Theological Studies and Liberal Arts) from Spring Hill College in Mobile.
Hynes, who moved to Argo with his family in 1998, says he wants to build a better relationship between the mayor and the residents.
“I want to give the people an actual voice,” said Hynes. “There have been some problems with the residents in town—some of my neighbors from across the city—that have taken problems to the city council and to the mayor, and they have not been able to have their voices heard.”
If given an opportunity to serve in Argo, he says he would push for change.
“We are a nice, small, southern town, but just because we’re in the country doesn’t mean that we can’t have nice things, especially when the citizens are willing to pay for it,” said Hynes.
His first priority would be improving the city’s damaged roadways.
“When I say I want road repair, I’m not talking about filling potholes,” said Hynes. “I want to rip the roads up completely and do them properly to an actual standard with blacktop and put painted lines on them. And I know this is going to cost a lot of money and we can’t do it all at once.”
The project, he says, would need to be done in order of importance, and his highest point of importance is the intersection of Argo-Margaret and Highway 11.
“It is a nightmare how they designed it with the railroad track,” said Hynes of the problematic spot. “The backup from people getting off work is ridiculous.”
How does he plan on fixing the problem? By installing a roundabout in the area.
“The flow of traffic would be immensely opened,” said Hynes. “(A roundabout) would stop the backup. The new bypass leading to Argo-Margaret would lead to increased areas for commerce so we could have local residents creating even more great businesses for our town.”
Hynes says the project can be funded by a state loan or by raising property tax “a little bit.”
“Whatever we have to do so we can get this one thing done that will benefit everyone in town and actually benefit the safety and health of our town,” said Hynes. “If there is a fire in the neighborhood directly across from Argo-Margaret and U.S. Highway 11 and there is a train there, the fire department can not reach it. The whole neighborhood could burn down and there goes a good chunk of one of our neighborhoods. That’s not good for the city council, it’s not good for the citizens and it’s quite frankly embarrassing.”