Chamber hosts candidate forum at monthly luncheon

The Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce hosted all 11 municipal candidates Tuesday, as well as multiple judicial and congressional candidates.

The 11 candidates for mayor and city council were given two minutes to speak about why they are running, and what they would hope to accomplish if elected.

Most of the statements centered on economic development, with only one or two candidates not mentioning it as a central issue of their campaign.

Current Mayor Butch Zaragoza, Mayor Pro-Tem Steve Ammons and current Place 1 Councilor John Henley commented on how far the city has come since 2008, when the newly elected council decided to drastically cut the city’s budget in order to account for the economic recession.

Since then, the candidates pointed out, the city has grown its sales tax and ad valorem revenue.

“You can see economic development at work,” Ammons said.

Zaragoza commented that the focus on economic development has been to avoid raising taxes, but still achieve the goals to make Vestavia “what it needs to be.”

Place 4 candidate Bob Elliot said he thinks the city is great, but that it can do more through economic development and to improve quality of life.

Other common topics of conversation centered on Vestavia Hills City Schools, and the responsibility of the city government to form a strong relationship with the Board of Education.

Several candidates, including current Place 4 Councilor George Pierce, mayoral candidate Ashley Curry and Place 1 candidate Rusty Weaver pointed to the fact that they’ve had multiple children go through the Vestavia school system and understand the importance of building it up.

Place 2 candidate Kim Benos said she also wants to support schools, but wants even more support for youth programs, parks and other recreational activities.

The candidates also spoke about investing in public safety and the Parks and Recreation Department.

Paul Head, who along with Weaver has been highly involved as a youth coach, said it is important to maintain and increase the recreation infrastructure, as well as the other educational aspects of the city.

Henley echoed Head, saying that he was committed to continuing the city’s focus on implementing a parks plan as well as a sidewalk plan.

Place 3 candidate Robert de Buys and Place 2 candidate Kimberly Cook both spoke about the need for increased transparency within the city government, as well as increased citizen engagement with the government process. Both expressed hopes that they could increase the channels of communication to provide better accessibility for residents on the city’s activities.

The Chamber is partnering with Leadership Vestavia Hills and Vestavia Voice for another candidate forum on Monday, Aug. 15 at 6 p.m. in the City Council chamber at City Hall.

At the forum, candidates will take questions, which can be submitted by email at efeatherston@starnespublishing.com.