Mobile City Council candidates exchange views during forum
Posted by Dan Murtaugh, Staff Reporter August 11, 2009 9:40 PM
Categories: Breaking News, Politics
John David Mercer/Staff PhotographerMobile City Council candidates address about 150 community members Tuesday night as the League of Women Voters held a forum at Government Plaza.
MOBILE, Ala. -- Incumbent Mobile City Council members boasted about their records in office as their opponents criticized the city government for overlooking infrastructure improvements during a Tuesday night candidate forum.
The four current council members running to retain their seats touted the new economic development projects that came to Mobile, the city's successful annexation efforts and employee raises that all occurred in the past four years.
Meanwhile, their opponents questioned whether the city had forgotten about such things as fixing drainage problems and maintaining public parks.
Ron Wallace, one of four opponents trying to unseat Clinton Johnson in District 3, encapsulated the night's theme in his closing statement.
"If you're content and satisfied with the way your district is, keep voting the way you've been voting," Wallace said. "But if you want change, you need to vote for change."
The League of Women Voters in Mobile organized the forum, which took place in front of about 150 people at Government Plaza in downtown Mobile. Ten of the 12 candidates running for office attended. Yasmin Coker in District 1 and Alphonse Hardy in District 3 were the only absentees.
Mobile's municipal elections will be held Aug. 25. Mayor Sam Jones and three council members are unopposed.
Coker's opponent, incumbent City Councilman Fred Richardson, used his time at the podium to tell the voters that District 1 has undergone a massive turnaround since he took office more than a decade ago.
He also said he believed the city needed to annex more area in the next four years.
"Anything that doesn't grow is dead," he said. "To keep Mobile alive, we have no choice."
In District 2, challengers Lakeshia Dotson and Jeffery Jones said the city has not done enough to alleviate flooding problems in neighborhoods such as Down the Bay and Plateau.
"It's people's homes," Dotson said. "When water is rising in your home, you're losing valuable items."
Jones criticized incumbent William Carroll for supporting taking out a $23 million loan to build a downtown maritime museum.
"When we have houses floating in the streets, they can serve as maritime museums," Jones said.
But Carroll countered that the museum would bring tourists to the city, and that Mobile would have to pay back millions in federal funds if the city were to not complete construction of the museum.
Carroll went on to tout a revolving fund he is in the process of creating to renovate and then resell blighted properties in his district.
In District 3, Johnson pointed out that he has been his area's only representative since Mobile began its mayor-council form of government in 1985. He said he's helped bring medical care to poor families in Maysville and train young people for the workforce.
But Johnson's opponents tried to turn his experience against him. Lyndon Peters said the city government has not spent enough time and money on improvements within the city's smaller communities. Both Wallace and Jermaine Burrell said voters should not be complacent with Johnson's leadership.
"If you think we can do better, and I know we can do better, then vote for me," Burrell said.
In District 6, Councilwoman Connie Hudson said that her eight years on the council have been challenging, but she's pleased with the fruits of her labor, such as the new Mobile Regional Senior Community Center that now sits in her area.
She said she will push for more financial partnerships between the city and the private sector to fund public improvements over her next four years.
Her challenger, Al Cheatham, said the city needs to take care of what it has before it keeps expanding services. He said Medal of Honor Park off Knollwood is often too beat up for people to use.
"We have to maintain what's established," he said.
