Hanceville City Council Place 1 debate

0:27 Hello and welcome to the beautiful Bailey Center auditorium on the grounds of Wallis State College in Hville. Thank

0:34 you to our gracious hosts, Wallis State College and Dr. Vicky Carlos. The 2025

0:40 Tribune Debate Series and question and answer forums continues today with multiple elections, more specifically

0:48 the Hansville municipal elections. These events are designed to give the public more un uh more unfiltered answers

0:55 without the questions ahead of time, direct comparisons and meaningful conversation. Today we focus on the

1:02 candidates running for council place 1, three, four, and mayor of Hville. We begin with place one with Janice

1:10 Shelton. We uh never heard back from Mr. Man, so we shall proceed with a Q&A

1:16 forum. But don't worry, I will have some rebuttals. The Tribune works diligently to reach out to every candidate. But if

1:23 a candidate declines to respond to emails or calls, there is only so much

1:28 we can do. The invitation stands. The forum is open. If a candidate does not

1:32 attend, an empty chair shall uh sit beside those who do. This has been done

1:38 at all debates in the past and this year. With all that being said, let's

1:43 get on with it. Now, for the rules for the candidate, some of this will kind of

1:48 fluctuate. Uh, no electronic devices permitted. Questions alternate, so no candidate uh always answers first or

1:58 last, but in this case, it will be question and answer format. Opening statement is limited to 60 seconds and

2:04 may be prepared. Time allotted for each question will be two to three minutes

2:08 since this is a Q&A forum. Closing statement is limited to 90 seconds and

2:14 must be spoken without notes. And uh one rebuttal per question if a candidate

2:20 calls you out or if I call you out. Um facts only, no accusations without

2:25 proof. This will allocate additional time to your opponent. Um, >> voters deserve substance over slogan.

2:36 Taking points will be enough. So, let's begin. >> Okay. >> Mhm. >> Is it?

2:41 >> Mhm. >> Are you Mr. Man? >> Yes, I am. >> Mr. Man is here. So, let me readjust

2:48 right quick. Dustin, >> I'm sorry. I was just a little >> It's okay if you want to come on up.

3:03 Yeah. One second all. All right. If you were here's your microphone. >> How are you?

3:13 >> Just clip on. >> Yeah. He said he didn't hear anything. You know, he got an email from him.

3:18 >> All right. All right. I'm going to put this right here. Mhm. >> All right.

3:28 And I'm going to go to the podium now. Sorry, everyone. >> Well, Mr. Man is here, so we will

3:44 proceed. Uh again, let me just go over the rules. Since this is now a debate,

3:51 no electronic devices permitted, we will alternate questions. So the person that goes first will answer the first

3:57 question. The sec the second person will answer the first question and then they'll second person

4:04 will answer the second question. Does that make sense? We'll alternate. Um opening statement is limited to 60

4:10 seconds and may be prepared. Time allotted per question is 2 minutes. Closing statement is limited to 90

4:16 seconds and must be spoken without notes. One rebuttal per question, but only if the candidate calls out the

4:24 other and is set for 45 seconds. Facts only, no accusations without proof. This

4:30 will allocate additional time to your opponent. Voters deserve substance over slogans. Talking points won't be enough.

4:38 So, let's begin. Miss Shelton, we'll start with you. Okay. >> Okay. Uh the first will be community

4:48 specific needs. What is the most pressing issue in your community and how would you address it

4:56 first? The most pressing within our community now is if I've heard it one time, I've heard it many,

5:06 many, many times. People want our police force back. People uh depended on the

5:13 police force. You know, a lot of things happened and our fire department has

5:17 just been bombarded with calls and everything and they cannot take care of everything. And I do know the sheriff's

5:23 department, you know, has helping out, but still, it's still not the same as

5:28 having our own police force, you know. So, I do know that's number one with

5:34 most all the citizens. That's their concern is they want the police force back.

