The Ozark Mayoral Debate at the Ozark High School Performing Arts on Tuesday, October 23, center shed some light on the candidate's political and economic stances. This debate outlined the importance of community involvement and addressed many issues within the town that need to be attended to. One point of debate was the community center and whether or not the candidates supported the continued investment into it. Roxie Hall explained her reasoning behind her belief that the community center is a huge opportunity for the economy of Ozark. On the other hand, Steve Whiteaker made a point to recognize the burden the community center’s upkeep is to the city of Ozark. Although they disagree on how to address this issue, both have valid points.
In my opinion, Steve Whiteaker won this debate - purely for his very detailed plans for Ozark’s improvement. His ideas to help promote entrepreneurship in Ozark by supporting and teaching citizen’s new ideas and involvement were much more thought out than Roxie Hall’s, in my opinion.
What do you think about Steve’s ideas for Ozark’s economy? Why do you think the election ended in a nearly three-way tie? What do you think about T.R. McNutt’s absence?
I think Mr. Whiteaker's economic plans are great for this town. This town will go bankrupt if something isn't done. Ozark has one of the highest tax rates in Arkansas, and we aren't a big enough town to accommodate for it. I think the polls came so close because no one in this town likes change. Mrs. Hall has been here for all my life and shes been involved with the community just has long. The public sees her has a familiar face, someone they know. Mr. Whiteaker is not that familiar. He got everyone scared, but the ones that accept change.
ReplyDeleteI do not like that TR declined the debate. It makes me frustrated. We asked if it would be better if we moved it to when he was better, and he still declined. Its just really aggravating that the former major would not want to have an input and voice his opinions.
I did not see the debate, and most of what I know about it and the candidates is what others have been saying, but it sounds to me like I would likely support Whiteaker's economic plans the most. In hindsight, I don't think it should be surprising that the election ended the way it did; Whiteaker appears to be a bit of a fringe candidate (albeit with particularly clear plans for Ozark), Hall is well-known for her prior experience in our local government but was not always clear with her actual plans for the town, and McNutt is the incumbent but didn't change all that much while in office and didn't show up for the debate. I figure that his reason for not participating in the debate is that he had nothing to gain and reputation to lose if he went. He is already established as the mayor, and people probably already have a good idea of whether or not they support him; most people know where he stands, so he has nothing new to say and could risk losing reputation if people thought he lost the debate. If my presumptions are correct, then I would consider this choice of his to be more about damage control and relying on his support base than anything else.
ReplyDeleteI thought that if Mrs. Hall had a more clear plan for Ozark the race would not have ended so closely. From information we gather from exit polls people who thought Steve won the debate, were still going to vote for Roxie. People wanted to vote for her. Mcnutt had a leg up in the race because he was the incumbent. Had he been a new candidate running, i believe not attending the debate would have taken him out of the race. His absence aloud Roxie and Steve to both gain more votes that were taken from him. This resulted in a run off.
ReplyDeleteI think Steve Whitaker has very inventive ideas about how to create a booming (or at least improved) economy in Ozark. I personally believe that his ideas would have worked rather well. They each had a unique advantage going into the race. Hall has a good reputation around town and also has experience has an alderman, McNutt is the former mayor thus he already has a reliable group of supporters, and Whitaker has made quite the name for himself with his social media and he also has appealed to those looking for change. I was not pleased that McNutt chose not to attend. I was interested to hear his plans for the next term and hear him debate (particularly with Steve).
ReplyDeleteI think that we can all agree that Mr. Whitetaker's ideas were, at the least, creative and innovative; however, I think Ozark has a greater need for strong and steady leadership. In my opinion, Mrs. Hall has/demonstrated this much more than Mr. Whitetaker, who came off as inexperienced and unpredictable (even if intelligent) in the Debate. I think the race was so close because their were obvious pros and cons for each candidate, and because Mr. McNutt did not show up to the debate.
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