Decatur’s 10 city commission/school board candidates recently ended a two-week stretch featuring an unprecedented—at least in recent years—four debate forums
After next Tuesday’s election as many as four new members, one school board and at most three commissioners, could take office.
Tony Powers and John Ridley are running for at-large commission, with Brian Smith and James Johnson vying for a south side commission seat. A north side commission race features Valencia Breedlove and Eric Tumperi running against incumbent Scott Drake, while incumbent School Board Chairman Garrett Goebel is unopposed. Tasha White and Thomas DeSimone are competing for a south side board seat.
Approximately 250 people combined attended the four forums. All 10 candidates were consistent in favoring the $75 million school bond, which is also being voted on Tuesday. Each favored brainstorming for solutions tackling the city’s declining diversity, with Decatur having gotten increasingly whiter and wealthier over the past decade.
All favored annexation except for Breedlove, who offered no opinion, while Johnson was outright against, saying annexation “is a crutch, basically a way of saying [the city doesn’t] want to plan right.”
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