DECATUR, Ala. (WHNT) — Candidates for the upcoming Decatur City municipal election faced voters to discuss the most pressing issues in the city: unity, economic growth and transparency.
The Young Professionals of Decatur, along with the Chamber of Commerce, played host to ‘Know Before You Vote’ to 250 concerned Decatur citizens. All candidates faced tough questions from the crowd from start to finish.
“What is the mayor, city council and school board responsible for. What do they actually do? Because we think sometimes people get confused on who is responsible for what and who does what,” said Cheyenne Sanchez, President of Young Professionals of Decatur.
Among the candidates are all 4 candidates for mayor: Councilman Billy Jackson, Kent Lawrence, Suzie Wiley and William ‘Butch’ Matthews.
The event was designed to equip voters with the knowledge and confidence they need ahead of the elections.
Many of the questions from voters focused on how the candidates plan to bring a divided city together since the police shooting death of Steve Perkins in September 2023.
“This situation that occurred in 2023 is not over for us. There’s an upcoming trial, so how are we as a city going to be able to navigate through that?” Decatur citizen Madison Brown said.
Chandler Davis, a college student from Decatur, told News 19 that he believes that all of the candidates understand what’s at stake.
“The policing and the Steve Perkins incident were a problem, and it brought a lot of shock to our community,” said Davis. “I think all of the candidates pretty much were sympathetic towards the situation, and I think they are all decently prepared to attend to that problem.”
The Decatur City Municipal Election is set for August 26.
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