Cleveland, Bradley Candidates Answer Questions At Bradley County GOP Forum

  • Friday, July 1, 2016
  • Rosana Hughes

Cleveland and Bradley County School Board candidates and contenders for the Cleveland City Council expressed their views on Thursday night at a forum sponsored by the Bradley County Republican Party.

The event at the Bradley County Courthouse was the candidates on the ballot for the Aug.

4 election. The candidates answered questions from media representatives as well as questions that the public submitted prior to the event.

The forum was broadcast live on MIX 104.1 FM and WTNB TV Channel 5.

Candidates running for the Cleveland City School Board race include Krista McKay for School Board District 2 and Steve Morgan for Cleveland School Board At-Large.

Candidates running for the City Council race include Jonathan Porter, Avery Johnson and George Poe for Cleveland City Council At-Large; Tom Cassada, Michael Plumley, Pam Edgemon and Larry Bryant for Cleveland City Council District 3 and Mary Baier and Dale Hughes for Cleveland City Council District 5.

Candidates running for the Bradley County School Board race include Teddy Bryson, and Nicholas Lillios for District 3; Charlie Rose and Jerry Frazier for District 7 and Nancy Casson and Chris Turner for District 1.

Cleveland City School Board

Some of the questions posed to the candidates running for the Cleveland City School Board included: whether or not they support full-time school faculty to carry concealed weapons on campus, what their stance is on allowing students of the restrooms of the opposite sex and how they feel religion should be addressed in public schools.

In regards to the questions addressing concealed weapons on campus, Ms. McKay said that if a state law is passed that changes the policy, a great deal of input would need to be gathered from constituents. She pointed out that there are school resource officers (SRO) already in place that are meant to take care of any security issues. Mr. Morgan agreed with her statement.

With respect to the question concerning the students using the restrooms of the opposite sex, Mr. Morgan said the City School Board has made allowances to meet the needs of students of either sex that are either unsure, confused or in an identity crisis. However, he doesn’t see the need in relabeling restrooms. Ms. McKay concurred with Mr. Morgan’s statement.

Regarding the question of how religion should be addressed in public schools, Ms. McKay said as far as introducing theology in the classroom, she believes it should only be done in historical context. Mr. Morgan agreed, saying in a historical perspective, religion exists in various practices and rituals and, as far as school goes, it needs to be presented in a factual, educational manner.

City Council

For the candidates running for the City Council, some of the questions included: what they believe the City Council need to consider in light of future city growth, whether or not they will support tax increases to help fund the new elementary school, and what they would do to address issues with infrastructure.

There was a consensus among candidates that infrastructure and the need for a new elementary school were the two main issues the City Council needed to address. However, there were a few other issues brought up, as well.

Ms. Edgemon said she would also like to make sure the proper equipment is being provided to local law enforcement officers and the fire department. Mr. Poe said there need to be new businesses to help the economy. Mr. Bryant said he would like to stop the flow of drugs in Cleveland. Ms. Baier said she thinks there needs to be better leadership in City Council in order to get these issues addressed.

            When asked about increasing taxes to help fund the building of the new elementary school, most candidates agreed that they were against tax increases. However, if it were necessary, they would support a tax increase because the building of the new school would take priority.

            Mr. Porter and Mr. Plumley said they would only vote to increase taxes once they made sure they could not fund the school without a tax increase. Ms. Edgmon said if it became a necessity she would see what the constituents of District 3 have to say before she made a decision. Mr. Poe said he is against a tax increase and would prefer to cut wasteful spending.

            In regards to the question about what the candidates would do to address issues with infrastructure, all candidates agreed there need to be improvements on the city’s infrastructure, especially widening Highway 60. Their approaches, however, varied.

            Mr. Poe pointed out that the City Council cannot always fix some of the roads because some of them are state roads. Ms. Edgmon suggested increase public transportation.

            “If we offered that service, perhaps that wouldn’t be so invasive as far as money goes,” said Ms. Edgmon. “Maybe then we could facilitate the movement of our people a little bit better.”

Mr. Plumley said he believes the issue of infrastructure is multifaceted.

            “To address this in most effective way, we need to find out where the greatest volume of traffic exists,” said Mr. Poe. “Then develop a realistic strategic plan to address the issue incrementally and not all at once.”

            Ms. Baier pointed out that infrastructure means more than just roads—it is storm drains, sewer, electrical, fiber optics.

“It’s a huge issue,” said Ms. Baier. “You don’t bring new businesses into the city and not plan ahead and play catch up. What we’ve done in the past is play catch up. When you catch up on a problem, you’re costing yourselves money. When you plan ahead, you save money.”

Mr. Porter said he thinks the City Council should be more transparent.

“(We need to)] keep the people informed so maybe the citizens of Cleveland will understand why we can or cannot get something done at certain times,” said Mr. Porter. 

Bradley County School Board

For the candidates running for the Bradley County School Board some of the questions included: what they thought was the biggest issue in Bradley County Schools, what would they do to support a school culture that embraces students that identify within the LGBT community, and whether or not they were in favor of legislature that would allow full-time faculty member to carry concealed weapons on campus.

In response to the question regarding what the biggest issue in Bradley County Schools is, Mr. Bryson said he thinks the biggest problem is mismanagement of taxpayers’ money. Mr. Rose said the most important thing for Bradley County schools is to build community support for the school system. Mr. Lillios said the biggest issue facing Bradley County students is illiteracy – children need to read at grade-level by third grade. Ms. Casson said the biggest issue for her is the teacher morale. Turner said he thinks a pressing issue is finding out how to invest. Mr. Frazier said people need to be supportive of reading programs.

In respect to the question regarding what they would do to support an embracing culture for LGBT students, there were some differing opinions, but the consensus was that the safety and protection of the child is top priority.

Mr. Frazier said all students deserve the school’s very best. He said, “When you have an issue, you deal with that issue. Whatever it is that comes up, you face it and you deal with it to the satisfaction of the people that are involved.”

Mr. Turner said he believes the school system cannot be a moral authority for students. He said that, that responsibility belongs at home. He said, “What we do as a school system is about teaching. As far as building a school board culture to drive LGBT, that's not our job; and certainly not consistent with the values of the people of Bradley County.”

Ms. Casson said she thinks that as a school board, they have to support the teachers and principals that have to address the situation, should the situation arise.

Mr. Lillios said the LGBT issue has just now come to the forefront of the media, but the Bradley County school system has already dealt with these issues discreetly and respectfully. That is how it will remain, he said.

Mr. Rose said every child is equal and should be in a safe environment. He said, “As a board member, I will make decisions that are ethically correct, that will address children’s individual needs and will reflect the culture of Bradley County schools.”

Mr. Bryson said to send the children to their schools and they will be educated and they will be treated fairly.

When asked if they were in favor of legislature that would allow full-time faculty member to carry concealed weapons on campus, the majority of candidates agreed that, while they were in favor of conceal carry permits, that is what the SROs are at each school for.

Mr. Lillios, however, was in favor of teachers that are ex-military or ex-law enforcement officers carrying guns. He said, “Our kids need to be protected at all costs. We have SROs, but we have one per school. That’s stretched pretty thin when you look at some of the large middle and high schools we have. If you’ve been to Iraq, you’ve protected my freedom over there, my God you should be able to carry a gun. Protect (my freedom) here.”

The event lasted from 6-8:30 p.m. Each candidate had a 90-second opening statement. After opening statements, panelists began with questions. Each candidate had the chance to give a 60-second response. After the questions, each candidate had a 90-second opportunity for a closing statement.

Questions were not given to the candidates in advance, and the number of questions each group received depended on the number of candidates and their response times.

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