CULLMAN —
Attendance at nearly all the ongoing forums featuring candidates in local mayoral races has been strong — far stronger than attendance at similar local forums for county and state races in recent years.
With the exception of the lightly-attended Garden City/Hanceville event, which kicked off the current forum series on Aug. 13, each and every forum has drawn out dozens of residents at Colony, Dodge City, Baileyton and West Point — all interested in hearing the opinions of those for whom they’ll be voting in next week’s municipal elections.
But, in the sometimes-strange world of local politics, there may have been more than civic wholesomeness compelling many guests to show up at Wednesday’s forum, which featured the four candidates seeking the Cullman mayor’s seat.
That’s because a funny thing happened on the way to the (Cullman) forum: a sensational story involving one candidate’s past appearance on a daytime talk show — one known for its histrionics — intrigued a lot of disinterested people, and some of them showed up hoping for a circus.
“I’m kind of disappointed — there wasn’t any fight,” said one attendee, disappointed after sitting through an hour of civil and composed commentary on local issues. “I was hoping I’d get to see some hair-pulling.” The speaker would only identify himself as a Cullman County resident who lives outside the Cullman city limits.
Not everyone shared in the blood lust. Some came to see — well, to see a proper political forum.
“I am a politically interested person,” said Gary Lasdon of Cullman. “I love Cullman, because it’s easy to work with the people here. I have been active here; I was on the governmental affairs committee on the Chamber for a while, and I’m just here today to listen. I’m not here to support anybody; I’m just here because I want to know what these people have to say. I want each one of these candidates to tell me why I should vote for ‘you.’”
Others did come to lend moral support to their favored candidates. None seemed to have attracted more supporters, in fact, than the candidate whose appearance on “The Jerry Springer Show” 10 years ago created a small sensation among local residents after a story about the episode recently ran in The Cullman Times.
“I’m here for Verna Hammons — that’s my mom,” said Heath Jackson, one of several Hammons supporters anchoring the room’s north end. “I love living in Cullman — it’s what makes me shine on the inside — so I’m just here to give my support.”
“I’m supporting Verna as well — we need a change, I think,” said Jackson’s friend Chris, seated at the same table. “I moved away for a while and came back to town, and I missed living here. But looking around, it just seems to me that it’s time to try something different.”
Held at The All Steak restaurant, Wednesday’s event marked the seventh in an eight-part forum series sponsored by the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce and The Cullman Times. The final mayoral candidate forum will be held at 6 p.m. today at the Airport Wind Sock Cafe in Vinemont, and will feature candidates for the mayor’s seat in South Vinemont.
* Benjamin Bullard can be reached by e-mail at bbullard@cullmantimes.com or by telephone at 734-2131 ext. 270.
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Reasons vary for strong Cullman mayoral forum turnout
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