Commission Candidates Speak

(Editor’s Note: A candidate forum was held last Thursday at the Jasper County Courthouse. A report of the first half of that forum begins on the front page and continues on page 2. The following is a report on the second half of the forum, the portion which featured county commission candidates.)

The county commission candidates faced the audience for the second part of the forum. They included David Bryant versus Bruce Henry in District 2 (winner will face incumbent Charles Hill in the general election in November); Jack Bernard, H.J. “Skip” Nowetner and Gene Trammell running for the District 3 seat, John Hooseline, Craig Salmon and Lee Simmons running for the District 4 seat (winner will face Joan Bell in the general election), and Alan Cox and Doug Luke for the District 5 seat.

A synopsis of each of their opening statements follows:

Bruce Henry—I have lived in Jasper County for 24 years and served on the Shady Dale City Council, and I’m excited about running.

David Bryant—I want to be part of the solution and not the problem.

Gene Trammell—I’m a retired school superintendent. I love this county and look at it as being home.

Skip Nowetner—I’m a Viet Nam veteran and I have lived in this county for 22 years, and if elected I will represent all the citizens without any animosity.

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Jack Bernard—I’m focused on the issues like roads and taxes. I’m a problem solver and I intend to bring us all together.

Craig Salmon—The District 4 position will be a tough job because I will be following Mary Patrick, plus I have to run against Santa Claus (referring to Lee Simmons).

Lee Simmons—I want to do this job for the county.

John Hooseline—I have worked in small business all my life and I would like to bring the things I’ve learned in this position to the county.

Alan Cox—I do not take any campaign contributions. I run on the facts.

Doug Luke—I’ve lived here for 10 years. I’m a deacon in Shiloh Baptist Church. People don’t care how much you know, we just need some positive leadership in the county.

The moderator then moved on to the questioning period and asked the following five candidates what they thought they could accomplish if elected:

Henry—I think I can get the commissioners to work together as a team.

Simmons—I will vote against anything that raises taxes.

Trammell—I will be able to bring the commission together so they can work together, and I’ll provide follow through and respect everyone.

Salmon—We need a vision and we need to work together and be civil. We need a plan and a solution.

Cox—My plan is to use shoe leather. You have to get out there and get it done. I serve on the Jasper County Chamber of Commerce. We have to see that our county is prepared to move forward.

The moderator then asked what their plans were to attract business to the county:

Bernard—It will take a coordinated effort. What we need is a tax situation which will attract businesses.

Luke—It will take a meeting of minds and organization to do this.

The moderator then asked the following three candidates what their plans would be to improve paved and dirt roads in the county:

Bryant—There’s no answer for every road, but we need a maintenance plan so we can make repairs as needed.

Nowetner—We don’t have the resources to pave all our roads. We need to educate our employees how to maintain our roads.

Luke—We will have to privatize and we need better training for public works.

The moderator then asked the following two candidates to explain how they would support training county employees:

Hooseline—That’s the job of the county manager. If he can’t get it done then we need someone who can.

Trammell—Training should be ongoing in everything we do. It is necessary in order to do what we need for standards to be set.

The moderator then asked the following three candidates what they thought accountability in government meant:

Cox—It’s the ability to look any constituent in the eye and tell them why you voted the way you did.

Salmon—In order to be accountable we need to get out into our districts and get the facts.

Bryant—To be accountable you have to control the budget.

The moderator then asked the following three candidates how they would control the Animal Control Department:

Nowetner—I think it needs to be part of the Sheriff’s Department to be controlled properly.

Simmons—I mould maintain it through the Sheriff’s Department and staff it with inmates. And also see that the supervisor stays on the job for ever how many hours it takes to get the job done.

Luke—We need to take lessons from some of our neighboring counties who have well-run departments.

The moderator then asked the following three candidates what were their thoughts on combining the city and county governments:

Bernard—I wouldn’t support it unless the city and the county had overwhelming referendums to do so.

Henry—It may help with the budgets, but we have no previous experience.

Hooseline—I would be opposed to it except for some departments.

The moderator asked the following three candidates about their current and future concerns with the budget:

Henry—I work with similar size budgets and I think we can keep the county running well.

Nowetner—We need to consolidate some departments, stop taking trips at the county expense and cut benefits for part time employees including county commissioners.

Cox—We have been able to hold the property taxes from raising in the county. We look for the worst to be behind us.

The moderator asked the following three candidates how the budget should be balanced:

Trammell—To balance a budget takes teamwork on all issues. We need to prioritize our needs and trim away the least needed.

Salmon—Sometimes things just need and have to be cut. We would need to cut and consolidate.

Luke—We need to run each department as efficiently as possible.

The moderator asked the following three candidates how they would support the recreation department:

Bryant—Recreation helps kids know the importance of discipline, and that department has been very creative on its own.

Bernard—It’s vital to have a recreation department. I strongly support any efforts to build the department.

Hooseline—We need to provide the finances to help the department grow.

The moderator asked the following four candidates how they would make the county commission more effective:

Trammell—The key is teamwork and strategic planning in order to measure progress.

Salmon—Cooperation and teamwork along with control measures and implementation.

Hooseline—Teamwork, co-operation and long range planning.

Luke—Three big factors would make it more effective—mutual respect, trust and communication.

At this time the moderator asked for a closing statement from each candidate for the county commission using the top quality that makes you the most qualified:

Henry—To be more concerned with character than reputation. I know how to build a team and how to work with them. I know how to write a budget and how to implement one.

Bryant—I care about the well being of every citizen in this county.

Trammell—I consider myself as a visionary and we have a great opportunity in this county. I’m goal oriented and my goal for the county is to be proactive and reactive. The key to moving forward is to move together.

Nowetner—My work experience with budgets and people.

Bernard—We have conflict because we live in a free country. If we lived in Russia there would be no conflict.

Salmon—I always try to listen to both sides and make the best decision.

Hooseline—I served in the military and worked in supervisory positions.

Simmons—I have been a businessman and I’m very good at budgets and implementation.

Cox—I have experience. I worked 40 years in business. This is not a part time job for me. My past record shows that we have cut our budget by $2 million. Roads have been paved and other things accomplished. I also serve on the Development Authority.

Luke—I have been in a supervisory position and accomplished goals keeping on budget. My strongest quality is integrity, doing the right thing. We need to put unity back in community.

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Early voting is currently under way—each weekday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and this Saturday, July 21, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the basement of the Courthouse.Early voting ends Friday, July 27. All county polling places will be open Tuesday, July 31, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The best place to find election results is on the Secretary of State website, says Elections Superintendent Linda Mock-Keller. The Secretary has a new election night reporting system and the public will be able to view the local election returns online at http://sos.georgia.gov/elections/election_results/2012_0731 and then click on the link for Jasper County.

“The posting to this website will be our first priority as returns are processed,” she said.