5:41 >> All right. Thank you. And Mr. Man, uh the same question. What is the most pressing

5:49 issue in your community and how would you address it first? Well, I would actually uh second that

6:02 regarding what what she had said because I feel like not only having a police department, it

6:09 gives us a sense of identity. We lose a sense of identity when we lose the

6:13 department. And that to me is troublesome uh for the town because they say some of

6:21 the early signs of a decline in the town is we lose our schools and we lose our

6:25 police department. And I feel I I can't help but say I second that

6:33 because yes, we have the Cullman County um police force coming in, but they're

6:41 also stretched thin because they have to go all throughout the county to taking care of this problem and that

6:48 problem when we meet we need a um more centralized location I feel to conduct operations

6:58 that's been revamped, built up from the bottom up. And more specifically, I feel

7:07 it's especially important, especially for women here in Hansville because I just get this vibe that women are kind

7:15 of feeling um unheard in a way. Uh because of like for instance like my fiance and I have

7:25 been trying um been looking into a case with the human trafficking uh task force in Cullman County and I

7:35 think and I'm not sure how it would look like the final look would look

7:42 but it would be awesome if Hansel um joined forces with that and trying to

7:48 tackle that problem because human trafficking has become an increasing problem I feel in uh Kleman County.

7:55 >> All right, that's two minutes. Thank you. >> Right on it. >> All right, we're going to uh Mr. Man,

8:01 we're going to start with you on question two and this is going to be on

8:04 budget review role. How will you evaluate spending proposals before voting to ensure they benefit the

8:13 residents? Well, well, the this the beginning is it's looking at the the budgets uh where the

8:24 money's been going prior. That would be the good starting point and where it's

8:28 been where is the money trailing to and what it's being allocated to. And that

8:34 would mean h taking an indepth look of like where the finances are going like say with the

8:44 general fund for instance or is it going into this and it would be and

8:51 this is where I kind of would I'll admit that I'm a bit weak in this department

8:56 uh but it would be take a more in-depth study of like where where where is the

9:03 money going in in this department and this fund and so on and so forth. And

9:09 that's really the the first step is, you know, seeing where it's going. >> All right. Thank you, sir. Uh Miss

9:19 Shelson, uh it'll be the same question. How will you evaluate spending proposals before voting to ensure they benefit

9:28 residents? >> Okay. I um what I would like to say about that is you know I'm not um

9:40 a council member or a employee of the city of Hville and I'm really not for

9:45 sure about everything how the money is being spent >> and that would be one thing to look at

9:51 you know and I know there's monies available you've got to go get it and

9:56 I've had you know people contact me and said they're willing to help handsful

10:01 and that is a blessing for us. But I would be looking at the overall picture

10:06 of how the money is being spent and see if it's appropriate, you know, and

10:12 that's um I think that that would that would be I said in my defense, I'm just I'm just

10:22 not sure exactly how all the money where it's going. >> Okay. Thank you. All right, Miss Shelton

10:30 will stay with you. Um it will be infrastructure in your area. This is uh you can kind of be specific

10:39 if uh need be. Which road, sewer or utility improvements are most needed in

10:45 Hansville and what would be your plan to help address and fix these issues?

10:54 >> Okay. I will be the first to say I'm not familiar of, you know, where the

10:59 problems are with the sewer or any of that. Uh, but I can assure you if

11:05 elected, I will work diligently to get what we need, what citizens need, and I

11:13 can assure you that. I can promise you that that I'll do my best.

11:18 >> All right. Thank you. And Mr. Man, we're going to stay on that

11:26 same question. Um, which road, sewer, or utility improvements are most needed in Hansville, and what would be your plan

11:36 to help address and fix the issues? >> Uh, that's that is actually easy for me,

11:42 but I have more personal experience with that. the roads. We have some of the per

11:49 capita more roads than any other county in in Alabama. And it shows because a

11:56 lot of them have been forgotten about, looked under the radar, etc. And that causes, and I can't ex

12:05 determine an exact quote, but I'm willing to bet a great deal of money has

12:10 probably been spent on automobiles just trying to take the brunt of the road in

12:16 these potholes. In fact, I remember an infamous um pothole and this is just an

12:23 example uh between cabin fever and the Cullman uh gas and co-op. And I just see that at a lot of times,

12:34 especially in my former line of work when I was a pizza delivery man,

12:39 constant problem. I I saw so many cars get tore up and I feel like

12:47 really we got to start from the beginning of like where what materials are we lacking to

12:54 keep these roads better maintained and efficient for longer periods of time. And that may mean more money upfront

