If Elected Heyward Wescott Says He Would Encourage More Public Input

Heyward Wescott says he is pleased with the course that Dunwoody is on after five years, but the city is at a pivotal point. 

“I’m pleased with what we’ve been doing,” he said. “We’ve paved 50 miles of roads. We’ve done five and a half miles of brand new sidewalks. We’re adding infrastructure for our parks. We’re reinvesting for now and 20 years out.”

Wescott is running for the Dunwoody City Council District 2 seat, which is currently held by Adrian Bonser, who is not seeking re-election.  

Wescott owns Custom Signs Today and serves as a volunteer or board member of a variety of organizations that he says makes him well-suited for City Council. He’s vice-president of the Dunwoody Homeowners Association; and a board of director at the Dunwoody Chamber of Commerce where he is also co-chair of the Education committee, and a Economic Development committee member. 

“I had thought about running before,” he said. “This time, I just felt it was the right time. I felt like I could make a difference.” 

The longtime Dunwoody resident acknowledged that city officials and staff could improve communication and provide more public input on projects. At times residents receive more communication and information from local news media than from the city, he said.

“…I think we could do a little bit better when we have hot issues, and vocalize it so people do not become suspicious of the city; because that’s the way it was with Dekalb County,” Wescott said.

He continued, “Residents are not used to getting things done. I just think we need to have a little more discussion as a community as we move forward on these new things. I think these new things are good.” 

Wescott and his campaign manager Brent Morris explained that the process of how city projects get done is often unclear to many residents.

Morris said, “And what a lot of residents see is all of a sudden a projects pops up in the newspaper. I think that [is] Council’s responsibility, that residents have a better idea of what the process is.”

For instance, Wescott says it can take three years to improve an intersection. That’s something a lot of people don’t understand, he said.

“I don’t think people should be upset with the city trying to improve an intersection. A lot of intersections are broken,” Wescott said. “My job is to make sure that my constituents are aware of these projects going on.”

Wescott and his wife Kristen have two daughters who attend Dekalb School for the Arts and Chamblee High School. Kristen is a transportation planner for the City of Sandy Springs.