Mayor, council candidates front and center at Pinehurst forum

PINEHURST –– With Election Day just around the corner, residents of Pinehurst had the opportunity on Wednesday night to meet their candidates for city office during a political forum at the P-K Lions building. 

Perhaps no community in the Silver Valley has been as much of a political hotbed as Pinehurst – where the position of mayor, as well as three city council seats, are up for grabs. 

The forum was a simple question-and-answer format, with the questions coming from the audience. 

The candidates for mayor kicked off the proceedings – with incumbent Russ Lowe and his opponent Skip Robinett. 

Many of the questions centered around issues such as transparency and access, city ordinances, as well as what they believed was an effective use of the position of mayor. 

The forum moderators asked that each question be broad so that both candidates had the opportunity to answer them. 

When they were asked about effectiveness, Robinett felt that the state of the community dictates the actual effectiveness of the position. 

“Being a voice for the community,” Robinett said. “Listening to the citizens, asking them, and trying to find out what they need. What they would like to see out of the public office and be able to follow up with and finish it.”

Lowe, who has served in the position for only a short time after being appointed last year, believes that the person sitting in the mayor’s chair needs to have the skills and heart for the position. 

“Effectiveness?” Lowe asked. “Listening skills, communication skills, Hard work, and wants to work. Loves their community and are willing to serve their community – and work for what’s best in their community.” 

Both candidates agreed that the city needs to make sure that they are adhering to the ordinances that are in place – even acknowledging where there might be a shortfall. 

Issues surrounding the transparency of the Pinehurst City Council have been brought up in recent weeks with many people believing that the city’s tepid approach to filming and/or broadcasting its meetings is demonstrating a lack of willingness to be transparent. 

When the topic of transparency came up, Lowe was ready for the question and gave a pointed answer. 

Lowe believes that only a small amount of the city’s population actually desires to see the meetings broadcasted and doesn’t want to spend taxpayer dollars on the wishes of just a few people. 

“We have open meeting laws, which we abide by. Any of the information that the public wants is available,” Lowe said. “You can show up to the meeting if you’re wondering what’s going on – if you have any questions, you can any of the people on the city council, you can call the mayor, you can call the clerk. All of that information is public record.” 

Robinett took a more careful approach with his answer about transparency in city government. 

“Being more open when people ask where the money is going and what’s going on in city hall,” said Robinett. 

Questions about Robinett’s previous employment wrapped up the session with the mayoral candidates. The former salesman at Dave Smith Motors was asked why he was no longer employed at the car dealership, he answered quickly, “I resigned, simple as that.” 

When the forum switched over to the city council races, the tone of the forum lightened up. 

Five of the six candidates for the three open seats were on hand, with incumbent Kyle Ross not being in attendance due to a conflict with his work schedule. 

The two races for council seats are broken up into two groups of three candidates. Dan Garner, Jay Huber, and Brandon Church are running for one open two-year term. Incumbents Ross, Nick Elam, and Heather Bauer are running for two open, four-year terms. 

As an incumbent, Elam fielded a few more questions than the other four candidates, these included questions about some of the processes and procedures that the council utilizes, the salary of Pinehurst’s police chief, and how many meetings he’s missed during his time on the council. 

All of the candidates have strong backgrounds in community involvement; Garner, Elam, Bauer, Huber, and Church all participate in local civic organizations – many of them overlapping with one another. 

All five candidates believe that retaining the city’s limited employees and staff is a vital part of the city’s success. 

The biggest question asked of the candidates had to do with the city accepting Federal dollars – all of the candidates stated that they would accept the funds, but it also depended upon the stipulations that came with the monies. 

Garner pointed out that nothing from the Federal government is ever “free.” But the city would also be foolish to turn down things that could be used for the betterment of the residents. 
Huber talked specifically about federal grants, but is weary about accepting funds that may have strings attached. 

Church agreed with Huber’s statement but also added that if there are grants out there, the city should be aggressively trying to find them. 

Bauer was clear that the city should never feel obligated to accept federal funds, but believes grants should be discussed separately from other types of federal funds, like the stimulus money that was allocated in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Elam was the final candidate to answer the question and echoed all of the candidates who spoke before him – acknowledging that there is a difference between grant money and other types of federal funding and that the city has applied for and received grants and will continue to do so. But also stating that the city should never feel obligated to take funds as long as they don’t come at a cost to the city that is too intrusive.      

All of the candidates, both for the position of mayor and the council seats agreed that partisan politics do not belong in city government. 

Election Day is November 7.