Unity and cooperation seemed to be the shared goal of seven candidates for Teague’s City Council represented at Freestone County Times’ second annual Candidate Forum at the Teague Community Center Thursday, March 21, 2019. The candidates took the opportunity to share their visions for the future; weighing in on the challenges facing Teague’s infrastructure, budgeting, and economic development. Ryan Mathison, candidate for Alderman Place 5, is a graduate of Teague High School and a veteran of the United States Marine Corp. After four years, and deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, Mathison attended college at Tarleton State University, where he met his wife. Now, the couple, along with their four year old daughter, lives in Teague where they plan to buy a home. “That’s where this whole story starts basically,” shared Mathison, “I never thought I’d run for an Alderman – especially at 30, but here we are. Taxes are extremely high in Teague, compared to Fairfield and other local towns; our infrastructure is pretty bad, to say the least; and we have a lot of issues as a community.” However, Mathison said he does not believe that these issues are beyond repair and with time and cooperation, progress can, and will be, made. Lois Mims, candidate for Alderman Place 5, was born and raised in Teague, moving to Dallas in 1987 to open her own business. Upon her return in 1999, Mims now has grown children and grandchildren in Teague and seeks to help bring positive changes to the community. “It’s time for us to rebuild Teague,” said Mims. “I feel like we can do that, I feel like we can come together in unity.” Mims stated that she has great passion for Teague, and is inspired to run for Council to work toward addressing the issues at hand for the betterment of her community. If elected, she aspires to do her job well, and to the satisfaction of her fellow citizens. Chris Nickleberry, incumbent Alderman Place 4, was born in Houston, but credits Teague with saving his life. Moving to Teague in 1996, and graduating from Teague High School in 1999, Nickleberry says the community has always been good to him. “In fact, this community kind of saved my life,” said Nickleberry. “I came from Houston – I was kind of running from the wrong things, but I ran into the right things.” Nickleberry explained that he never imagined himself living in a small town, but he stayed, raising his four children and working as a teacher and coach with Teague Independent School District for fifteen years. Before that, he owned his own restaurant business for four and a half years. He described his ten years of service to the Council as a way to give back to his community. Jamie West, candidate for Alderman Place 4, has been a property owner in Teague since 2013. Originally from Mexia, West attended Teague High School and currently holds a Bachelors Degree in Nursing, and is pursuing her Master’s Degree to become a nurse practitioner. West said she plans to practice locally to help promote healthcare accessibility in the area. As a mother of two, West is inspired to campaign to address the City’s lack of infrastructure and youth activities, and promote more transparency and open communication with citizens. Addressing transparency, West offered an explanation into her criminal record. She told the crowd that in 2017 she was arrested for shooting a dog that she says charged at her. According to West, the shooting was deemed as warranted and charges were dropped. “I am free to [answer] any questions about me, or about my past – but I will be glad to talk to you about my future and the places I’m going,” offered West. Dennis Cox, candidate for Alderman Place 2, was born and raised in Teague. After graduating in 1976, Cox left for Huntsville to follow his high school sweetheart and fiancée. Cox worked for the Tyler Police Department and the United Nations in Kosovo for four and a half years. Cox and his wife returned to settle in Teague where he has served one term as an Alderman and as Chief of Police for nine years. He said these experiences have given him insight into City government and the budget process. Currently, he works as a bus driver, teacher’s aide, and resource officer for Teague ISD and is a member of the Teague Volunteer Fire Department. “My whole life I’ve been serving the public and I love it,” said Cox. “I feel like God has put me here to serve and that’s what I want to do.” Wendy Bain, candidate for Alderman Place 2, has lived in Teague her whole life, working as a landman for thirteen years. Returning to Teague when her son was a senior in High School, Bain now works at Daps Stop and Shop. She described herself as a people person who is interested in working toward bettering Teague, mainly through job development. ”I just want to see a change in Teague,” said Bain. “I think that Teague could build to a lot. It can be so much better than it is. We need jobs here, and we just don’t have them. We need a lot here. You can’t just sum it up into one small, little area.” Bain stated that she believes if everyone comes together to help, a better quality of life can be accomplished. Rhonda Jones, candidate for Alderman Place 2, has lived in Teague since 1975, raising two sons and working with local banks for thirty years until her retirement from Prosperity Bank last year. As a member of the Teague Chamber of Commerce for almost a decade, Jones said she knows how to use community service and cooperation to get the job done. “This is my home,” said Jones. “It doesn’t feel the same whenever I go back to where I was born and raised. You are my family and I love y’all.” Recently, Jones said that she has become curious about the process of City government. She said she is discouraged to see so much negativity, and hopes that citizens can work together to positively address these issues as Teague moves into the future. Candidates were asked to answer three questions during the Forum. –If elected, what steps would you take to put our City on a firmer financial footing? Ryan Mathison explained that he was motivated to run to address the incredibly high taxes in Teague, and the fact that citizens cannot afford any more taxation, while continuing to see limited improvement. Mathison said his focus will be on revamping the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) to generate