OAK GROVE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – The mayoral ticket for Oak Grove is pretty crowded for the upcoming general election on Nov. 3 with five candidates on the ballot in a city with just under 8,000 people. In order to allow residents to make an informed decision about their vote, the Hopkinsville League of Women Voters held a public forum on Oct. 22, where candidates were able to answer questions about key issues.
Current Mayor Jackie Oliver is seeking re-election against three city councilmembers, Janet Edwards, John Campbell and Richard Baker, along with Oak Grove resident Duvon Perkins. Mayor Oliver was not in attendance for the forum.
During the forum, candidates were given three minutes to answer each question, and one minute for rebuttals. Questions were not given to the candidates beforehand. Below is a summary of key takeaways for how each candidate responded during the forum in the rotating order in which they spoke. A full video of the forum will be posted on the Hopkinsville League of Women Voters Facebook page.
Jump ahead to topics:
First 100 days in office
Candidates were asked about what their priorities would be during their first 100 days in office.
Edwards: She would prioritize improving communication among the city council and with residents by establishing a newsletter to give updates about what is going on in the city. During the first 100 days she would also start a comprehensive evaluation, or audit, of each department and check for abuse of trust and efficiency, and present reports of findings to residents.
Baker: He would first of all listen to the city and get the residents involved in city operations. He said as mayor he would be cautious of how the city spends its money and takes care of equipment to make sure they get the most out of it.
Perkins: During his first 100 days he would focus on the youth and make sure the community center is evaluated for safety and security. He would also make himself available to everyone and speak openly about issues with residents. His third priority would be to create a portal of some kind where a resident can submit complaints or concerns directly to city officials.
Campbell: His first priority is to get control of their billing system, specifically citing issues with water bills. He would also prioritize transparency and establish a truly open-door priority for all residents and city employees.
Dealing with growth
Candidates were asked what responsible growth in the City of Oak Grove looks like to them.
Baker: He believes that they need to diversify their developments, saying that they currently have a lot of shopping centers going up that are mostly empty. He said Oak Grove needs to get bigger companies, bigger restaurants, and bigger companies to serve the city.
Perkins: He said more research should be put into growth, which may include ethical industrial developments that will fit into their existing infrastructure without a drastic impact on residents.
Campbell: He said it is important to invest in the future of the city and set up recurring investments to grow city services in preparation for major growth, so they are proactive and not reactive.
Edwards: Responsible growth starts with a plan, and she said she has been working to create a strategic plan to set out long-term goals for the city. Her plan includes not letting just anyone come in and build. She shared a plan to prepare an economic development packet to directly target developers. She also stated that the city should be approaching developers more.
Roads and infastructure
Candidates were asked how they would collaborate with county, state and the federal government to address road infrastructure and safety issues.
Campbell: He stated that he exercised professionalism recently when dealing with traffic issues on I-24 due to ongoing construction. He worked with local, and county leaders along with KYTC to get detours installed. He said it’s important to establish clear lanes of communication, which is currently an issue with the state road department.
Edwards: When it comes to roads, she said it comes back to making a plan and effectively communicating. She said city officials currently are not informed ahead of time about state road closures and construction projects, and they have no way to get the word out aside from social media. Having a plan and better communication would prevent this.
Baker: He agreed with others saying that there is a communication gap right now with state departments. If he takes office, he will work with them to prevent confusion with closures and find a way to inform citizens.
Perkins: Establishing a calendar with scheduled updates from other officials would be an effective plan to stay informed about what is going on with roads. He said that the city needs to find a way to relay that information to residents effectively. Ultimately, city officials need to reach out directly to others to be best informed.
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Future developments
Candidates were asked what types of businesses and developments they would actively recruit to the city and what type they would discourage.
Edwards: She believes that Oak Grove needs to be transformed into a destination location where people can visit and bring in outside tax dollars. She praised the casino and tourism department for their success, but she would also like to see a recreation facility like a splash pad, go-carts or a movie theater to get people excited about visiting the city. However, she feels that the city does not have the infrastructure for a large-scale industrial development.
Baker: He feels that Oak Grove needs some nice restaurants beyond what they currently have. The city could continue to collaborate with Fort Campbell, Hopkinsville and nearby Clarksville, Tennessee to create ideas for growth.
Perkins: As far as developments, he does not want to bring in any industry that would impact the environment, and he feels that there would be more cultural events with no red tape. He thinks the city should recruit more small to medium sized businesses.
Campbell: He feels that the city is too small to look at bringing major industrial developments. However, he suggested bringing in recreation activities, tourism style businesses, new apartments and multi-use properties with additional shopping. He feels that because of their location, Oak Grove could be the center hub that connects Hopkinsville to Clarksville, Tennessee.
Fiscal priorities
Candidates were asked what they see as the city’s fiscal priorities over the next two years given potential increase in tax revenue from the recent tax levy.
Baker: This candidate passed and did not answer the question.
Perkins: He believes that any additional revenue the city collects should go toward road maintenance to help support the infrastructure of the city, including establishing sidewalks. Although having a paid fire department is important, he thinks focusing on road maintenance is more practical.
Campbell: Once again, Campbell stated that the city should focus on investing in their future. He has been pushing to establish a paid fire department for the past six years, but he does not believe that this revenue increase will allow them to fund it and is more of a long-term goal instead. He instead believes that the revenue could be invested in city services and infrastructure that will not burden taxpayers.
Edwards: She agreed that the paid fire department is what most people want. However, she pointed out that the tax revenue is higher than average due to new housing developments, and it is not a sustainable increase. She said that this was the first year that the city could set aside $100,000 in the budget, which ended up being useful because they had to use it for an emergency expenditure. She feels they should continue aiming to have excess revenue to invest in the future.
Campaign promises
Candidates were asked what promise they are making during this campaign that they can realistically accomplish without raising taxes.
Edwards: Communication.
Baker: Leadership.
Perkins: Transparency and accountability.
Campbell: Investing in our future.
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