CAROLINA BEACH — When JoDan Garza moved to the Town of Carolina Beach four years ago to open a doughnut shop, Wake N Bake Donuts, he had no idea he would become a Town Council member by 2017, but that is exactly what he has done.
In Tuesday’s municipal election, Garza managed to unseat Gary Doetsch, who has served on the council for nine years, and who has called Carolina Beach home for 60 years. Now, the general manger and director of operations for Wake ‘N Bake Donuts is on his way to being a sworn Town Council member.
Garza said it wasn’t until after becoming a homeowner in the town that he started paying more attention to the inner workings of the politics in Carolina beach; that’s when he decided to get involved.
“I came here (Carolina Beach) to open Wake N Bake Donuts with my buddy. Once we got that established, it was like ‘hey let’s get involved in the community,” Garza said.
“A Chamber of Commerce member told me two seats were opening up this year, so I was like, ‘why not, if this is going to be a town I live in I would love to be a part of what’s going to make it blossom more.’ So, I paid my $18 to the board of elections, the town sends you an email and says there you go, have fun,” Garza said.
The whole process has been a learning experience for Garza, “You learn as you go, there’s no packet,” he said.
Garza said he had thought about running two years ago, but chose not to because he felt he was not as established with residents as he would have liked to be. Garza knew he was an underdog coming into the election, but credits his win to his passion as well as his ideas he has for the town’s future.
“It’s amazing, you have people who did a lot of great things for the town. Infrastructurally we are constantly improving; a lot of people seem to be happy but I think some people are ready for a change and I think a lot of people enjoyed what I was saying. I am still super shocked, I am very humbled and hopefully I get to use those resources,” Garza said.
Garza knows it is early and he has yet to officially be declared the winner since New Hanover Board of Elections must canvass all the votes before making them official, but he said he is working to unify the residents of Carolina Beach and the town government.
“We have a very diverse amount of residents and I am sure they have some unique ideas. We bring them into this picture and it is going to help shape Carolina Beach to be better than where it is now,” he said.
When it comes to short-term goals, Garza has been openly addressing the issue the town has been facing with Military Ocean Terminal at Sunny Point (MOTSU) and the lake dredging project that has been put on hold.
“Short-term, I would say we have to figure out what is going on with that lake. It’s been the main thing I’ve been pushing this campaign season. I think people know it, I am constantly getting facts from public records … I think we need to figure out what is going on with that and try and address it and come to conclusion ASAP,” he said.
While Garza said he is not nervous about being the newest council member, he is anxious to learn the dynamics of the town, and the council.
“The best way I can be the best council member for the town is to learn from every town employee as well as meeting all the residents,” he said.
Garza encourages residents to get involved and reach out to him, he said the easiest way for people to do that is on his Facebook page.
Michael Praats can be reached at Michael.p@localvoicemedia.com
