The 2010 Claiborne County Election Forum was held Thursday night, July 16 at Tex Turner Arena on the Campus of Lincoln Memorial University.

The Forum was sponsored by the Claiborne Progress, Communicomm Services and Lincoln Memorial University.

The Forum was moderated by Gary Burchett.

All candidates for County Mayor and Sheriff were invited to attend the forum. They were given the opportunity to respond by Monday, July 12 at noon.

The candidates were drawn at random to determine their seating and the order that they were given their questions.

All candidates for both offices were given a one minute opening statement and a one minute closing statement.

The Mayor candidates were given two general questions in which they each answered and then given individual questions to answer in two minutes.

Much like the Mayoral Candidates, the Sheriff candidates were given two general questions to answer and then given two individual questions to answer in two minutes.

The questions were sent in by Claiborne Progress readers as well as the general public.

The candidates were reminded before they began that it was a forum and not a debate. They were asked not to speak while other candidates were speaking and that slander would not be tolerated or they would be asked to leave.

Six of the seven candidates were present for the forum. Incumbent Mayor Joe Tyler Duncan was ill and could not be present. A moment of silence was held on his behalf.

After a one minute opening statement, the Mayoral candidates were asked their first general question, which was, “Explain the office of or position of County Mayor and what it responsible for?”

Candidate Steve Brogan was the first to answer the question.

Brogan said that the job of the County Mayor is to be the Chief Financial Officer of the County and handle the finances of the county. He said it was also the job of the Mayor to do the financial planning for the county and that he would like to see the Mayor as the Chief of the financial responsibility of the County again.

Candidate Virgil Herrell answered next and agreed with Brogan. He does not agree on the financial management system that Claiborne County has now. He does see that it frees the County Mayor up to do more inside Claiborne County and to get more involved. He continued saying the County Mayor serves on several local and regional boards including being Chairman of the Hospital Board and that the County Mayor is always there to answer the community’s questions.

Candidate Casey Anders stated that the job of the County Mayor is to make sure that everything in the county runs smooth. He feels that it is to make sure the taxpayer’s money is going where it needs to go. He continued saying the County needs to be moving uphill. He said if elected, that he would be asking people in the community for help and would get out and see what needs to be done to move forward instead of backwards. He feels that everyone needs to be working together instead of against each other.

Candidate Sam Owens answered that the County Mayor’s Office is one of the most important offices in the County. He said that leadership needs to be shown as the County Mayor. The County Mayor needs to be able to show leadership to all the boards and that they all should work together so that everything can move forward and have progress in Claiborne County. He said that they need to work with businesses to seek out jobs. He said he would work to have better tourism and that websites need to be developed for Claiborne County. He said that infrastructure needs to be looked at for everyone in Claiborne County to live a happy life.

Candidate Ronnie Bunch said the first priority of the County Mayor is to make sure that every dollar that comes in from each department needs to be handled right. He said that if elected he would do that. He said the Mayor of the County is the manager and that he would find quality people to work with to develop things in the county that would be an asset. He feels that Cumberland Gap needs to be used more to bring in tourism to the area and needs to be utilized to put Claiborne County back on the map. He said he would be working to better Claiborne County for every citizen.

Candidate Jack Daniels said that the Mayor is the Chief Executive Financial Advisor. He said he would work with every leader in this County if elected. He feels that the Mayor should work with a financial advisor and that he has a group together if he is elected. He said that the people in this county are being burdened hard with taxes and he will work hard to find a solution to get the county out of debt without raising taxes. He said if elected he will be out of the office and working hard to find people jobs in Claiborne County.

The candidates were then asked an individual question before they were asked a second general question and given a two minute response.

After the Mayor Candidates completed their forum, a five minute intermission was taken before the Sheriff Candidate forum.

The Sheriff Candidates were also given a one minute introduction before they were asked their first general question, which was sent in by a Claiborne Progress reader.

The question read, “What are you going to do different about our neighborhoods and schools? Things look good on the surface but looking at my neighborhood, it is not working for some reason. It seems the more we say, the less that gets done. So, what would or could you do differently for us to feel safe in our world?”

The candidates were given a two minute response time.

Candidate Jimmy Seals answered, that he would focus on being out in the county and making the neighborhoods feel safe. He said he wants officers in the schools at no additional money to the taxpayers. He said that if an officer were in the schools that children would feel safe. He feels that K-9’s need to be brought back to the department. He continued saying that children would be his main concern. He said that he has always worked hard at everything he has done and that he has children that he has to provide for and that he wants people to know that he is concerned.

Incumbent Sheriff David Ray said that every school in Claiborne County has an emergency plan that is on file with the Sheriff’s Office and the Emergency Management team here in Claiborne County. They have had two mock drills at LMU and one at the Claiborne County High School and they both turned out remarkably well. He feels that if the citizens knew the work they have done, they would be more satisfied. Officers patrolled over 777,000 miles last year. He said officers are answering calls while also patrolling. He said they are working on bettering neighborhood watch programs and he also wants to develop a citizen’s academy where they would learn laws and also let them graduate with a ceremony and would hold the academy every three to five months.

Candidate Dane Poore answered that he has talked to people and has recognized the problem and that there needs to be community involvement. He said the problems need to be identified, what they are and where they are. He said they are going to have to be more aggressive and implement a lot of new programs. He feels that the drug dogs need to be brought back. He said that he would need a lot of help but there is a lot of help out there. He wants to work with school officials and find out exactly what the problems are in the schools. He would try to educate to kids what drugs do to their life and health and put an end to the addiction of drugs. He continued saying that he wants to get the kids off drugs and try to get them not involved in drugs and to get drugs off the streets. He wants to go after the suppliers to make them less accessible. He feels that it is going to be a hard job and have a lot of education but he is willing to do the hard work.

The Sheriff Candidates were then asked two individual questions and a second general question and given a two minute response time. They were then given a one minute closing statement.

Throughout the forum, Lincoln Memorial’s Relay for Life team was set up at the concession area to raise money for this year’s Relay for Life, which will be held at the Harrogate City Park, Friday, August 27th.

If you missed the forum Thursday night, it will re-run on CommuniComm Channel 20 every Thursday night at 7 PM until Election Day.

Early voting is going on right now and will end on July 31.

The General Election is on Thursday, August 5.