Glasgow City Council holds forum at WKU Glasgow campus
GLASGOW, Ky. – The candidates for Glasgow City Council spoke at a forum Tuesday, and while they may have different ideas of what the biggest issue is in the community, they all center around one common theme.
At Western Kentucky University’s Glasgow campus, city council candidates are taking part in a forum hosted by the Young Professionals of Barren County. Each candidate was asked what their key issue is, and most of them said high-paying jobs.
Among that group is incumbent city councilman Marlin Witcher, as well as candidates Tommy Burris, Elizabeth Shoemaker and Cherie Vaughan.
“Everybody in Glasgow either goes to Bowling Green, they go to Horse Cave, they go to E-Town, they go to Nashville to work… all our youth is working with or out of town or driving 35 to an hour to work somewhere else,” Burris says.
Candidate Randy Wilkinson believes the new upgrades to American Legion Park are at the top of his list.
“To do that, you’re going to have to increase your tax rates… so you have more income coming in here to do that, which is kind of what you guys are saying… you need the jobs,” he says.
Incumbent James “Happy” Neal believes attracting large businesses and these jobs is based on a good quality of life.
“We’ve got nice stuff in the city to draw young people back here… and I think once you do that… the companies see that and start bringing the business back here,” he says.
Councilman Terry Bunnell says the city needs more resources.
“We have to manage limited resources of dollars, on staff on property… just a whole host of things that are important to us,” he says.
Incumbent Freddie Norris, however, has a completely different view when it comes to what his biggest priority is.
“Just while we’ve been here tonight… there’s no telling how many children and teens… take one fentanyl or one shot or something… and so we pray that there’s more to do in this. We come together… I think to me, being a pharmacist and minister, that’s a big issue,” he says.
We also heard from candidate Libby Short and council members Joe Trigg, Max Marion & Chasity Lowery. Here’s some of what they had to say.
“The concept of small business incubator is bringing them into the community to allow people the opportunity to pursue that American dream of owning a home, of educating children,” Lowery says.
“We as city council members have to understand what our limits is… that, again, one of the primary things we got to keep doing is being good stewards of taxpayers,” Trigg says.
