DAPHNE, Ala. — Seven candidates interviewed for the District 6 city council seat Monday cited growth management as a top priority.

The candidates — all vying for the position Regina Landry resigned two months ago — fielded questions from city leaders asking how each would serve one of five districts in the Lake Forest subdivision. The six remaining council members will most likely vote on Landry’s replacement at Monday’s city council meeting, Council President Greg Burnam said. The new member will serve the remainder of Landry’s term from January to November 2008.

The candidates

•Donald Hastings, a minister and financial adviser with dealings here and in Pensacola, Fla., said he believes revenues should stand second to expansion.

“For me, I think the tax base (on commercial developments) is very important, but I think we need to be very careful on control of growth,” he said. “My concern is that we don’t grow so fast so that the tail begins to wag the dog.”

Daphne’s fire and water services, as well as its Civic Center and small-town feel — “you can stop in Wal-Mart and you learn about your neighbor,” he said — attracted him to the area. He’d hope to ensure, as councilman, that the latter stays that way. “It appears to me that keeping the quaintness of this city is important,” he said.

Asked his strengths, Hastings cited people skills. “I have worked with children and teens, adults and senior adults,” he said. “I am a minister so I understand people’s hearts and I’m a good listener.”

Councilman August Palumbo questioned whether Hastings’ religious convictions would affect his civic duties, but the candidate said he can separate matters of church and state. For instance, Hastings recently opposed a zoning exception that would have allowed a church in the mostly single-family Lake Forest subdivision.

During the interview, Councilwoman Cathy Barnette noted one weakness: Hastings’ short time in Daphne — two and a half years — is a disadvantage to knowing the community, she said.

Winning the council seat would help him get to know the area better, Hastings said. If elected, he added, he’d seek a four-year term in November.

•Diane Hurst, a resident for 29 years and a national event manager, said she works with Fortune 500 companies and often deals with legal and advertising issues while on the job. Along the way, she’s picked up skills that she thinks will serve her district well.

“I tend to listen to people and I try to look at the big picture,” she said, adding that she postpones her opinions until she’s researched the issues.

Asked her strengths, Hurst cited her longevity as a resident — having lived in the area since the late ’70s she’s experienced Daphne’s population boom — as well as communication abilities. “I’m used to organizing large numbers of people,” she said. Recently, she served as chairwoman on a committee that examined a zoning exception that would allow a church in the Lake Forest area. “Nobody was against the church being built,” she said, adding the group opposed the measure after having reviewed traffic and crime statics.

“Maintaining the city’s assets and maximizing its potential” are her goals as a city leader. She said she wants the council to focus on economic development, increase residents’ quality of life and create more youth programs.

•James Adkinson — formerly the director of clinical research operations at Merck, a pharmaceutical distributor —said his greatest asset is his business sense.

“I think on my feet,” he said. “I’m accustomed to making big-dollar decisions … quick, with lots of information. I can multitask; I can take large quantities of information and usually glean the important aspects.”

The city’s newest areas along U.S. Highway 90 and Alabama Highway 181 — such as the Sam’s Club, Lowe’s and the just approved Renaissance Center — as well as City Hall’s remodeling are credits to the current council, and align with his views toward expansion.

“My passion would be growth,” Adkinson said. “If anything’s left alone, it will deteriorate. So things like a city have to grow — and they will grow.”

“Daphne has a nice small-town feel … but it’s going to be a big city some day”; the council should manage the growth while maintaining the city’s character, he said. To that end, he supports architecture guidelines but wants the city to decide on a vision for characteristics that separate Daphne from other cities.

However, he said, his interaction with would-be constituents needs improvement.

“I don't do anything at this point to communicate with most of the people in the district,” he said. “I’m not sure how you communicate with everybody. … I don’t have any experience with something like that.” He added that he could use the council’s help to understand how to reach out to the community.

•Ben Cruitt, publisher of the Baldwin County Press, a twice-monthly newspaper, said that covering Baldwin’s city governments, among other beats, for 11 years drove his desire to seek a leadership role in Daphne.

Knowledge of city government from his years of media coverage and a “cool approach” to problem-solving are his greatest assets, he said.

He hadn’t considered a council seat prior to Landry’s resignation but said he hopes to effect change now.

“I think there are tremendous opportunities,” he said. “I’ve always had an interest in municipal government ’cause that’s where everything starts.”

Though he believes Daphne’s “almost perfect,” he said the city should control its growth. Otherwise, “you can plan yourself right into a box and never get out,” he said. He also advised the council to study and practice Robert’s Rules of Order to ensure that city meetings run smoothly.

•Mitch Davis, who has lived in Lake Forest for 30 years and has served as president and a board member of the Lake Forest Property Owners Association, cited teamwork as his strongest asset.

“I’ve got a record of working with groups in a collaborative manner to accomplish something,” he said.

The council should work together to ensure that Daphne’s continued expansion stays in control, Davis said.

“A city … is either growing or its dying,” he said. “I’d be interested in helping Daphne improve.

“We just need to deal with this massive growth … helping the city to provide the infrastructure to support that growth.”

Asked by Palumbo if loyalty to the LFPOA would affect his decisions as a council member, Davis said, “I don’t think that you could vote for something that you know would be detrimental to the whole, just to represent your little area.”

•Eric Nager, a financial adviser and an officer with the U.S. Army Reserves, said, much like other candidates, that the city should expand with caution.

“We need to manage growth smartly,” he said. To that end, “I feel the council is doing a pretty a good job,” he added, citing limited high-rise zoning and the council’s case-by-case consideration toward developments.

He named enthusiasm and his interest in the position as assets.

“I like numbers, I like graphs and charts that show trends, growth improvement and problem areas,” he said. He added that the experience as a city leader, if elected, may move him to seek a four-year term in November.

Palumbo questioned whether military duties could interfere with Nager’s civic responsibilities. “Any possibility where you could be called up (to duty) and would have to leave?” he said.

The possibility is real, but unlikely — “at least within the next 10 months,” Nager said.

•Derek Boulware, a resident of seven years who works at Vision Bank in Foley, said a neighbor’s nudging convinced him to seek the vacant council seat. It was then that he realized the similarities between a banker and a city leader, working in the financial interest of customers and a district’s constituents.

“What I do every day is what you try to accomplish,” he said.

“The things that involve the community, in the community” — such as festivals, the Bay Rivers Art Guild and Mardi Gras parades — should receive much promotion, he said. The city also should focus on the preservation of Olde Towne Daphne, “making sure that that is not a forgotten area,” he said.

Asked how he’d deal with votes that could benefit his employer, Vision Bank, Boulware said he would recuse himself from such decisions.

He would serve with the entire city’s interest in mind, particularly with commercial developments, he said. “You have to take the big picture in consideration,” he said. “Would that be the right business for that area?”

He said he’d bring a small business aspect to the council. As a city leader, he would address man power and tax regulation issues, and would research the cause of failed businesses.

“I want the city to grow, but we need successful growth,” he said.

He suggested city improvements such as adding residential sidewalks, especially in Lake Forest, and greater traffic control.

Asked by Burnam if he’d vote for something right for the city though unpopular, LeJeune said he would vote with his conscience.

City leaders interviewed candidates individually during the two-and-a-half-hour work session. Candidates not speaking at the podium waited their turn outside Council Chambers. Council members asked mostly the same questions to all candidates, although some questions were addressed to a specific candidate.

The council on Monday will vote until they reach a majority that favors one of the eight candidates, Burnam said. The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.

(Staff writer Jessica Jones contributed to this report.)