Council candidates introduce themselves at forum
The five sitting Newton City Council members could have their hands full determining which of the seven candidates to appoint to the open Newton City Council seat vacated by the death of longtime council member Ron Foreman.
Lonnie White, Richard Atwood, David Aldridge, Sheri Benson, James Klier, Harold Martin and Jeremy Heaberlin participated in a candidate forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Jasper County on Tuesday evening.
Nearly 50 people packed into council chambers to participate. Candidates gave opening remarks and took turns answering questions from the public.
The forum focused more on getting to know the candidates than on a debate of key issues. Many of the candidates agreed on some issues, like a desire to see fireworks continue in Newton with the help of donations and the need for more jobs in the community.
Former Maytager and U.A.W. president Lonnie White touted the need for good paying jobs in Newton, rather than lower-paying service jobs. He also talked about the importance of having a council that listens to the people and each other.
“You have to get along with each other. It’s kind of like a marriage, a working relationship is like a marriage. You have your days when things aren’t real smooth and you work over that and get through ... and I think that’s what this is about,” he said. “I would like to be able to do that. I think I can do that. I think I have the capabilities.”
Richard Atwood, a Maytag retiree and former superintendent of the headquarters grounds and a longtime Newton resident, wants to be a council member who listens to what the constituents have to say.
Atwood said he’s running “to see what the citizen’s concerns are and what can be done to address all those concerns. I feel that my life lessons, my years of living in Newton have taught me quite a bit about the people in this town and I’m willing to listen to anything anyone has to say,” he said.
Former Newton Mayor David Aldridge said he threw his hat in the ring because he believes the appointee gets an unfair advantage during elections. He intends not to run for the seat when it’s up for election in November whether he’s appointed or not. He kept the audience laughing with a handful of jokes throughout the evening.
“The reason I’d like to serve is because of the high salary that council makes. That and the fact that I sat here for eight years and never got to vote,” he said, drawing laughs from the audience before reiterating the real reason he was running was to serve the appointment in the short term and not seek re-election to eliminate that edge an appointee would receive.
Newton Community School District School Board member Sheri Benson said she intends to run for one of the two at-large positions in the fall whether she’s appointed or not. She’s seeking the post in what she sees as a key time of change in Newton’s history.
“We are on the cusp of a place brand new. Our students that are graduating from high school, let alone our kindergarteners, are going to walk into jobs that none of us even know what they look like today. We need their help to define that future,” she said.
Foreman’s son-in-law James Klier said his father-in-law would be happy to see so many candidates interested in offering themselves for community service. He seeks appointment to continue fighting for some of the things Foreman championed.
“We need to do a lot for the youth and senior citizens and also keep the taxes lower, where they’re at,” he said.
The 29-year-old Harold Martin touted himself as offering a different perspective, being younger than the current sitting council. He wants to see more people involved in the affairs of the city.
“I offer a young perspective to help out the older generation as well,” he said. “I just think getting the younger generation more involved in what’s going on in the city is what we need to do. I really think we need to get the community involved in what’s going on with the government and everything else.”
James Heaberlin sees this as a time of great change for Newton.
“I think we all feel like we have a vision for where we want to go and we’re looking forward to it.”
Newton City Council now has the potentially difficult task of sorting through the appointees. The plan called for council to reach a decision the appointment at the Aug. 3 council meeting.
“I think I speak for everybody: I think that the city council is going to have a hard time choosing,” the moderator said at the end of the forum, “but I think that’s great”
Andy Karr can be contacted at 792-3121 ext. 434 or via e-mail at akarr@newtondailynews.com.
