Local races heating up

The political season is starting to heat up as local council and mayoral candidates put their campaigns into full swing.

This could be a crucial year for city government. Over the next few years a number of major decisions will have to be made about the future of this community, and most of those are going to fall into the lap of the council, from infrastructure improvements to funding priorities.

The candidates will appear at a forum during the Fall Harvest Festival, and we urge citizens to attend, hear their positions, and ask questions.

It should be an interesting race leading up to the Nov. 6 election.

On the council side, four candidates, none of whom have ever run for or held political office before, are running for two open city council positions.

But the voters are being treated to four solid, honest candidates.

Russ Anderson is a quiet, thoughtful man with a background in city operations.

Geoff Schroeder is a dynamic man known for his volunteer efforts in the community and his tendency to speak his mind.

Mitch Prouty literally grew up surrounded by city politics and has a strong awareness of local issues.

Albert Clement is an intelligent man, a huge supporter of the community and well-versed in the economic conditions of the community.

Each brings to the table some unique skills, and all are good candidates. It will be up to the voters to decide which of their positions and platforms best meet the future needs of the community.

The mayoral race will be the toughest of them all. Councilman Tom Rist is running against incumbent Mayor Joe B. McNeal, in large part out of a massive frustration by himself and the other members of the current city council over how McNeal has run city operations.

McNeal is a great campaigner but is going to be spending a lot of time on the defensive concerning his handling of a number of city issues, from the golf course to his manipulation of the agendas placed before the council, to his work hours and subsequent accessibility to council and staff and communication with council and department heads. He's been under heavy fire since the day he took office and many of his decisions and management style have been sharply criticized by the council, who no longer trust him to give them straight answers. The relationship between the mayor and the council has been totally dysfunctional.

It won't help that not one of the council candidates is in his camp. All are supporting Rist. So Joe has his work cut out for him, but his skills as a campaigner will probably mitigate some of the criticism.

It's a critical race, and we urge all citizens to learn as much as they can about why the two men are running, how they defend their own actions over the last term, and what they plan to do for the city in the future.

-- Kelly Everitt