Curtis Adams, Tim Boyd and Brent Lambert
photo by Wes Schultz
At a Pachyderm Club debate on Monday, former District 8 Commissioner Curtis Adams criticized the incumbent for spending portions of his discretionary funds away from East Ridge. He said Tim Boyd used some funding for city projects and for bringing in an out-of-town speaker.
Commissioner Boyd said East Ridge was his top priority, but he said he saw other needs. He said he has several Latinos in his own family and he gave some to Latino projects. He said Latinos are a growing segment of the local population.
East Ridge Mayor Brent Lambert, another District 8 contender in the Republican primary, questioned whether the discretionary funds should be continued. If it is, he said, the entire commission should vote to fund the projects. He stated, "It's a broken system. I'd rather do away with it if it can't be made to work."
Under the present system, each of the nine commissioners gets $100,000 per year to spend as the commissioner sees fit.
The candidates were asked whether they had always been Republicans. Commissioner Boyd and Mayor Lambert answered in the affirmative. Commissioner Boyd cited a number of principles he said were laid down by Ronald Reagan.
Commissioner Adams said he was a Democrat his first two terms in office and then a Republican the third. He told of taking the late Judge Bob Moon to a Democratic meeting and the judge getting continually interrupted. "I never went back after that, and I've never regretted it," he said.
Commissioner Boyd told the club members at GOP headquarters that he can be found asking many questions of the administration, saying he wants to protect the interests of the taxpayers.