The general election is just over a month away, and KVOE News began the Candidate Forum process Thursday to get you more informed about local races.
KVOE had its first City Commission Candidate Forum, featuring incumbent Danny Giefer and hopeful William Garner. Giefer, a city commissioner for eight years and the owner of Mr. G’s car washes, says the city has several immediate priorities at this time. At the top of the list is finding a new city manager once Mark McAnarney retires, followed by alleviating the tight labor and housing markets.
A human resources employee at Simmons Pet Food, Garner singled out housing as the core issue facing the city.
Another topic that saw general agreement was wage policy after the City Commission passed both a wage increase for next year and a five-year wage increase plan. Garner says the city needs to work with employers to see how wage increases could affect them.
Giefer agrees that wage increases are needed, and he says the conversation needs to continue about the scope of future pay raises.
Jermy Hinkle was unavailable for Thursday’s interview.
KVOE will have a second City Commission Candidate Forum at 10:06 am Tuesday involving incumbent Susan Brinkman along with hopefuls Travis Hitt and Jamie Sauder. The USD 253 Emporia Board of Education will then be the focus Oct. 12 and Oct. 14, with incumbent Mike Crouch and hopefuls Lillian Lingenfelter and Paul Meinke on the Oct. 12 program and hopefuls Christina Faulkner, Jami Reever and Jennifer Thomas on the program Oct. 14.
Programs can be found in the KVOE.com Audio Vault after their completion. The general election is Nov. 2. The full program is in the KVOE.com Audio Vault.
