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Lee seeks fourth term

By MICHAEL BOYLAN
mboylan@TheCitizenNews.com

Sheryl Lee, the mayor of Tyrone, did not have political aspirations as a girl growing up in Georgia and she doesn’t have aspirations after her career as mayor in Tyrone is over. She is running for what would be her fourth term as mayor this year and her goals are the same as they have always been, which is to deal with the inevitable changes Tyrone faces but to keep its uniqueness and retain the small-town atmosphere.

Lee was born in Griffin and was raised in College Park. her family moved to Michigan for a brief time when her father was working for GM but they soon moved back to Georgia, where the family lived in Riverdale and Lee attended and graduated from North Clayton High School. After high school, Lee got married and moved to Fayette County. She and her husband moved to Tyrone, where they have lived for 34 years, and raised three children. The children are now grown and Lee counts spending time with her grandchildren as one of her hobbies.

As her children grew up, Lee began to see the need for recreational activities for kids in Tyrone. She began volunteering her time, setting up and chaperoning field trips and field days and helping set up the first ball fields in the town. It was her work in Tyrone that got her a part time job with the County Parks and Recreation office. She was the center director in Tyrone for close to 17 years and when she saw the need to serve her community more, she got a job with Fayette County Parks and Recreation outside of Tyrone to avoid a conflict of interest.

Seven years ago there was sparring in Tyrone taking place in the pages of the local papers and Lee felt that Tyrone needed a change.

“That’s not what Tyrone is about,” said Lee. “I’m not a controversial person and I didn’t like to see it in town, so i stepped up and tried to make a difference.”

A self-proclaimed “laid back, team player,” Lee has always attempted to build a consensus with the town councils and have a good working relationship.

“We are working together for the betterment of Tyrone,” said Lee. “At times we may agree to disagree on some issues, but all of us share a similar vision of what this town should be.”

Among the things that Lee feels she and the council have done are coming up with a uniform standard for downtown development, enhancing the recreation facilities in town by adding to the ball fields and creating a recreation center. There are plenty of challenges facing Tyrone, including traffic, erosion control and flooding, but Lee feels they are problems for everybody in town, including members of the council, and that they need to be addressed by determining how everyone in town can be helped.

In fact, one of the primary lessons Lee feels she has learned as mayor is that issues have to be weighed for their impact on the town as a whole and to look at a big picture.

“I don’t promise something that I can’t deliver,” said Lee. “I don’t think it’s morally or ethically right.”

Lee has also learned that “you don’t make friends in this job and it’s hard to keep friends because you can’t always do what they want.”

As for goals for the town, Lee explained that goals are determined at the town’s annual retreat. Currently, Tyrone has been working on creating standards for down town development and the development of the Triangle property across from the post office.

Though this is the first time Lee has been contested in a mayoral race, she isn’t campaigning any different or changing her tune in any way.

“I’m still here for Tyrone. I raised my kids here and I’ll be here until I die,” said Lee. “My heart’s here.”