Five for Two: Walhalla City Council Candidates Participate in Meet & Greet Leading Up to Special Election

Five Walhallans are candidates for two unexpired seats on the city council in the special April election. The individuals running are Jessie Bunning, Robert W. Kelly, Hayden Laye, Lynn McClain, and Alan Nicholson. Both Laye and Bunning have filed to run for both of the available seats. Walhalla Partners for Progress sponsored an opportunity to meet the candidates last night at the Depot.

Janet Smalley with the organization was pleased that each candidate chose to participate…

Each of the five candidates introduced themselves to the approximately thirty attendees, including the local Boy Scout Troop, for three to five minutes, after which the public had the opportunity to ask questions and learn about their plans and concerns.

Several key issues were consistently raised by the contenders. A major point of discussion was the necessity to repair the city’s old and failing water system, which has recently resulted in multiple boil water notices. Another significant topic was the need for better communication between the city council and the public. The ongoing debate about whether water customers should be annexed into the city’s corporate limits was also a topic of discussion.

Early voting for the special Walhalla election is open this week at the Pine Street Complex. The special election will take place on Tuesday, April 22.

As a courtesy to the public for those unable to attend, below the photos of the office-seekers are the speeches from each of the five candidates at Monday’s Meet and Greet. They are presented in the same order each candidate spoke – alphabetically.