Manchester candidates square-off in TSI-Fantasy forum

25 July 2009

By Byron Hensley
TSI Editor, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Manchester alderman candidates Debbie Hudgens, Jackie Sisk, Elizabeth McKenzie and Ryan French, who will face each other in the August 6 general election, faced the voters Tuesday at a candidates’ forum sponsored by The Saturday Independent and Fantasy 101.5 FM.
Incumbent Alderman Gene Holmes, who is also on the August ballot, was unable to attend due to a prior commitment, but sent a letter which was read at the forum and is included here under the candidates’ opening statements.
Following their opening statements, the candidates were posed a series of eight questions, six of them from forum moderators and two from the audience. Those questions, and the candidates’ answers, are included here and will be featured in upcoming editions of The Saturday Independent. The forum was recorded and may be seen in its entirety at www.tsinews.com.

OPENING STATEMENT
Holmes: I have represented the citizens of Manchester for the past two years and 10 months to the best of my ability. I supported the 20 cent decrease in city property taxes, a step that shows that I am ready to help the citizens of Manchester.
During my current term, we have faced a lot of tough issues. The Manchester Public Works Director was allowed to resign after being indicted by a grand jury, a process that was allowed by the previous mayor. This issue was followed by the resignation of the finance department head. The State of Tennessee conducted audits back in 2003, 2004 through the 2007, 2008 period. The audit did find some discrepancies, which were found or corrected by Ms. Greene , the finance director who was hired by the city in 2008.
We have had three new hotels open in the past six months, a measure that has increased our hotel tax and our sales tax.
For the past 10 months, Manchester sales tax revenue has been up over the previous 10 months. We have applied for a grant for the Manchester Water Department, and this grant will help pay for the cost of a new water and sewage treatment plant.
This year, with the economy across the nation in the tank, the City of Manchester has managed to hold its own amidst constant struggle. The city was able to avoid cutting any services, gave all the city employees a Christmas bonus in December of 2008, plus a 2 percent pay raise, and balance the budget as required by the law of the State of Tennessee. The city of Manchester managed to accomplish this with the help of the department heads and city employees really monitoring their spending.
Every decision I have made as a member of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen has been made in the best interests of the City of Manchester, and its citizens. Thank you for allowing me to serve the citizens and the City of Manchester, Tennessee. I would certainly appreciate everyone’s vote. Bless this City of Manchester, Tennessee, and God Bless America.

