Mayoral candidates make final pitches to voters

FLORENCE - City Councilman Scott Carrier said he is trying to become Florence's mayor because he wants to end the current administration's secrecy and provide an open

government.

Carrier has been critical of incumbent Bobby Irons in public settings in recent years and continues to push certain issues as the race enters its final days.

Irons, Carrier and businessman John Hargett will be on the ballot during the Aug. 26 municipal election.

Florence's mayor is charged with managing a budget of about $300 million and 750 city employees, according to city officials.

Carrier said he wants to run a positive campaign but added it should be pointed out that the current administration has issues of mismanagement and communication breakdowns within the administration and with city employees.

"There has been a lot of secrecy in this administration. We need openness and honesty," Carrier said. Examples Carrier gave included issues related to the sportsplex project, employee theft at the city's Blackberry Trail golf course and the gas department audit.

Irons declined comment when asked about his opponent's criticism, which Irons labeled as "gutter politics."

Instead, Irons said he wants to focus on the accomplishments the city has achieved during his nearly four years in office. He said he has brought accountability and reduced operational costs in the city, administered some of the city's largest projects to completion and has led the city through an era of job growth.

"My successes and errors are all public, and so are my opponents'," Irons said.

Hargett, a certified public accountant, has not engaged in the criticism of individuals involved in the race. Instead, his criticism has been geared toward the amount of taxpayer money the city spends.

Hargett lost a bid earlier this year to become the Republican nominee for a seat on the Lauderdale County Commission. He also has run unsuccessfully in the past two city elections.

The central issue for two of the candidates - Carrier and Irons - is job creation. Their ideas about how to achieve that goal differ, though.

Irons said his approach to job creation has been emphasizing unity among government officials in Lauderdale and Colbert counties. He said the united effort has paid off in landing several large projects in recent years, including North Alabama Lighting in Muscle Shoals, Thacker Casket Co. in Florence and the National Alabama railcar plant in Barton.

"My emphasis was to make the groups stick together," Irons said.

Irons points out that employment in the two-county region has increased during his tenure. He said the Shoals has seen 5,700 new jobs, including 700 jobs from existing industries, during the past four years.

The unemployment rate among Florence residents was 8 percent in June 2004, three months before Irons took office.

The unemployment rate was 5.7 percent in June, according to the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations.

The data shows there were an average 1,269 Florence residents unemployed in 2004, compared to 745 this year.

"This is the best period for economic development for the Shoals in the past 30 to 40 years, in terms of accomplishments that have taken place," Irons said.

Carrier sees the situation much differently.

"There are no real opportunities here - the kind of job to make a living," Carrier said. "We're educating a lot of young people who are leaving to make their living; they visit maybe twice a year or come back 30 years later to retire."

Irons had a 30-year career with the former Reynolds Aluminum operation, which is now Wise Alloys. He has served in several management positions and with several organizations.

"We've tried to build a base with blue-collar jobs - we can now be more selective," Irons said.

Carrier said his focus for job creation would be one of lobbyist, salesman and manager of the city to recruit career-focused jobs that would prevent younger people from leaving the area to make their living.

Carrier said he has worked in seven state capitals and Washington, D.C.

"I know how to maneuver around other levels of government," Carrier said.

Carrier works in radio advertising sales at WBCF-AM and formerly handled similar responsibilities for WBTG before resigning.

Hargett said bringing city government under control is the most important issue.

Hargett said he would seek to decrease the city's tax collection from 3.5 percent to 1.5 percent, which was the tax rate in 1989. He said he would seek to eliminate taxpayer incentive funds used to attract industries and also remove taxpayer donations to charities.

He suggested making up for the lost sales tax revenue by selling off city properties such as the Rosenbaum House, a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home in Florence.

He said the lower tax base would be a draw for recruiting businesses.

Hargett is a state-licensed CPA and retired from the U.S. Army Reserve after 36 years of service.

In terms of self-acknowledged accomplishments over the past four years, answers varied among the candidates.

"I've restored a lot of trust in the city government - that's invaluable," Carrier said.

He said he has found a base of support among younger voters.

"I have got a lot of young people interested in politics working on my campaign," he said. "Young people have been turned on not just to my campaign, but also public service and getting involved."

Carrier said he sponsored the resolution that brought the sales tax holiday to Florence. The resolution was approved by the council. Carrier also said he worked with other local and state officials on the National Alabama project.

Hargett, a regular attendee and critic at city council meetings, said he has acted as a watchdog on the government.

"Well you might say, 'You didn't win,' but that gives you a forum to get attention to a lot of issues," Hargett said.

Hargett said he also opposed appropriations to the Shoals Economic Development Authority and the proposed Bass Pro project, which is no longer under consideration.

Irons said he inherited several projects from the previous administration, such as the Retirement Systems of Alabama tourism project that included the Marriott Shoals Hotel and Spa, River Heritage Park, the sportsplex and streetscaping.

"We made them happen with a lot of obstacles," Irons said.

Irons also said he helped save the city $800,000 in operational costs; sought to reduce energy costs through city vehicle use policies and alternative fuel programs; instituted One Stop Shopping for retail businesses; and opened city hall during lunch hours.

One of the biggest criticisms Carrier has voiced against Irons is the handling of the sportsplex, a multi-million dollar project that has experienced issues with rock removal and water access that has added nearly $1 million to the $9.7 million pricetag.

Carrier voted to proceed with the sportsplex, and said the council was assured sufficient site work had been done.

"It's not a city council's job to go out drilling holes," Carrier said. "The taxpayers are constantly left holding the bag for someone else's mistakes."

Carrier voted against appropriating money for the rock removal and said he would have managed the entire project differently.

"Yes, we do make mistakes," Irons said of the sportsplex. "We don't shut a project midway through because we've run into an obstacle, though."

Trevor Stokes can be reached at 740-5728 or trevor.stokes@TimesDaily.com.