Southern Standard Political Forum

What about jobs in Warren County?

John Pelham ? ?We need to look at making our county more attractive to industry. We need to look at creating jobs. We have a lot of folks here in Warren County who are hurting. We do not need to forget that. We need to remember that in everything that we do.?

Trustee

Should your office be subject to county policy and personnel rules?

Kim Broom ? ?If I get the office I would like to get the policy and procedures book out and make it clear so we all know what is supposed to be going on in the office.?

Darlene Bryant ? ?I definitely think that we should be subject to the policy and personnel manual. I have spoken a little bit with John Pelham about clarifying that a little to all the employees, making sure that they understand it. They read it, sign something saying they understand it, and that way you have no question about it in the future.?

County Court Clerk

What are your views on county legislation prohibiting nepotism, the hiring of family members?

Scotty Nelson ? ?I would keep the current staff in place and as far as hiring family members, I don?t think the workplace is the place to have you and your family working in the same office. You?d be spending too much time together and that could cause a conflict of interest and a problem at home.?

Mike Neal ? ?We have no intention of hiring anyone of kinship to us. So we will abide by that. There will be no nepotism in my office.?

Randy England ? ?There?ll be no one hired in my family. When I was county commissioner from 1994-98, I believe my memory is right, we made a resolution where you could not hire people in your family. Now, we had people who had already hired family members and they were grandfathered in. So you can?t hire anyone anyway.?

Sammy Walker ? ?I don?t think I would hire any of my family either. I?ve seen it happen in the past when you?ve got too many family members. If you have a funeral, then you?ve got half of your staff leaving for that. If one person gets mad and you have to fire them, then you?ve got four other family members mad. So I don?t think I would.?

Lesa Scott ? ?No, I would not hire any of my family.?

Road Superintendent

What do you think needs improvement in the road system?

Vernice Dunlap ? ?We?ve got a lot of water on the roads, some projects that Mr. Glenn has not been addressing. Widening of the roads. We?ve got some narrow roads out there. If we?re going to push Warren County into another century, we need to try to widen these roads.?

Sheriff

How do you view allowing deputies to drive county vehicles home, particularly those who live outside the county?

Jackie Matheny ? ?We had a tornado a few months ago. It was devastating. It was an unbelievable situation. We needed everybody we had, and a lot of those officers that were on the other side of the county came and they helped and they assisted. They went to houses to see if anyone needed assistance. So that?s why. It?s safety. We need the quickest response time and that?s why we do it.?

Michael ?Doc? Smith ? ?I don?t believe in it. When I first started in law enforcement, we never took our cars home and if we had a call, we responded in our own vehicles. The fuel prices are so high now, I think the people that?s working here should be staying here, and not taking the cars here there and everywhere.?

District Attorney

What do you see as the most important aspect of prosecuting cases as a District Attorney?

Dale Potter ? ?To be a prosecutor it takes experience and knowing what it takes to present that case. To be a defense lawyer, on the criminal side, all you have to do is get one person on that jury to believe you, or agree with you, even if they don?t believe you. As long as they agree with you, you can hang a jury, and a defendant may go free. But you?ve got to convince 12 people as a prosecutor.?

Lisa Zavogiannis ? ?I agree with my opponent the No. 1 job is to prosecute those who commit crimes against our citizens. That is the No. 1 job. But as part of that job we also have to have the ability to deal with the victims. Those that have been hurt. So this goes hand in hand. It?s not just prosecute the bad guy, it?s prosecute the bad guy while we work for our citizens.?