13:06 in the initial part, but long term, not only would it save a lot of money for

13:11 the roads themselves to get repaired, but it would save money for the regular

13:17 drivers here in Cullman County and in Hville. And I'm not now I am not an expert on

13:25 infrastructure but I do feel that that's one of the biggest things that I would love to look

13:33 at as far as infra, you know, infrastructure goes. >> Okay. Well, that is two minutes. All

13:40 right. Um, we will stay with you, Mr. Man. Uh, this is on parks and community spaces. How

13:49 would you improve or better maintain parks and public spaces in your area? >> Well, I feel like an expansion of the

14:00 parks um would be excellent. I feel like for instance I loved um I'm pointing this as

14:08 an example the dog park program that was implemented um in Hansel pond and I feel like there's a lot of room

14:16 for growth in that I think that's just a good start but other things that I've

14:22 noticed even in recent years that the Hansel ballpark um right past where Seafood World and all

14:30 that used to be has grown significantly and I personally pleased with its expansion.

14:36 And there's going to be, you know, there's always going to be someone saying, "Oh, but it was like this or it

14:43 used to be better." But I remember when it was just a little dirt dugout when I

14:48 was in playing T-ball years ago. So, I feel like it's came a long long way

14:53 really in retrospect. >> But that all being said, there is always room to make things bigger and better.

15:02 It just takes time. >> All right. Thank you, Mr. Man. Uh, Miss Shelton, the same question. How would

15:11 you improve or better maintain parks and public spaces in your area? >> That is one of the main um questions

15:22 that a lot of people when since I've been out campaigning has talked about

15:25 our parks and we don't have the tournaments like we used to and fields

15:29 need to be upgraded. And to me, this is where experience come in comes in. If

15:35 you've got uh connections with our senator and legislators and stuff of getting monies here to help with those

15:43 funds of upgrading our parks and our ball fields and things like that cuz we

15:48 can get it back, you know, if we get things going. That's what a lot of

15:52 people are complaining about. They're not kept up like they should be. But it

15:56 takes money. And as a U council person, you know, you've got to go get money.

16:02 You know, you've got to ask for it. It's just not going to drop in your lap. So,

16:06 I can assure you on that, too. I would work diligently with our senator and

16:12 legislators to get money for the city of Hansville. >> For our ballparks. >> All right. Thank you, Miss Shelton.

16:20 We'll stay with you. Uh, this question is com on communication with residents. How will you keep constituents informed

16:28 about city decisions that directly impact them? >> Okay, social media. A lot of people

16:36 don't like social media, but it's a very good outreach and our uh council

16:42 sessions. They're streamlined. People can, but I encourage people to get involved in the community and come to

16:49 our meetings and, you know, they do a great job of putting it out there at

16:53 what's being done. But we're going to have to have everybody helping, you know. Um,

17:00 let me see here. I will say that that and and invite them to me and have special meetings for the

17:07 citizens of Hsville, you know, about what they would like to see done. That's

17:12 very important. And like I said, just keeping in touch with our citizens, you

17:17 know, that's and I'm always available usually and most people know me and I'm

17:23 more than willing to talk to you, you know, if you just give me a call or

17:26 reach out to me. >> All right. Thank you, Miss Shelton. Um, Mr. Man, same question. How will you

17:34 keep constituents informed about city decisions that directly impact them? Well, actually, this is a similar

17:44 question asked during the political forum, but I social media is kind of like the easiest, cheapest, most

17:51 affordable way of getting the word out. I mean, there's just no contest there.

17:57 But that all being said, I would also like to invite a more of a environment

18:04 of inclusion because I feel like too often people are kind of out of the

18:10 know about what's going on and sometimes they they feel almost unwelcomed in their own town and that's

18:19 not what we want and I feel in the end because it's this this is our town in

18:25 the end And if we want to make it our town and make it great, we have to

18:32 include everybody in here of all sides of, you know, to the best that we can apply

18:41 to say the least. >> Thank you, sir. Um, Mr. Man, we will stay with you

18:49 and this is on the grocery tax. What is your stance on the grocery tax

18:55 and should legislators continue to bring it down from its current 2% all the way

