The idea of running for mayor of Warner Robins has been bubbling in Chuck Shaheen’s mind for years, but it took a fairly recent epiphany for him to make the move.

“A young girl asked me if I was going to run and I said I was thinking about it,” he recalled. “Then she said, ‘You have God-given talents to run this city and you need to use them.’”

That’s when the epiphany came. “I just believe the Lord moved in my heart,” Shaheen explained. “I was convicted. I don’t have many talents. I can’t play a musical instrument or sing. But leadership is a God-given talent.”

Shaheen was born in Orlando but moved to Warner Robins with his family in 1964. His father, a retired Air Force master sergeant; his mother, Barbara; and his sister, Donna; operated Shaheen Office Supply for some 30 years.

He graduated from Warner Robins High School then earned a business administration degree with an emphasis in marketing from Georgia Southern University. He has worked in pharmaceutical sales for the past 23 years.

“I don’t remember any time in my life before Warner Robins,” he said. “I go all over the country and I let people know that I’m from Warner Robins. We are a great city and I want people to be proud of it.”

He said the Georgia-Robins Aerospace Maintenance Partnership or G-RAMP would be his top priority if elected. The idea – now approaching a decade old -- is to construct a privately-funded aircraft maintenance and overhaul center on 544 acres of city-owned land adjacent to the Robins Air Force Base flightline. The goals are to capture Robins contractor workload now going to other locations, improve the base’s ability to support weapon systems and cut overall costs to the Air Force.

To this point, the major stumbling block has been the estimated $71 million needed to construct taxiways, maintenance ramps, aircraft hangars and provide utilities to the site.

Shaheen wants answers during the first 100 days of his administration. “We need to either decide to do it or not do it by then,” he said. “If we have to hire a full-time guy to get it done, we’ve got to do it.”

He said G-RAMP is far more than a Warner Robins issue.

“The base has economic impact throughout the region – some 20 counties,” Shaheen pointed out. “Warner Robins should take the lead, but we must build relationships with government officials throughout the region. We need their support.”

The project is critical for two reasons, he believes. “We want to make sure the next (Base Realignment and Closure) passes us by,” Shaheen said. “We also want to make sure we have the capacity to bring work here if they close down other bases. If we are prepared in our infrastructure to bring in other jobs, it will increase our economy and our tax base.”

Other priorities include attracting industry to Veterans Parkway, revitalizing downtown and emphasizing parks and recreation.

His downtown vision includes a veteran’s park. “I want it to be first class,” he said, “with a monument of a man and woman in uniform. When people come to Warner Robins, I want them to know the city appreciates veterans.”

Shaheen said he has built close relationships with the base over the years, serving as an honorary commander for the 116th Air Control Wing, the 5th Combat Communications Group and the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center.

Maintaining -- and building on -- those relationships is key for any mayor, he insists. “The military finds a way to do things better and more cost effectively,” he said. “We have some of the most educated people in the country right here at Robins and we need to tap into that resource.”

Another related focus would be to rename Front Street, paralleling the RAFB perimeter fence and Ga. 247, to “International City Boulevard.”

“I’d like to recruit aerospace companies to park right there across from the base,” he said.

Upgrading the city’s Web site is another. “That’s a selling tool,” Shaheen stressed. “It’s the first thing industry looks at when they’re considering coming to Warner Robins. If it’s not state-of-the-art, it’s a reflection on our city.”

Shaheen said he is a leader, not a manager. “The two most important things to me are to delegate and stay in touch with your people,” he indicated. “If we have the right department heads in the right positions doing the right jobs, then you develop leaders. I’m not going to manage anybody. I want to help them become better leaders.”

Shaheen said he would be a “working man’s mayor.”

“I live here and I have a vested interest in the success of the community,” he said. “I want small business owners to thrive. I want to make sure our city continues to be successful, because when that happens we all benefit.”