By Dwight Sparks

The Clemmons Courier

Real estate lawyer John Lawrence Wait filed for mayor of Clemmons on Friday when the filing period opened for municipal elections. Incumbent Mayor Nick Nelson has said he will not seek re-election. Three seats will also be decided for the village council.

Wait, 38, and wife Claire have four children and live in the Hampton Fairmont development off Hampton Road.

“The thing about Clemmons that I really like is the people,” he said Monday. “The people here are friendly. It has a small town feel to it but now we have a Chick-fil-A. We have big city conveniences. What else do you really need? It’s a great place to grow a family. It’s a great place to live.”

A native of Michigan, Wait is at attorney for the Martin & Gifford real estate brokerage firm in Winston-Salem. He is a graduate of Huntington University in Indiana, where he majored in philosophy and mathematics. He is a graduate with honors from the North Carolina Central School of Law.

“I like the town. I think I can be of help,” Wait said.

He said he and his wife have lived in many North Carolina towns including Elizabethton, Greensboro, Burlington, Wilkesboro and Raleigh before settling here.

His parents, Joyce and Larry Wait, live in Michigan.

He and Claire are parents to Eliott, 10; Carter, 8; Isaiah, 4, and Avery, 2. They are members of Calvary Baptist and attend the West Campus where he helps teach Sunday School. He coaches soccer at the YMCA, drawing from his experience of playing in college. He still plays with an adult soccer group.

Wait said he knows Mayor Nelson and wants to continue the incumbent’s concern about a median for Lewisville-Clemmons Road.

“There must be a better plan and a better way to fix the problems. That’s what everyone I’ve spoken to thinks,” Wait said. “When I see the current plan, I don’t think it’s best for the community. People have said they don’t want it. The businesses don’t want it. We can make a better deal.”

He also said he was concerned about the proposed industrial park on Idols Road outside the village limits. He wants to hear from Clemmons West residents about the issue. He said he decided to run for mayor after a lot of consideration.

“I think it’s the right thing to do at the right time,” he said. “The issues he (Nelson) has been pushing are important to me too. This seat should be filled by someone who continues his opposition to the median.”