Monitor Photo/Bodey Cooper
Candidates running for Tool City Council answer questions during Meet the Candidate at Tool City Hall Oct. 11. The candidates are John Brasfield (from left), Kathleen Donoghue, Greg Figueroa, incumbent Mike Dumont and Stephanie Love. Not pictured is Mark Holley.

TOOL–The City of Tool hosted a Meet the Candidate event Oct. 13 that encompassed both Tool City Council Member and Malakoff ISD Trustee candidates. Each candidate was given an opportunity to provide an opening statement and introduction then to answer questions submitted. Tool City Council candidates John Brasfield, Kathy Donoghue, Greg Figueroa, Mike Dumont and Stephanie Love were first to speak. Mark Holley was unable to attend due to a prior engagement. 
Candidates were asked a variety of questions ranging from their feelings on the proposed park in Tool, their first plans of actions on council if elected and their familiarity with the city’s budget. Some of the submitted questions were intended for specific candidates.  
Ms. Donoghue, the City of Tool is in contract with Republic Services for trash service. Why do you not use Republic Services for trash services? 
Donoghue: “Nobody told me they had a contract with the city. I asked my neighbors when I moved in, I checked with everyone and no one could give me any reason or information about it and so I started searching around and I found the one that we use, AmeriTex and they’re good, they take leaves. So, I picked them.”
Candidates were asked two questions each. 
You may be one of five council members, how do you come to a shared vision of the city as a group? 
Figueroa: “Well I think the way you come to a shared vision is just working with everyone. You get to know everyone’s vision so I’ve already started to meet with different people who are running and people who are already on the council, to understand what their vision might be for the future. I think that everything requires compromise.”
A strong police department is necessary to not only keep residents safe but ensure revenue of an ad valorem tax. How would you ensure the city keeps this mission?
Figueroa: “I think the police department of small towns, safety and roads are probably the top two priorities. I think the safety part can never be compromised. The police department definitely needs to be staffed properly.”
The sole incumbent running in the race, Mike Dumont was asked what he hoped Tool looked like in five to 10 years. 
Dumont: “My vision is in five to 10 years we would have our park up and running. I see the city growing from the standpoint of the opportunity we have with the park.” Dumont also said he has a vision of an improved city hall. 
Dumont was also asked what were issues he hoped to solve while on the council. He felt public safety with a strong police department should come first with roads and infrastructure also important issues to the city. 
Questions continued and candidates were asked if they had plans to attract new businesses to the city. Love stated that she felt it beneficial to support more small businesses rather than big box shops. Love was also asked about the growing diversity in Tool and how she would service a weekend resident. Love responded that she would service them in the same way that she would a full-time resident. 
The audience was provided an opportunity to ask questions to the candidates consisting with growth in Tool and how candidates would handle challenges. The city council candidates ended their portion of the evening with closing statements that were one minute. 
Malakoff ISD Trustee candidates were queried by Malakoff High School student Cash Carter. Candidates were provided with one minute to answer questions and two minutes for closing statements. Malakoff ISD Trustee Candidates present were Sean McKean, Adabeth Routt-Shumate, Pat Jones, Kyle Harris, Rick Vieregge and Jason Dalrymple. Candidates Tina Crawford, Holly Perry and Matthew Jones were not present. There are four open positions with terms of two years available. 
Carter began with a simple question for the candidates, why do you want to run for the Malakoff ISD board of trustees? Several candidates replied that they had ties to this district. Either their children were raised in Malakoff ISD, a spouse worked within the district, had a desire to give back to the community or felt lead to run. 
The next question involved qualifications, certifications or special knowledge that would help the candidate in this position. Incumbent candidates, such as Dalrymple, Jones and Vieregge spoke of their prior experience on the board and the knowledge they learned previously to help them in moving forward. Newcomer candidates, Harris, Shumate and McKean spoke of their current work experience and how that experience was beneficial to the board positions. 
If elected what would be your top priority or priorities be? 
Dalrymple: “I think our top priority right now is school safety. We’ve made some strides in the past several months. We actually hired another police officer to our staff; we are looking at the possibility of trying to add another.” 
Vieregge: “I have to agree with Jason (Dalrymple) that school safety is important. The second thing I think is important is getting the new high school finished.”
Harris: “Safety is very important; another thing is teacher retention. You see on the news every day how difficult it is to find teachers and I think we have a problem with that as well…Providing every kid an opportunity to graduate and be successful in life.
Jones also spoke of safety and teacher retention as a top priority. “Teachers are leaving the profession every day, administrators are...it’s getting tough.” Jones also spoke of teachers and administrators pay raises.  
Shumate: “Education as I said, public education is a priority and means a lot to me. I’m a graduate of a public school system. Good facilities is important, safety is terribly important, good teachers are important. All of those go together to make the educational experience the very best it can be for each student. That would be my priority if elected. To make sure that the educational experience for every student is well rounded.” 
McKean agreed with the other candidates stating that his wife is a teacher. “I want to make sure that Malakoff has the best teachers, of course safety and the construction of the new high school.”
Candidates were then allowed two minutes to provide the audience with a response statement to make any closing remarks. 
Elections for the Tool City Council and Malakoff ISD will be Tuesday Nov. 8 with early voting beginning Monday Oct. 24.