FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Editor’s note: Candidates for mayor and City Council in the August local elections spoke July 20 at Homestead Village. Some highlights of the speeches of the mayoral candidates are included below. Highlights of the City Council speeches are included in the second of a two-part series on those races. (See the story at right.) We have listed the candidates in alphabetical order, although that was not the order in which they spoke at the forum.

The first election forum of the local political season in Fairhope was Sunday at Homestead Village. The nonpartisan event was organized by Taney Brazeal, a former chairman of the Republican Party in Baldwin County, who served as master of ceremonies for this “Old Fashioned Political Ice Cream Social,” which gave the large field of candidates in the Aug. 26 elections for mayor and City Council a chance to make short speeches and mingle afterward with a crowd of about 130 mostly senior and retired local residents.

“I thought of the older people who don’t have a chance to meet the candidates,” Brazeal said. “It occurred to me it would be a good thing to get the candidates out here.”

Brazeal said the goal was to have an informal event for the candidates to talk briefly about their qualifications and campaign platforms and then meet personally with members of the audience.

He said no questions were asked of the candidates, but that upcoming forums on Aug. 5 and 7, sponsored by the Citizens for Responsible Government and the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce, would offer that question-and-answer format.

“The candidates will be asked to speak for three minutes,” Brazeal said at the start of the event. “We have a timekeeper sitting directly in front of the podium. He’ll raise the flag at two minutes thirty seconds. Then he’ll drop the flag at three minutes. I’ll be sitting back here, and I’ll pull you down if you don’t quit.”

A few of the candidates had to stop mid-speech, but the format kept the speeches to the promised three minutes.

“I learned a great deal yesterday,” Brazeal said Monday. “A lot of these candidates were new to me. I got a good picture of who would be the best representatives.”

Brazeal praised the work of Barbara Lawson, the main organizer of the event, and the other volunteers: Jackie Dismukes, Raye Fitzgerald, Dianne Frechhter, Raye Jackson, Phyllis Klumpp, Anne Nix, Chris Toney (timekeeper) and Arden Ward.

“I saw many people were making comments on the sheets we handed out with the candidates’ names,” Lawson said. “That gave them something to take home and think about.”

Jack Burrell

One of the things I’ve heard is that Fairhope’s a retirement community, or Fairhope’s a tourist town, or Fairhope’s for young people. Well, I can relate to all those people, to retirees, tourists and young people, because that’s what makes this community. I was the first candidate to announce I was going to run for mayor in February. I stand for fiscal responsibility. This city is tens of millions of dollars in debt. We’re not broke yet, but we’re heading in the wrong direction; and we need to reverse that trend. We need to start digging ourselves out of that hole. A hot button is managing growth. I believe that we need slow sustained growth I don’t believe we need to stop growth, because if we do we’ll cut off the lifeblood of this community. If you quit growing you’ll wither and die. Another thing we need to do is have open and honest government. We should videotape our City Council meetings and planning and zoning meetings.

Rick Gambino

I am concerned about the future. I don’t need a job. I’m independent. I can say no. (Growth) is getting a bit out of control. I think we’re making moves without looking at the consequences. I’ve been a businessman here in Fairhope for over 30 years. I’ve managed (many) people, made many budgets, met every budget and made many payrolls. Because I don’t owe anybody anything, I know I can make the right decision. I have a passion for this city, and I’ll work real hard for the people of Fairhope. I think that I will be considered an employee of the people. You all will be my employer. There is so much that can be done here. I think we need more things for families. I think we need to get back to what we had years ago when we had a bowling alley, skating rink and a movie theater. I think we still need those things done in the right conditions.

