Allen Welter is a businessman. He owns at least 10 properties in China Grove and runs a rental business. Welter has a vested interest in the town.
That’s why he is running for mayor.
The 64-year-old Town Council member said he wants better communication in town.
“Nobody knows what’s going in China Grove because nobody tells anybody anything,” Welter said. “We need to better communication with our residents and with other towns.”
Welter, a registered Republican, has been a vocal member of the Town Council since he was elected in 2005.
“I ask a lot of questions and I expect to get answers,” Welter said. “I got into politics because, here, it is not what you do, it is who you know.”
Welter and his wife, Barb, sold their business in Canada and moved to the United States to retire in 1991. He raises his three grandchildren, Alisha, Aliyah and Zahra Khan, who are politically active. Welter encourages his granddaughter’s interest in politics.
“Boy they love it when I come home and tell them to look something up for me,” Welter said. “They really get into it.”
Welter said, even though he is more powerful if he stays as a council member — the mayor doesn’t have a vote — he is going to give the race “a decent effort.”
“I think we can do better,” Welter said.
-Ben McNeely
