Larry Estvanko ran four years ago on a message of providing his constituents with a voice on the Temple City Council, something he believes he’s done the last four years and plans to continue to do if elected to a second term.

“I made the decision to seek a second term for Temple City Council due to the outpouring of citizens asking me and my wife to please consider me running again,” he said. “My main objective is still to listen to the citizens of our community and let their opinions be known at the City Council meetings.”

Estvanko, a 33-year resident of Temple, and his wife, Teresa Robinson Estvanko, raised their daughter in Temple and have been active in the community and schools, which is why he said he cares so much about the city’s future.

Estvanko said when he first ran for office one of his main focuses was promoting the city’s youth and he wants to continue to move forward with expansion of youth programs, as well as expansion of senior programs and facilities. For the city’s youth, he is especially interested in having a skateboarding park built in Temple.

“I know, as a father, keeping your children occupied with youth programs and a activities and off the streets is very important to their success in life,” he said. “My daughter loved playing basketball, softball and being a cheerleader at Temple. She excelled in high school and became valedictorian of her Temple Senior Class. I feel that her success was due to the opportunities Temple offered her at our church, school and Recreation Department. As I have said before, our youth are our future, any way we look at it. When we’re gone, the youth are going to direct the future of Temple. So, I would like to focus on that.”

Estvanko said through interaction with Temple residents he believes he’s made a positive impact on his constituents through is actions on the City Council. In fact, he doesn’t foresee making any changes in how he approaches the job if re-elected.

“I will continue doing the same thing I have done for the last four years as a city councilman, play close attention to details and make decisions based on the positives and negatives of each issue,” he said. “I’ll make sure my decision is for the betterment of the City of Temple. Like I have said in the past, I still remember vividly a meeting the Temple Planning and Zoning Commission had with representatives from the Chattahoochee-Flint Regional Development Center in which they were told ‘they should always do what’s best for the city.’ I have taken that advice to heart and plan to continue serving the city in that way.”

Estvanko said when the day comes that he leaves office he wants to be able to look back and say that he did what he could to make Temple a better place. If he does that, he said he would consider his time in office a success. Thus far, he’s happy with how he’s represented the city.

“After looking back, I do consider my tenure a success and I am pleased with what I have accomplished in making Temple a better place to live, and look forward to helping make it even a better place to live in the future,” he said.

Estvanko said the biggest challenge facing the city is the economy and the city needs to find a way to meet the needs of it residents without raising their taxes. One way in which he believes that can be accomplished is through cutting back on unnecessary expenditures.

As a former member of the Temple Planning and Zoning Commission, as well as his leadership position as director of Georgia Bass Federation and serving as a deacon of First Baptist Church of Temple, Estvanko said he has the qualities and knowledge necessary to help the city move forward.

“I feel that I am the best person for the job because I just want what’s best for the City of Temple,” he said.