Host of candidates competing in Opelika

Weeks before the Aug. 26 municipal election, Opelika City Council candidates have been hitting the campaign trail within their respective wards.

The 12 city council candidates have been going door to door or hitting the phones to introduce themselves and their platforms to residents in Wards 1, 2, 3 and 5. Since incumbent candidate Eddie Smith was unopposed, he has already secured the Ward 4 position.

When the candidates hit the campaign trail — on the road or on the phones — they get the chance to speak as well as to listen. Meeting the candidates is a time for residents to discuss issues and to voice concerns about their particular wards.

Education, employment, crime and street maintenance top most residents’ lists of things to focus on in each of the wards.

In Ward 1, incumbent candidate Patsy Jones and opponent Greg Jones, who are unrelated, are mainly hearing concerns about crime, employment and the city’s infrastructure.

Shootings and two murders in recent years have residents calling for an increase in police patrols within Ward 1, according to both Patsy Jones and Greg Jones.

Crime in the Donald Avenue area in particular is a major concern for Ward 1 residents, Greg Jones said.

“Nobody’s been there to help get rid of drug dealers,” Greg Jones said. “They can’t get any help, and they’re tired. ... I would not be running if we could get help in the ward.”

Residents in Ward 1 have also expressed a concern about employment opportunities, said Patsy Jones, who noted she has spoken to skilled and unskilled workers, as well as unemployed and underemployed workers.

Repairing potholes, installing curbs and gutters, and keeping grass cut along right-of-ways are also issues Ward 1 residents are discussing, Greg Jones said.

The three candidates in Ward 2 — Larry Gray, Jerry Katz and Arturo Menefee — say they have also heard residents express concerns about crime, employment and the city’s infrastructure.

Some residents have suggested going back to a neighborhood beat cop method of patrolling the ward, Katz said. Others have recommended creating a program to recruit and train Opelika High School graduates for the police department, because they know the area and the residents, he said.

A number of residents Menefee has spoken to have discussed the lack of available employment options for senior citizens. “A lot of seniors feel like they’re being discriminated against because of their age,” he said.

Ward 2 residents also have a concern about sewage and drainage issues, Gray said. For example, residents in the Jeter Avenue and Brannon Avenue areas have expressed problems with street drainage there, he said.

Providing adult education programs and youth activities, dealing with abandoned houses, adding recreational areas and creating a master plan for downtown development are also issues Ward 2 residents are discussing, according to the candidates.

In Ward 3, residents have expressed concerns to the ward’s five candidates — Lucinda Samford Cannon, Janice Golden, Preston Long, Joey Motley and Loren Sutton — about street maintenance and Section 8 housing, as well as whether the city should keep its contract with Environmental Services Group.

Repairing potholes and curbs, and paving roads are among the topics residents in Ward 3 have discussed with Long, so far, in his campaign. Golden says she has had several people ask her about the schedule the city uses to repair potholes in Ward 3.

Sutton said residents in certain areas of the Ward 3 have spoken to him about concerns that Section 8 housing will negatively impact their property values. He said he has also talked to residents who fall on both sides of the ESG issue — for it and against it.

“Some people are opposed to it because they work for the city, and they thought they would work for the city until retirement,” Sutton said. “and they will not be able to do that.”

Long said he has also talked to residents in Ward 3 who would like the city to provide more funding for the Opelika City Schools system.

The recent news that Opelika High School failed to meet Adequate Yearly Progress has residents in Ward 5 concerned, according to incumbent candidate Dr. William Lazenby. “We want to see an improvement in that,” he said.

Drainage problems and sewer problems are constant issues with Ward 5 residents, said Lazenby, who said he receives calls about both almost on a weekly basis.

Ward 5 opponent Rick Gaught said he has not had residents bring up any issues, so far, during his campaigning efforts. “Nothing has been brought to my attention,” he said.

bharvey@oanow.com | 737-2546