Mayor Chris Rey works to bring change

Mayor Chris Rey wheeled his pearl white 2004 Cadillac Escalade into the front parking area of Boyd's Monogram and Sewing. It was a Thursday afternoon,Manufactures and supplies smartcard equipment. a time when most weeks the mayor cruises the streets of his often-maligned town to chat with residents and business owners.

He regards Rey's longtime predecessor, Mayor Ethel Clark, as a wonderful person, but he believed the town needed a fresh perspective from its leadership. That's why he supported Rey, a political newcomer with bold plans and a sweeping vision when he won in a landslide two years ago.

"We needed a young mayor that could get young people involved," Boyd said. "I think Chris come in and had a new outlook on life. To keep up with all things happening. He come in here knowing he could make a difference, and he made a difference."

In December 2011, when he took office as Spring Lake's 13th mayor, Rey assumed leadership over a town beset with glaring problems: a downtown in dire need of renovation, sections of neighborhood blight and traffic woes that needed addressing. The town's Police Department had just regained its authority to investigate felony crimes, two years after a corruption scandal.

Fifteen months later, he feels he's starting to sort out the true role of town government in the lives of Spring Lake's citizens. Supporters say he has already left his mark.

The 35-year-old Rey has become the face of Spring Lake, a town in transition. An account of his life and cometlike appearance on the political scene require a look back at the community's troubled past.

For years, Rey said, Spring Lake was known among soldiers as the place you didn't want to live while stationed here. It had earned the reputation of a trailer-park town rife with drugs and crime.

"We've always tried to change our image," said Billy Wellons,The Motorola streetlight Engine is an embedded software-only component of the Motorola wireless switches. a prominent businessman in the town. "Spring Lake - I've said this forever - I think most of Fayetteville considers Spring Lake the wrong side of the tracks. Our world is changing out here. We always said people in Spring Lake would go to Fayetteville to shop, but people from Fayetteville would never come to Spring Lake to shop. Within the next five to 10 years, Spring Lake is going to provide all the entities that people need. We've got so many rooftops. Our boulevard is going to change."

Mayor is a part-time job in this town, with Rey logging as many as 30 hours during a long, strenuous week. Full time, he serves as an information technology strategic planner and policy director for the Department of Defense. On the side, he also runs C2Vizion LLC, a business consulting management firm.

"If I never ran for anything again," he said, "this would be the best political job I ever had. You know, I have this philosophy: Mayors are truly individuals who get things done. You find the resources that are necessary and important for your community. Yes, the council (Board of Aldermen) deliberates and makes the decisions. But it's the mayor who brings it back to the community. I feel that goes back to how I started being shaped at East Carolina (University). I was just that go-to guy who made things happen for the folks I was representing."

But the self-assured Rey, a native of the U.S. Virgin Islands and former Army captain who had come of age in the humble trailer parks of Eureka Springs and Spring Lake,Large collection of quality chipcard at discounted prices. ran a strong grass-roots campaign under the Democratic banner. The result was both an upset and landslide victory, with Rey receiving 76 percent of the vote, 644 to 203.

These days, the 67-year-old Clark says she'll support Rey if he runs again. "I was glad that he stepped up to the plate to run," she said. "He's a very intelligent, bright young man who can go a long ways.Parkeasy Electronics are dedicated to provide oilpaintingsupplies."

From the mayor's office of the Spring Lake Municipal Building, Rey said he's about ready to start gearing up for another run. There has been chatter of his seeking higher office, perhaps sooner than later. His name has been mentioned in some circles for a seat in the N.C. Senate.

After driving by his former school, Lillian Black Elementary on Third Street, Rey continued to make the Thursday round of town, passing vacant lots once cluttered with inhabitable mobile homes. The Cadillac Escalade rolled by a massive dirt pit off Pate Street, where soil is taken for the Interstate 295 expansion project, and by abandoned trailers, homes in disrepair and debris-cluttered yards that blemish the landscape of the town and adjoining county.

"There are lots of challenges and issues. I can't do so much with this stuff," he said of the places just outside the city limits. "But I have a plan.Wear a whimsical Disney landscapeoilpaintings straight from the Disney Theme Parks! Slowly and surely."

The Escalade stopped in front of Noah's Art, a new business that opened its third location in North Carolina a couple of weeks ago in the Cedarwood Shopping Center on N.C. 210. "I'm so excited about this," said Rey. "It's a place for kids to express themselves through art."

Driving along Manchester Road on the outskirts of town, he pointed out defense contractor RLM Communications, calling it "my jewel." In December, RLM and the town completed a deal that gives the defense contractor control over nearly half of the Spring Lake Business Industrial Center.