CRESTVIEW — Some residents know which qualities they want their mayor to have.
“I want a strong leader,” Corbin DeMonia said.
“Someone who’s going to do something for the children around here,” his friend, Chris Richards said.
They were among more than 60 attendees of the North Okaloosa Republican Club's Tuesday forum that brought candidates and constituents face to face.
Here's what the candidates — incumbent, David Cadle; business owner Landrum Edwards; City Councilman Tom Gordon; and business owner Jeremiah Hubbard — said about their positions.
MAYOR DAVID CADLE
Full- or part-time mayor: “The number of people that come by my office is really incredible. It continues to grow. It needs someone there full time.”
“I will tell you: what the mayor's position is now is not what I would call part-time.”
Public transportation: “Public transportation is a problem for cities throughout the country. Public transportation is a problem for the county.
“I still have a problem with all the subsidies coming from the government. I would like to see a way for it to pay for itself, and I think private enterprise would make public transportation more efficient.”
Sewer, water inequity: “The duality of water and sewer services is set by city ordinance. There's not much a mayor can do about city ordinance. Here's what you can do: you can come before the city and start requesting for a change.”
Downtown midday parking: “The solution is to have another downtown parking lot so you don't have to walk an extra block. The sad thing is, people don't want to walk a block.
“The city is looking again at the lot behind Desi's (Downtown Restaurant). The owner originally wanted more than appraisal value, but that may have changed.”
LANDRUM 'LANNY' EDWARDS
Full- or part-time mayor: “I support a strong mayor. Pensacola has a type of mayor who is a representative of the city.
“We cannot sit up here and tell people, ‘I'm mayor of Crestview but I can't do anything because the City Council runs the city.’ The City Council should be making policy and setting the budget, not running the city.”
Public transportation: “Fees should be regulated by the city council. We cannot keep subsidizing everything that rolls through the door. We need the people who use the transportation to help pay for it.
“We need some type of transportation better than what we've had in the last 10 years.”
Sewer, water inequity: “If you've got a garden and you're watering a garden in the backyard, the city wants to put in a separate water meter.
“But if you have a well but you don't want to pay that sewer bill, so later when their septic system clogs up, who are you going to turn to? The city of Crestview.
“Water and sewer have to be coupled. You have to pay your fair share.”
Downtown midday parking: “I brought this up about five years ago. You talk to some of the old timers there, like Mac Brooks (who owns a downtown barber shop). From approximately 11 to about 2 o'clock, you can't park in front of his business, and you can't get a haircut.
“We need to get that property (behind Desi’s) for the simple reason that you can make a loop road there, too.”
COUNCILMAN TOM GORDON
Full- or part-time mayor: “The real options are full-time, part-time, or city administrator. The full-time mayor in Pensacola, the first thing he did was hire a city administrator.”
“I'm used to working with limited resources. What we have now is a part-time mayor. I'd open the office on Friday. I'd have more online and social media information.”
Public transportation: “(A) public transportation system is very much needed. The question is by whom? The problem is, the government is inefficient. Private systems would be much more efficient and faster.
“I would suggest private sector or community partners work with government on public transportation.”
Sewer, water inequity: “Water and sewer is a matter of ordinance. I would suggest anytime you have a problem like this, you come before the city council with a question and an answer.
“I'd take your problem and your solution, and I'd take it to your councilman and get it (an ordinance change) started as soon as it can.”
Downtown midday parking: “The downtown parking at lunchtime rush is always interesting. I found if you park by city hall, you can walk a block and get where you need to go.
“If property is available and accessible, then we can look at another parking lot downtown. It's only an issue from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. After that it's not an issue.”
JEREMIAH HUBBARD
Full- or part-time mayor: “I do agree Crestview needs a full-time mayor. We need a mayor there who can be continually planning for the future.
“When you have strong leaders, we have to make sure they are accountable. A strong mayor will have the opportunity to be more effective in the position than shaking hands and kissing babies.”
Public transportation: “How are we going to pay for it? If we didn't lose so many businesses, we would have the tax revenue to pay for it.”
“We're more diverse now. More people coming to our city are used to public transportation and can rely on it.”
“It's another good solution to eliminating the traffic problem.”
“Attract business to fund these programs.”
Sewer, water inequity: “It's often times when people get lumped into services, they end up paying for other services. We don't need people paying for sewer if they're not using sewer.”
Downtown midday parking: “It's 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., so we're talking about a lot of money on a handful of people who want to go downtown to eat lunch. Is that the best use of our money?
“We need to evaluate this thing long-term before we start spending money on new parking.”
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Editor's Note: A previous version of this article included partial information about the city's sewer and water services.
If water and sewer are available for a given property, the city will charge the resident for both services; even if he or she uses a septic system, that's still the case, according to the city clerk's office. However, if sewer and water are not available for a given property, that's not the case.
An earlier version of this article included incorrect infomration. Jeremiah Hubbard, though in ministry in 2011 and before then, is no longer an evangelist. We regret the error.
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
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This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview mayoral candidates discuss public transportation, sewer and water