Candidates for Stillwater City Council faced off and answered questions at Tuesday night’s forum.
The Stillwater League of Women’s Voters hosted the forum to “get citizens informed before they vote,” said Deanna Homer, a member of the League of Women’s Voters,.
About 40 people came to ask questions.
Each of the six candidates, including an OSU student, gave two-minute opening and closing statements and had two minutes to answer each question.
The primary election is on March 4.
Justin Biassou, an aviation education senior, Gladeen Allred and Chuck Hopkins are running for seat three.
Bill Burk and Darrell Doughtery are challenging incumbent Hank Moore for seat four.
The candidates addressed topics such as how to keep people in Stillwater, how to stimulate the job market, how to revitalize downtown, whether fire and ambulance services should be separated and trash and recycling programs.
Answers to several of the questions overlapped with most candidates focusing on the need to create more jobs, revitalize downtown, continue improving the Business Improvement District and continuing to help Stillwater grow.
While most of the candidates had similar answers to each question, there were unique perspectives on some of the issues.
On the issue of how to keep people in Stillwater, most candidates suggested creating more jobs.
Allred proposed building condos in the downtown area where people could walk to entertainment and restaurants. She also said she wanted to create new jobs for college students that will keep them in Stillwater.
Hopkins and Biassou focused on the need to improve and create more jobs in the tech-industry.
Doughtery said the city needs to work with business to make the process of getting started easier.
Burk said the problem lies not in trying to keep students and residents in Stillwater, but instead focus on what to do with them while they are here. He said there needs to be cooperation with the students while they are here.
“We are a community that educates world leaders,” Burk said. “They leave and go all over the world and contribute to our whole society.”
Moore said it’s not a question of what the city can do, but continuing what it’s already doing. He said the city needs to embrace the college-aged students.
“They want a sense of purpose; they want to feel like they’re included in this community,” Moore said. “They don’t want to feel like they’re shut out and I think we’ve opened those doors.”
He also said revitalizing downtown, addressing housing concerns and trying to give visitors a more positive experience while in Stillwater were also key points.
A popular topic throughout the city lately has been the issue of trash pickup and a recycling program.
All candidates agreed that recycling is vital and trash and recycling programs need to be evaluated and updated.
The announcement of a convenience collection recycling center and possible pilot program for automated trash pickup are ways the city has tried to improve on those issues.
Most candidates agreed increased recycling is a step in the right direction but more work is needed to make it more widespread and convenient.
Biassou enjoyed the forum and thought it was an amazing experience, he said. He said he thought it was great to get all the candidates together and have a conversation about future expansion.
Susie Kessler is a political science professor at Northern Oklahoma College.
The forum was a great opportunity to get to know the candidates before voting, she said.
She said democracy starts at this level and is all about choice.
She said she is embarrassed when every year only 30 percent of the population shows up to vote and hopes the forum will help change that this Tuesday.
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