Brian Jenest

Davidson Commissioner Brian Jenest on Wednesday became the first incumbent to register as a candidate for re-election this November. If re-elected, it would mean a third term for the 54-year-old Woodland Street resident, who joined the board in 2007.

Mr. Jenest lists a variety of issues he wants to continue working on, from making hard decisions about where to spend money amid the town’s ongoing budget problems to recruiting new businesses here. A landscape architect who chairs the Lake Norman Transportation Commission, Mr. Jenest also says he wants to continuing pushing for approval of the Red Line North Commuter Rail Project and widening of I-77.

He also sees a change in the tone of town politics, and told DavidsonNews.net he’d like to do what he can to assuage what he sees as a climate of “anger and distrust” that has emerged in town. “I really want to do what I can to renew people’s faith in what we’re doing at Town Hall. The demographics are continuing to change in our town, and there’s a lot of differences of opinion,” he said.

“I’ve always felt that we were all pulling for the same thing, but I’m concerned that we’re going in a different direction,” Mr. Jenest said. “I want to do what I can to get us on the same page, if possible.”

Mr. Jenest was re-elected to the board in November 2009, as the No. 2 vote-getter, behind Mayor Pro-Tem Laurie Venzon. (Ms. Venzon says she plans to file Thursday.)

Mr. Jenest has been an advocate for economic development projects, as the town tries to rebalance its tax base away from a heavy reliance on residential property taxes by adding more commercial development. He said he’d like to keep working on luring more businesses to downtown Davidson, to the Exit 30 area and to the future commercial center that is expected to develop at N.C. 73 and Davidson-Concord Road.

He is a managing principal at ColeJenest & Stone, a Charlotte-based architecture and planning firm. He said he’s seen first-hand the challenges of the economic recession, and thinks that may be at the root of some of the distrust of Town Hall.

Besides his Town Board and LNTC duties, Mr. Jenest has represented the town on the Mecklenburg Union Metropolitan Planning Organization (MUMPO) and served on the Davidson Planning Board from 1994-2003. He has served on numerous other local boards, is a member of the Urban Land Institute, and last fall was chosen by Lake Norman Chamber members as the most “pro-business” on the Davidson Town Board.

Mr. Jenest has lived in Davidson for about 20 years, and is married to Sarah Jenest. They have two sons.

Filing for the mayor and Town Board race ends Friday at noon at the Mecklenburg Board of Elections in Charlotte.

RELATED LINKS

July 12, 2011, “Graham files for Town Board; mayor facing a challenge?”

Mecklenburg Board of Elections website, MeckBoe.org

July 1, 2011, “Coupal and Pettus file for Town Board election.”