On Nov. 7, residents of several North Georgia municipalities will cast votes for city council members, judges, school board members and more. Early voting started Oct. 16. To better introduce them to their voting constituency, North Georgia Weekly asked candidates in contested races a series of questions.
In addition to their occupation, we asked: 1. What makes you qualified for the position you're running for? 2. What's the biggest issue facing your community today and how would you go about solving it? 3. What is something you'd change in how the city/department is run?
Here are their answers.
CHICKAMAUGA CITY COUNCIL
The top vote getters will fill three seats.
Doug Cogswell
Walker County school bus driver and substitute teacher
1. I am a service-minded person and have been so blessed and encouraged by the citizens of Chickamauga that I would like to return the favor by now representing them on the city council. I believe I could inject some fresh ideas on the community's behalf.
2. I think many citizens want to maintain the historical integrity of the city while trying to capitalize on growth opportunities. I would also like to keep the city's family-oriented feel and reputation.
3. I would like to see the residents better informed about what is happening in our community and would like to see more people attending our city council meetings.
Randal Dalton (incumbent)
Owner of Tennessee Stone Co. and Five Point Storage
1. I have been on the Chickamauga City Council for 24 years. If elected, I will do my best for our citizens, as I have tried to do for the past 24 years.
2. Safety for our citizens is the main priority for me. We have a police chief and department that understands the trying times our world faces. They are always watching, and take action as needed. Them, along with law abiding citizens that keep a look out for one another, is the best way for a friendly and safe place for our children and families.
3. We strive to run the city as efficient as possible to keep the cost to our citizens as low as we can. To make our infrastructures as strong as we can, we are doing that through grants we have been awarded to upgrade our water and sewer [systems].
Don Martin (incumbent)
Owner of Suburban Auto Sales & American Car Wash
1. I grew up in Chickamauga and I love this city. I have many friends and relatives here. My business is also here in Chickamauga, which allows me to get to know the citizens of Chickamauga as well as their needs. I have attended the city council meetings for around 20 years as city chaplain, and I was appointed by the mayor to finish out the term of Shannon Whitfield. My experience with the city qualifies me to be elected as an incumbent.
2. The biggest issue is bringing good businesses into the city of Chickamauga. We - the city council, the mayor and the city manager - are currently looking at various avenues to address this issue.
3. I am always open to change if it is in the best interest of the city and the citizens. Our leadership is united in all our efforts to make Chickamauga a city anyone would love to live in.
Evitte Parrish (incumbent)
Business development officer at Capital Bank
1. The most important qualifications that I have would be a genuine concern for this city and an open mind and a willingness to listen. On top of that, the experience I've gained while serving on the council for the past eight years has taught me a lot that you cannot learn without being involved in the operations of the city. My 10 years of experience in banking and my master's degree in business administration have also been very helpful.
2. Our city is in great shape right now. My main focus is to continue being frugal with the city's money to offer the best services and quality of life that we can without overspending. To do that requires a lot of planning, which we really worked hard on last year when we invited the community in to work on our Strategic Visioning Plan. We will have a follow-up meeting later this year.
3. I believe that our city is ran well and has some of the best employees that you could ask for. We are currently applying for a grant that would pay for the city to get automatic meter readers for our water department. This will improve efficiency and eliminate the physically taxing task of opening everyone's meter boxes each month. That is one of the ways that we are looking at continually improving the operation of our city.
James Dale Powell
CNC machinist/carpenter, Chickamauga Precinct chairman for Walker County Republican Party
1. I have common sense and am able to think logically about issues before the city council. I will look at things objectively and vote for the things that are best for the community as a whole instead of just a select few. I will listen to what the citizens of Chickamauga have to say and be their voice.
2. I think the biggest issue is getting more small businesses to want to locate to Chickamauga, and then the city actually supporting those small businesses by not making it impossible to get started. I would recommend doing away with the Overlay District in the Highway 27 area, as it is not small-business friendly and is stalling growth of small business in that area.
3. I would like to see elected officials and our city manager stop using the city of Chickamauga as their personal employment agency for their family and friends. We should be employing people who have qualifications for the job that they are hired for other than [the fact that] they have a friend or family member on the city council or in a position of authority.
Lance Tarvin
Insurance agent
1. Business management and people skills.
2. Retaining our younger citizens, supporting our local school system [and] working with state legislatures to bring and keep businesses in our community.
3. I wouldn't have agreed to give up part of our share of SPLOST to other municipalities, as our current administration did. We are approximately 4.55 percent of the county population and we agreed to 3.77 percent of the revenue.
Email Shane Foley at sfoley@timesfreepress.com.