Allendale mayor says budget, safety fixes show early progress

Se'khu Gentle says Allendale’s first test is already underway: fix the money problems residents feel, calm the streets where speeding has become routine, and show that town hall can deliver visible results. The new mayor said the town has moved to a budget that is no longer in deficit, a change he cast as the opening step toward something residents can judge for themselves in the months ahead.

Gentle was elected mayor on May 12 in the special election called after Tom Carter Jr. resigned on Feb. 5, 2026. He was the only candidate to file for the race, and his win placed him in charge of a small town where every budget decision carries outsized weight. Allendale County had 8,039 residents in the 2020 Census, a median household income of $32,328 in the Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey profile, and just 125 employer establishments in 2023, underscoring how narrow the local tax base remains.

In the weeks after taking office, Gentle said town leaders adopted new policies and installed speed bumps to confront the traffic complaints that have long worried families, children and older residents in neighborhoods. He framed those steps as the kind of practical change people can see immediately, rather than another round of promises about what might happen later. Residents got a preview of that tone at a June 1 special-called meeting, where the new administration put its priorities front and center.

Public safety and growth are now tied together in Gentle’s pitch. He has said he wants to strengthen the police department and revamp security cameras in problem areas, while also working to attract new businesses, increase tourism and create more opportunities in town. The Town of Allendale’s own website now describes the town as “open for opportunity” and says it is focused on improving infrastructure, supporting small businesses, encouraging economic development, beautifying the town and embracing modern technology.

That push comes with staffing questions still visible on the town’s own police department page, which lists Chief Jim Evans and shows the deputy chief position as vacant. Gentle said his motivation came from seeing what Allendale could become and from years of listening to residents as a community leader and firefighter. For a town trying to turn the page on a vacancy, a deficit and years of economic strain, the next few months will be measured in whether the roads feel safer, the finances stay balanced and new investment starts to follow.