more jobs in the area to increase revenue and offset the burden of taxing citizens. Lois Mims agreed that adding to local business to attract more commerce would benefit the city. Mims shared that she will graduate this year with her Bachelors in Business Administration and firmly believes that new business will directly benefit the community. Chris Nickleberry trusts that moving toward a solid financial future will rely on budgeting decisions and increased economic development, and agreed that taxing citizens is not the answer. He urged the crowd to support existing local businesses to keep tax dollars in Teague. Jamie West mirrored the other candidates’ answers that economic development in the city must increase. With more jobs, West believes more sales tax will positively benefit the community. She also suggested that the city continue to pursue available grants. Dennis Cox said he believes the EDC should be more active in recruiting new businesses for the area. He said he is in favor of the vehicle transitioning programs suggested for next year’s budget planning, and feels that money can be saved if the Council engages in less wasteful spending. Wendy Bain said she believes that there are always items in the budget that can be cut to make funds available elsewhere. Bain reiterated that Teague needs more jobs. She suggested that the Council may have to work harder to find funds available and cut unnecessary spending. Rhonda Jones said she works very closely with Teague’s EDC Director, and feels that he is actively pursuing new businesses for the city. However, Jones conceded that the Director must answer to the EDC Board and City Council, and proper cooperation is necessary to accomplish those goals. –Do you think our Main Street is healthy and successful? If not, what would you do to change that? Ryan Mathison said he is aware of the need for repair to the buildings on Main Street, but thinks the economic boom needed in Teague will include more than just the downtown area. He gave credit to the EDC for attempting to work with owners of those buildings to beautify downtown, but noted the need for increased attention to development throughout the City. Lois Mims related how downtown was once full of businesses. Now, she sees the need to revive Main Street to appeal to new businesses interested in operating in Teague. Mims said the appearance of the downtown area is a key factor in attracting potential businesses. She suggested a low cost community clean-up effort to help make Main Street more presentable. Chris Nickleberry said he feels that downtown has much improved in the last few years. He urged the group to support local businesses and take pride in and support the progress on Main Street. Nickleberry shared that several years ago the Council approved a downtown reinvestment zone for the EDC to provide incentives to businesses operating downtown. Jamie West agreed that Main Street has seen many improvements recently. She also encouraged citizens to support local business, and shared that she would gladly work with the EDC and Chamber of Commerce to support their present and future endeavors. Dennis Cox also touched on the gradual improvements to Main Street, and the EDC’s available Façade Program grants for beautification of downtown store fronts. He shared that, small efforts like maintaining the flower boxes, cleaning up store fronts and sidewalks, make a big difference to the overall appearance of the downtown area. Wendy Bain complimented the progress made in the downtown area. However, she said that without better jobs available, citizens may not always be able to afford to shop locally, believing that emphasis should be put on bringing more commerce to Teague. Rhonda Jones noted the improvement to the Main Street area. She related that many buildings downtown are in need of serious repair, the cost of which may discourage new businesses from wanting to move in. Jones feels that working together to beautify the city will help attract more people to the area, benefiting local businesses. –How do you plan to involve residents in the decision making process in our town? Ryan Mathison related his recent experiences at Council meetings, sharing that he was surprised to see how few people attend and involve themselves in the process. He suggested implementing a community-wide event to encourage residents to gather at and shop the local businesses, or city-wide clean up days to enhance the appearance of the town. Lois Mims said that she thinks being an advocate for citizens, and taking their needs and concerns to the Council whether or not they are able to attend Council meetings, will encourage more participation. Mims believes more people will become involved in the process with open and honest communication. Chris Nickleberry answered honestly, stating that the invitation to be involved is always open. However, city business is not always exciting and rarely draws a crowd. He shared that during his tenure on the Council, he sees the most attendance when an issue hits residents close to home or raises conflict. Nickleberry encouraged citizens to stay engaged, vote, volunteer, and be active in the community. Jamie West shared her ideas for involving residents in the process of city government, suggesting that Council meetings be live streamed using social media to the benefit of the public, and Aldermen make themselves more accessible. Dennis Cox thinks that interacting with the public, inviting them to attend meetings, and taking citizens’ suggestions, concerns, and needs to the Council if and when they are not able. Wendy Bain agreed that accessibility and transparency is key in establishing a positive working relationship with citizens. She emphasized that everyone’s voice matters in deciding the future of our town. Rhonda Jones believes that having an open line of communication between the public and the Council is crucial. She agreed that using social media to reach citizens would be beneficial to establishing a working relationship. The “Times” would like to thank the candidates and citizens who attended the second annual forum. Special thanks go to the City of Teague for use of the Community Center and Sam’s Restaurant for providing the tea and coffee. Early voting begins April 22, 2019 for the general election May 4, 2019. Megan Hempel reporting