A week before the municipal election, candidates in Daphne participated in a moderated Q&A session at Daphne City Hall on Tuesday evening, hosted by the Eastern Shore Republican Women (ESRW).

Candidates in attendance included incumbents Tommie Conaway (District 1), Steve Olen (District 2), Joel Coleman (District 3) and Benjamin Hughes (District 6), along with challengers and political newcomers such as Katherine “Casey” Gay Williams (District 2), Terri Osborne (District 3), Oliver Roberts (District 4), Stephanie Ganey-Messinger (District 5), Steve McArthur (District 5) and William “Billy” Miller (District 5).

Candidates not in attendance were Michael Hobbs (District 1), Daniel Brooks (District 4) and Byrian Ramsey (District 6). According to the ESRW, all candidates on the ballot were invited to participate.

Despite running unopposed, Mayor Robin LeJeune and District 7 representative-elect Jennifer Green were also in attendance.

“It is very difficult to put your name out there, and it’s very difficult for your family,” LeJeune told the candidates. “A lot of respect for all the candidates. Whether it’s your candidate that you’re supporting or the opposition, thank you all for being willing to serve.”

Many candidates had nothing but praise for public safety in Daphne.

Incumbents said public safety has been the highest priority among the current council, with Olen saying it makes up around 38% of the city's budget and promising to keep investing in public safety if re-elected. Hughes said he would like to address mental health among public safety workers as well as competitive pay.

“The other thing we need to think about, too, is what it’s like when they go home,” Hughes said. “We need to think about their mental health and the strain that it creates on our EMS officials and our public safety professionals.”

On the challengers' side, Osborne cited her own research and personal experience, saying she has always felt safe living in Daphne over 30 years, praising Daphne’s police and fire force and saying she will continue to provide the resources they need. Roberts said public safety “is the most important thing we need to do as a council” and pledged to support both departments with the tools they need.

Ganey-Messinger praised public safety efforts but noted as Daphne grows eastward that the city will have to take into consideration the creation of more fire departments and maybe even another police station. She also expressed interest in increasing pay for public safety workers and first responders.

GROWTH AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Incumbents spoke about the use of impact fees, which the current city council approved and will take effect in 2027. Conaway said the income, earned from fees on new development, will play a major role in investing into areas such as recreation and public safety.

Olen said the council wants to manage growth, citing the impact fees as well as an architectural ordinance they approved despite opposition from developers.

“We, this council, have taken all kinds of positive steps to increase infrastructure and to manage growth responsibly,” Olen said.

Challenger Williams said the growth the city has seen in the past five years has been “mind boggling” and called infrastructure “one of the single biggest issues that faces us as a city.”

“We sometimes forget that water runs downhill, and it can go very fast, and when it’s unopposed, it goes to places we don’t often intend,” Williams said. “We have to be very forward-thinking in our approach to infrastructure.”

Candidates such as Osborne and Ganey-Messinger praised the implementation of impact fees, but Osborne said she sometimes wonders “if we can just say, ‘Hold on a moment,’” stating that they need to slow the pace at which they grow. Some candidates acknowledged that growth is unavoidable but urged to manage it in a responsible way.

“Daphne is a nice place. People want to live in a nice place, so there’s people [who are] going to be moving to Daphne,” McArthur said. “I moved to Daphne because it’s a nice place. I was already familiar with it, but it’s going to grow. We can’t just stop it, but we have to try and use the tools we have available as best as we can.”

“We know it’s a reality for the city, and it’s something that we need to manage thoughtfully and responsibly,” said Roberts, who is also a member of Daphne’s planning commission.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The incumbents noted how there have been some businesses coming to the area, such as the Chick-Fil-A expansion and Whataburger. Conaway said they have to make sure infrastructure will be up to the standard they want in order to keep up with businesses moving forward. Olen echoed similar sentiments, saying they need to continue making sure they have a safe city and infrastructure to provide for local businesses.

From their challengers, Williams, who cited her experience as CEO of the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce, said she spends “every single day in the small business community,” calling it “the bedrock of our quality of life” and citing an emphasis on childcare and education.

“If you want to talk about small business, then work in their business and on their business every single day, and the support they need from the city comes in many forms,” Williams said.

Miller noted how he thinks growth has affected small businesses, citing small businesses located in a segment on County Road 64 that make it difficult for them to attract customers amid rush hour traffic.

Ganey-Messinger proposed an “Eastern Shore discount card,” which would provide residents a discount on purchases when shopping at local businesses as an incentivization. She also proposed high schools to encourage students to get a job, which could then be counted as extracurricular activities.

“Yes, it takes a lot of time to go get a job, just like sports do, but we put a lot of emphasis on that, and most of these kids are never going to go play pro baseball,” Ganey-Messenger said. “They’re probably not going to play in college, but they’re going to have a job. Let’s encourage that in high school. Let’s make that a priority.”

The incumbents largely said they have done well in regards to transparency and communication.

Conaway said they “don’t keep anything to ourselves,” saying she wants the community to be aware of what is going on in the city and encouraging residents to attend city council and committee meetings, which are open to the public.

However, Coleman said that not many people attend meetings on a weekly basis, saying many people only show up when a specific issue is being discussed. He noted every meeting is streamed on Facebook Live and that they have a public comment period for those attending in person.

“I do wish that more people were involved with our local government,” Coleman said. “We’re only as good as what we hear back.”

Williams, who is running against Olen, on the contrary, said she has talked to several people over the past two months who believe that transparency isn’t always there until it’s too late.

“I feel like you have to connect and convene not just when you are making a decision but prior to making the decision for those that it affects, for those who are going to suffer or benefit from the repercussions of actions,” Williams said.

Osborn proposed a monthly newsletter to inform residents what the council is doing each month and what projects are being worked on. Both Osborn and Ganey-Messinger criticized the city's website, where documents such as city council minutes and other information is posted. The mayor said the website is being reworked and will get a makeover in the near future.

Miller quoted the playwright Bernard Shaw, saying “communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” Miller said he thinks that to better understand residents, they must understand how they choose to receive their communication.

“Educate on what is available. [Push] the communications out instead of having a system that’s built upon pulling information out of the systems,” Miller said.

The municipal election is on Aug. 26.