Bob Gentle

I offer three things: integrity, experience and leadership. Integrity: I won’t lie to you. I will tell you the truth straight-up — always will, always have. Experience: I’ve been (on the council) eight years. I’ve seen the good times, and I’ve seen the bad. Been through two storms. Leadership: The last four years I’ve been president of the council. We’ve had some interesting times. I’ve been a leader then, am today and intend to be a leader in the future. People ask me what have I done, or if you hadn’t been there, what would it be like today. The library would still be unfinished. The K-1 Center would be the University of South Alabama. The municipal pier would just about be getting finished today. Most recently, the council this past Monday night, (in an effort) which I spearheaded, suspended the work on the median in front of Green’s Nursery. I will not support any growth unless it is in strict compliance with our village comprehensive plan. I will not support a sales tax unless citizens want one. I have a plan to address traffic in downtown. I will not be utility superintendent.

Tim Kant

I have been truly honored to be your mayor for the past eight years. In 1983, when I was hired by Fairhope to turn this community into what we’re all about, I was so proud to be a part of that. Still am. We’re known third in the world for having one of the most beautiful communities. But it’s not me. It’s the 300 dedicated employees that make Fairhope what it is. And you have to manage these people every day. You have to make decisions. Three things: We’ve heard about managing growth. We’ve got to keep our two schools downtown. That’s the workforce for our businesses. We’ve been in the black every year. Got an A+ rating. Our net worth is at $103 million. If you sell everything off, that’s how much money you could put in the bank. We need to make a list of six to eight things that we can do well and do them. We can’t be every thing for everybody. But we should be able to do those eight or nine things and do them well. I’m not for taxes. Never have been. It’s hard to run this city on the money we have, so we have to work together.

Dean Mosher

We’re in danger of losing that sense of magic (about Fairhope). We are unique in all the world. If we don’t hold onto that uniqueness, we’ll lose something more precious than you can imagine. I have helped raise nearly $5 million to help build some of the major buildings (here). I have helped create nearly 100 acres of parks, including the largest contribution to the in-town gully system in over a 100 years. I have been officer of the Fairhope Single Tax Corp. and have actively participated to fiscally reform and bring that organization back to the powerhouse it is today. One of the reasons that attracted me to FSTC was its history. Fairhope would not be Fairhope without it: the parklands, the wide streets. So many of the assets that we have were sacrifices made by the people who came here. They gave their money, and they gave these gifts to the people forever. We have to cherish those gifts. We have to protect them. I feel I have the most experience and am best qualified to lead you for the next 100 years because this is the most pivotal election in Fairhope’s history.

Vince Valentim

I am not a politician but I am a people person. We have some opportunities in Fairhope. We need to grasp control of our finances. We need to learn what the strong council-weak mayor system is and get that refined. We also need to do something about our so-called master plan. We have a master plan that has a strategic plan within it. There are 47 strategies in that master plan. Six of them deal with finance. People get talking about a strategic plan but each strategy requires a plan of action. I made up many a strategic plan during those 38 years (with the U.S. Dept. of Defense). I am well-educated on the budget (and know) how to pursue and administer them. With regard to growth, I don’t like it when established communities get broken into. I’m part of an organization that’s trying to put a veterans memorial on the bluff. I want to make a pitch for that. You can put some money in that and make it beautiful addition to the bluff.

Chris Warner

When I ran for City Council four years ago and missed it by a handful of votes, I was talking about growth. We were 12,000 people then. Today we are 18,000 people. That’s a 50 percent increase in our population. That is by definition unbridled growth. Our master plan says distinctly that we are to be a small city conducive for raising a family or retiring. Everyone is attracted to Fairhope because of its luster. I use the powerful metaphor of the golden goose, and it still applies. Fairhope is still the golden goose. Everyone is attracted to this place and its quality of life It is unique. However, the goose can be killed if we do not manage our growth We’re now encountering budget deficits on an annual basis. One of the biggest trends in our country is the retirement of baby boomers born from 1946 to 1961. In three years, we will begin to experience a 15-year onslaught of human beings to this place. This is going to create more service delivery problems for us. We must look at our budget. We have concerns about our budget that will be here soon.

“This has been very good,” Brazeal said after the last speech. “I don’t think there are any babies in the audience to kiss, but please take this opportunity to meet the individuals that are here.”