Two weeks after UTM student Brent Smoyer announced his intention to oppose incumbent Martin Mayor Randy Brundige in the upcoming Nov. 7 election, the senior biology major-turned-politician is beginning to devise his campaign strategy.

Smoyer, 23, said the current city government lacks fiscal responsibility, and he plans on making Martin’s financial standing a major tenet of his campaign.

“We’re losing industry, businesses are leaving,” Smoyer said.

“That’s your tax base. When you don’t downscale your expenditures in relation to your income, that’s not fiscally responsible.”

Smoyer, a 21-year Martin resident, said while Martin’s finances are unsteady, he does not advocate raising taxes. Rather, Smoyer said the city should curb its spending in wasteful programs to reign in spending.

Economic development will also be a major component of Smoyer’s campaign. He pointed to fewer area businesses and increasing unemployment as a cause of significant concern.

“Martin’s strongest asset is the people who live here,” Smoyer said.

“People are out of work, but they still have skills, even if the jobs are lost. We need to get back to the entrepreneurial system. Our human resource is our strongest resource.”

He hopes to draw industry to the area, but in the interim, he supports empowering small businesses.

“We have to give small businesses a support system, to keep them here and operating,” Smoyer said.

Additionally, Smoyer plans on establishing a citizens’ advisory board, which would be a nongovernmental committee comprised of neighborhood community leaders, to offer suggestions to city government officials.

Further utilization of parks and increased community involvement are also at the forefront of Smoyer’s low-budget, word-of-mouth-driven campaign, aimed at changing the way Martin voters think about local politics.

“We all have to be involved in the process,” he said. “We have to change our thinking. The City of Martin needs to be run by the City of Martin, not by a select few people.”

Smoyer announced Thursday his campaign slogan, “Back to the future,” embodies his overall plan for the city: “We have to get back to the basics. We have to see where we were when it worked to see where we want to be [in the future],” he said.

While some have questioned Smoyer’s age and experience as a factor in the race, he said age should not be a factor in the campaign.

“I don’t even see why age is an issue at all,” he said. “If you have the right ideas and right goals, that’s what counts. I feel I can do that.”

In fact, Smoyer said his age could serve his campaign well, considering the high number of students in the city. His plans include a broad-based campaign targeting all age groups, but he did say he will rely on like-minded students to drive his campaign.

“Just like in any campaign, you count on people who think like-mindedly. The biggest thing students need to know is they can vote,” Smoyer said. “In the past, students have been encouraged not to vote in city elections.”

Students can vote in the city election if they are Martin residents and registered by Oct. 7 using a Martin address.

In addition to being president of UTM’s Mu Epsilon Delta chapter, a pre-medical honor society, Smoyer is a member of Sigma Chi Colony, a petitioning organization of Sigma Chi Fraternity.

Brundige, who is finishing his first four-year term in office, did not comment on Smoyer’s entrance into the campaign, but he did say his record speaks for itself.

Brundige cited “significant economic growth,” including the recent opening of the Wal-Mart Supercenter and Skyhawk Parkway, and business development projects such as the planned Hampton Inn and new MTD distribution center, as evidence of his commitment to Martin.

In a release announcing his own candidacy, Brundige included garnering a $500,000 downtown revitalization grant, a $140,000 Parks and Recreation grant and numerous Homeland Security grants among his accomplishments in his first term.

During Brundige’s administration, the city also received a $500,000 grant earmarked for sewer modernization, and saw the opening of a manufacturing facility for the Greenball Corporation, an industrial tire manufacturer. Greenball’s Martin facility employs about 25. Martin’s mayor leads a six-member board of aldermen, and the full-time position comes with a $48,000 annual salary.