Sisk: I have two sons who grew up here, Alan and Jackson Sisk who attended College Street Elementary and graduated from Coffee County High School.
I moved to Manchester when I was 17 years old, and have never regretted that. My father was in the Navy, and traveled every two years, and he could not have found a better place for me to be raised, or for me to raise my children.
I moved roughly eight years ago to Moore County to pursue the directorship but when it was offered to me, I moved had back here to care for my mother who had Alzheimer’s, and who passed away in March.
During my life in Manchester, I have been a Cub Scout master, vacation Bible school teacher, as well as coach of T-ball and Little League baseball and soccer. I served as Alderman in the 1989-92 period. During this time I was on the recreation committee, the budget committee, of which I was chairman for one year, and safety committee.
I am running because I think I have the qualifications that Manchester needs as listening to the people. That is what an alderman’s job is; it’s to listen to the people, make wise decisions, and go from there; always give back to the people. And in my 36 years of education I have proven that I listen, take the best interest of everyone at heart, that I get back to them and try to discuss the problems.
Elizabeth McKenzie: I was born and raised here in Manchester. I am the daughter of John and Pat St. Claire, they’re both former educators
I attended College Street Elementary, which is where both my daughters attend school; I have Savannah, who is 11, and my step-daughter Ashley, who is 10. My husband is Billy McKenzie, he’s in the 1175th out of Tullahoma, he’s done two tours of duty in Iraq. We live in the Brooke Hollow subdivision. I’m also a Motlow graduate, along with graduating from high school here. I work in the legal field; I work for Tommy Kilpatrick up on the Square; and I’ve worked in the legal field for about six or seven years now. I was also treasurer for James Threet when he ran for state senate this past year.
I want to give you a few reasons why you should vote for me as alderman. I was born and raised here, and have nothing but the best of intentions for our city. I want our city to be a place where my children will want to raise their children. I had a wonderful childhood here, and a lot of great memories.
Also, I’m a very open and honest person. I don’t believe in the good old boy side of politics, where it’s who you know and what they can do for you or what you can do for them.
We need to try some new things in our town. There need to be some changes made. And sometimes we do have to step out of that comfort zone to make changes and make our city better for the future. I do think that I can be a voice for the city and a voice for our citizens; I think that’s why you should vote for me.
French: I’m glad to be here tonight and give you an inside look on ideas I have to bring the city to new levels of prosperity.
I was born right here in Manchester to my parents, Linda Hogan Thomas and Steve French, and am the grandson of Pete and the late Patricia French and Paul and Jackie Hogan.
For years, Manchester has run an inefficient, wasteful and sometimes unprofessional government that has resulted in us paying some of the highest property taxes in the state, a staggering top ten ranking. Over the years, the good old boy nature of politics has taken precedence over city needs and public safety. Over the past 12 months we’ve seen various situations mishandled at this level ranging from stop signs on Oak Drive to the ultimate loss of city employee Josh Morris and even the firing of Codes Director Paul Guess….all of these issues were handled poorly. There was no explanation to the citizens, and there was no communication between the board and the citizens… It is time for these political games to end, and we want once again to start building that bridge to a bright future that the City of Manchester will see.
I will carry forth the idea of common sense government, and list four important things that I think are crucial to the future of this city and its prosperity: strong schools, open government, professionalism and a balanced budget are things that I have pinpointed as strong points of emphasis. We have an excellent city school system that ranks very high as an education system, with an outstanding administration full of bright and notable educators. As an alderman, I will fight to see that these high standards are upheld and the children of our community are all given an opportunity to learn in this high level of education. As an alderman I will introduce new ideas to target citizen participation in our local government. These ideas range from simply improving the agenda and board minutes to better communication between the board and our local media, even breaking down the new city web page; we have a nice looking web page, but not a very functional web page. This new web page should be interactive; you should be able to read a simple e-mail address; you should receive e-mails on the meeting agendas and meeting times. This is not just for board meetings at the alderman level, but for committees and subcommittees as well.
As alderman I will work to improve the reputation of the board, and work in a professional manner at all times. It is important to act in a professional manner to not only earn the respect of those that I am representing, but also to earn the respect of businesses and manufacturers that are wanting to become a part of the local economy. As alderman, my first focus will be taking a hands on approach in reviewing our city departments, department by department. I will work closely with each of our departments’ veteran staff that day to day function and overall ability for us to provide the best and most efficient services to our citizens.
With all that’s been said it boils down to one word, representative. That is what I am going to be to you, and what I am going to be to all the citizens of Manchester.
While growth is intriguing, I warn you that smart growth is even more intriguing. Our best days lie ahead of us in this city, and I want to make sure that we stay on the most efficient path to see those days through.
Hudgens: While I did not grow up here, my husband and I have lived here for 22 years. My children have attended both school systems from elementary to high school.
It’s been an honor to serve you for the past six years, and if reelected I promise to hold the line on spending. I have never voted for a tax increase, and insist on fair, efficient and courteous service from municipal government…and work with Coffee County to attract new retail and industrial development, listen and learn from the taxpayers of Manchester, to learn about issues that affect you and your family.
Together, we can continue to make Manchester a great place to live. Please remember to go vote; it doesn’t matter if you vote for me, or one of these other fine candidates, but do exercise your right to vote.
QUESTION 1
Should the revitalization of Manchester’s historic downtown district be a city priority, and if so, how do you propose to go about doing that?
Hudgens: Revitalizing downtown is important. I feel it needs to look better. We have a wonderful tourism committee that is handling that, and they do have money for that purpose. That’s something that they handle and do a great job.
French: I think as far as attracting business to downtown, I think everyone would agree that the growth of Manchester is not in the downtown area as far as retail is concerned. That’s going to be on your Interstate exits. That’s the way geographics work.
It is important that the downtown is given a boost. But as Ms. Hudgens has said, there is a committee that works on that in terms of applying for grants. I think that as far as a priority, no, I don’t think it needs to be a priority. Right now downtown can be great for entertainment, it can be great for restaurants, and I love to see entertainment and restaurants on the Square. We need a music atmosphere and maybe with Bonnaroo, we could attract more music to downtown. But as far as taxpayers paying for revitalization, no.
We have public safety needs, in these tough times we’ve got to get our tax rate down, and we don’t need to be taking on a project when we’ve got public safety needs that should be addressed first. But I love the idea of it, and I think everybody does.