19:01 down to zero? >> Absolutely. And I say that almost u I mean I'm being

19:08 a bit biased though I will admit because I used to work for Publix but for

19:14 instance sales tax alone in just in Cullman County is at 9%. That don't sound like a whole lot, but

19:22 if you think about it, we're paying 90 cents every $10 spent at the groceries,

19:27 and that nickels and dimes us all the time. And we're amongst the very few

19:32 states that still employ a grocery tax. If we had no grocery tax, that would

19:40 incentivize more buying power for our residents and consumers in general, and that ultimately would bring business and

19:50 revenue for our town. uh that and and again I that apologize in the fact that I'm a bit biased

20:00 because I worked at Publix for like three years. So I definitely felt the

20:05 brunt of it but I definitely would. Yeah. Zero. Absolutely. If I can get as

20:11 low as I could the better. >> Okay. >> No taxes on that. Thank you sir. Uh Miss

20:18 Shelton same question. What is your stance on the grocery tax and should legislators continue to bring it down

20:25 from its current 2% all the way down to zero? >> I guess taxes is one of the things I'm

20:33 very familiar with because I when I retired from the revenue commissioner's office, no one likes taxes,

20:39 but you do have to have tax to make things happen too and monies, you know.

20:45 uh if legislators could lower some, but I can't say it'll be back at zero, but I

20:51 just don't see that happening, but it could. But uh like I said, when people

20:56 start talking taxes, it will turn people's deaf ear. They don't want to hear about taxes in this community. But

21:04 uh anything that they can do to help our citizens, I'm greatly I'm for that.

21:11 >> All right. Thank you. And Miss Shelton will stay with you for question seven.

21:17 This is on personal life uh leading to public. What would you say has helped

21:22 prepare you uh to hold the position and fight for those living in Hansville?

21:32 >> Will you ask that again, please? >> What would you say has helped prepare

21:36 you to hold the position and fight for those living in Hsville? when everything started happening in

21:46 Hville and we had a situation that happened and when I retired I had no

21:52 intentions of u running for any public office and after I spoke at the council meeting

22:01 that night about how I felt just as a citizen of Hville, I had so many people

22:06 reaching out to me wanting me to run for office And I will say that the encouragement

22:14 people has given me prayer. I do have a voice. I can speak on behalf of the

22:20 citizens when needed. And I can assure you there again if elected I will do everything that I can

22:30 in my power to make sure that you know everything is done in the right way you

22:37 know and keep our people ab breast at what's going on. You know, I just like I

22:41 said, I can tell you Hansville can have some improvements and it's going to

22:46 happen. You got people working for it. >> All right. Thank you. >> Uh Mr. Man, same question. What would

22:55 you say has helped prepare you to hold the position and fight for those living

23:00 in Hansville? life experiences, but more specifically with my my uh line of work with

23:12 tried and trueue retail, fast food, pizza delivery. You learn a lot about people and what they're going through in

23:23 that line of work because in a sense they call it in the human services

23:29 natural helpers. And you cuz you get to hear pe you know people's problems over time and you learn more

23:41 and more and build a picture of sorts of like what's going on in Hansville and

23:47 what is best needed for its citizens. And I feel like in that uh in that work

23:55 experience and in that line of work over the years, I've learned a lot about what

24:02 do people want and it comes with my customer service background and that when when I bring I bring that up

24:13 to say that people talk and when they talk you you get a bit you start to build a

24:22 picture on what the citizens feel is the most important to them as the majority.

24:32 And that's really the the best reason I can give like why why I would be a good

24:40 uh candidate at least in this remark because I've listened to people for over 20 years

24:50 about the their wants and needs and what they're going through even today on my own personal life.

24:59 >> All right. Thank you, Mr. Man. Um, we'll stay with you on question

25:05 eight. This will be on accountability. If a city program you supported failed to deliver, how would you take

25:14 responsibility and address it? Well, step one is admitting you have that there's a problem.

