CLEVELAND - The first of two candidate forums for municipal elections in the cities of Cleveland and Helen was held Tuesday night, at the United Community Bank Roy Ash Jr. Community Room in Cleveland.
Candidates for Cleveland City Council positions and mayor were invited to attend.
Nan Bowen and Annie Sutton have no opposition for their seats, but they were allowed to address the crowd. Two candidates, Shan Ash and Rush Mauney, are vying for the position of mayor.
The focus of the forum, sponsored by the White County Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with White County News and WRWH Radio was on the mayor's race.
The two candidates answered questions ranging from citizens' participation, downtown development, fire service and the future of Cleveland.
Both candidates feel community involvement is important.
"I think that if we get more community involvement and get people energized again instead of more of the same, we can do some great things here," Ash said. "Cleveland has the foundation, we just need to figure out how to make it a destination.”
Mauney said, “We have a very poor attendance at city council meetings currently and that is distressing to me, that more people aren’t involved, so I think being out in the community, being a part of the community, I can help get the community more involved in what’s going on in the city.”
Early voting currently is underway for the Nov. 3 election in both cities.
Another candidate forum will be held from 6-7 p.m. next Tuesday, Oct. 20, at the Helen Arts and Heritage Center Conference Room, 25 Chattahoochee Strasse, Helen. Five candidates are vying for positions on the city commission there.
As with the Cleveland forum, Billy Chism, editor/publisher of the White County News, will moderate the forums. Voters in the city of Helen are invited to attend.