McKenzie: I work downtown. I work two doors down from Baker Brothers, and I love our downtown area. There’s a new restaurant, Coffee Café, it’s great, so there is some kind of revitalization that’s happening downtown.
As far as it being a priority, there are other things that we need to do first. There are different issues that the police and fire department have to deal with, I think that needs to be a priority; safety for our citizens.
Revitalization would be great. I’d love to see something happen with it, something similar to maybe like what they do in Bell Buckle. They have a huge craft show in the middle of downtown every year that attracts hundreds of people, thousands of people. That would be something great for our economy, it would be great for the revitalization, and I think it would be a great idea. Like Ryan said, I think we have other priorities and as far as spending tax dollars right now, I don’t think so.

Sisk: No, I do not believe the city should be involved in it. But getting organizations and businesses to get involved is part of the job of the city. I work in Lynchburg, and if you’ve all been to Lynchburg, you see that the Square is revitalized. But government did not do that. The people in the community, the businesses, and the clubs. For the longest time when I was growing up here, we had clubs that would get involved. The city needs to try to get organizations and clubs involved in rebuilding, and doing other things as well.


QUESTION 2
What are your feelings about the proposed building of a Coffee County middle school within the City of Manchester
McKenzie: I don’t think it’s a good idea, for several reasons. I want you to think about not just the people that live in our city, but people who live maybe out toward Summitville and work in Tullahoma. Think of how many school zones they’re going to have to go through. If that were to happen to you, you might choose to move to Tullahoma and not come into Manchester to do your shopping here or attend various functions.
Another thing is that the land behind there is virtually swampland. … This would not hinder a building from being built there, but it would cause a lot of red tape. We’re talking about going over budget … I just don’t agree with the county putting a building in the city. I think there are other places in the county where it could be located that would be just as good. I don’t agree with it.
Sisk: I do not approve of it for many reasons. First of all, it’s a swampland. Another thing is traffic. If and when a new hospital is built, I would hate to try and drive there. As a citizen, I’m mainly concerned. We should put the people of Manchester first. If it’s going to be a hindrance to us, we should tell the Coffee County School Board, wait a minute, this is not beneficial for the citizens of Manchester.
French: When they started the search for the property for the new middle school, there were two things they said the property had to meet; number one was 40 to 60 acres of property. That is 39 acres. And there’s 18 acres they can’t use to build any kind of school building on. So that doesn’t quite meet their own standards.
I spoke at that meeting and said, you’re justifying this by saying it’s centralized. What’s it centralized to? Is it centralized geographically? Or is it centralized to the population of your students? Which it’s not, which is more important when you’re building a school.
Hudgens: I personally have received lots of complaints about where the county is planning to build the middle school. I don’t know other sites that were looked at, but it is out of the city’s hands. It will be left to the county schools, or the county commission.