25:24 If don't if you can't address it, yeah, there was a problem here and that's

25:30 where then you can't fix the rest of it because you have that's the first step

25:35 to accountability is knowing where that a problem exists. Otherwise, if we deny it, sweep it under

25:42 the rug or whatever, it fers. And that not only causes problems down the road,

25:50 not only for yourself, but the people you are attempting to serve. And it creates distrust and

25:57 resentment. And I feel like especially like not just with the Hansville Police Department, but like in other avenues of

26:04 our life here in Hansville, a lot there's a lot of resentment towards this town that's been building

26:11 for quite some time. Or I feel that way anyway. And if I feel like if I, you know, say I I

26:21 messed up on something or some matter, it would be my prior, my biggest

26:28 imperative to admit it and then work on how to fix it to the best of my knowledge. And that

26:36 would include working with either who whoever's in the mayor, who's the other council person,

26:44 so on and so forth on getting it addressed and fixed almost like a tech

26:48 support team because it this isn't a uh a solo job really. It's it's a team effort. Actually, it's

27:01 a village effort if we're really getting honest. takes a village. >> All right. Thank you, sir.

27:09 Miss Shelton, same question. If a city program you supported failed to deliver, how would you take responsibility and

27:17 address it? >> Well, I cannot truthfully say, you know, a lot of times you don't know

27:28 if things are going to work. That's where trial and error comes in, you

27:31 know, but I think working teamwork with your other council people and everything, you know, you got to come

27:39 together and work together because more can be done if you work together versus

27:44 going at each other. So, um, I would be the first to step up to the plate and

27:49 say that um, maybe I didn't see this coming, you know, but I will work to fix it,

27:57 whatever the problem is. And like I said, it just goes back to teamwork. I

28:02 just believe everybody, if you have good council people, mayor, and everything works together, you can get more done.

28:08 And >> thank you. >> All right. Thank you, Miss Shelton. Thank you, Mr. Man and Miss Shelton.

28:15 We're going to uh go into our closing statements. >> Oh, Lord. >> Uh Mr. Man, I'm gonna let you go first

28:25 since M. Shelton went first on the introduction. Is that okay? >> Yes. >> Okay. Closing remarks, uh, you have two

28:32 minutes. >> Well, regarding the closing remarks, I would like to say that I I am honored

28:43 that that I've even been gotten this far as a candidate. It's kind of it's in a

28:50 sense I feel like I'm following the footsteps of my father. He was on the council moons ago

28:58 and if he was watching me I from heaven I would just think that if nothing else

29:10 he'd be very proud of me for stepping up to the plate and just doing it. Not like

29:17 not trying to sound like Nike or anything, but but I'm just I'm proud

29:22 that I I just, you know, I stuck to my guns. I committed to it and I'm doing

29:28 it. Now, it may not always be, you know, peaches and roses all the time, but

29:36 that's okay. That's part of the building process. It builds character and it also um and it allows me

29:47 not only to be a stronger person, but I feel like it also helps inspire to

29:54 become better people in this town. And I guess that's what ultimately what leadership is about. You lead by

30:01 example. And because examples, you know, Mr. pre preach a lot stronger and communicate a lot louder

30:14 than offering li service. >> All right. Thank you, Mr. Man and Miss Shelton, your closing statements. You

30:24 have two minutes. >> Okay. First of all, I want to thank everyone for coming out and uh hearing us today.

30:33 And like I said, I love my town. I've lived in the city over 40 years and I

30:41 would say people are food for my soul. I've always been one that has let a lent

30:48 give a hand out for anybody that's in need of something. you know, uh I think

30:54 we have to, like I said, work together and we can make this, not that Hansville

31:01 is a bad place by no means, but there's been a lot of hiccups and we've got a

31:06 lot to take care of. And I can assure you again, and I know I've said that a

31:11 lot, if elected, I will work diligently to put Hansville back. And it's going to

31:18 take time. And things are not going to happen overnight. But we can't do anything but

31:24 grow. We do not need to go back. We need to move forward. So we need to put it in

31:29 D for drive and keep moving Hansville forward and give them the citizens of

31:35 things that they deserve. All right. Thank you, Miss Shelton. And with that, that uh puts this debate

31:45 in the books. We would like to uh wish the candidates all the best in this

31:49 upcoming election. And we want to thank everyone who came out today to uh

31:54 support and to come out and hear your candidates. And we'd like to thank

31:58 everybody who's watching at home. U we will have our next debate coming up

32:02 shortly. And uh we'll be back in about 20 minutes. Thank you.