City candidates share ideas, tout accomplishments at forum

Candidates for the city of Cullman’s mayor and city council seats got the chance to make their case for office Tuesday night during the monthly meeting of the Cullman County Republican Women. 

Each candidate was able to speak to the gathered group for a few minutes to share some of their ideas for the city or accomplishments they have overseen as an incumbent official.

Cullman Mayor Woody Jacobs spoke about some of the recent projects that the city has accomplished or made strides in, including the recent bidding out of the AL 157 widening project after years of waiting. 

“You’ll see some construction going on this fall,” he said. “And yeah, it’s going to be a pain, but when it gets over with, we’re going to forget the pain and we’ll enjoy the benefits with this project.”

Jacobs said some of the city’s projects include the recent completion of the new Larkwood Bridge, and the city is also beginning work to install a splash pad at Nesmith Park after the park’s pool was closed several years ago.

“I’m just pledging to continue what I’ve done over the last four years and be open to everyone and try to make Cullman what it is — not too big but keep it going in a forward movement,” he said. 

Mark Bussman, who is challenging Jacobs for the mayoral seat, highlighted some of his other work for the city over the years, including serving as chairman of the Cullman City School Board, the Cullman Regional Board of Directors and as a long-term member of the Cullman Industrial Development Board. 

“I have been involved in every major industrial project, including Highway 157, over the years,” he said. 

Cullman is growing, and with that growth are opportunities and challenges that are being created in mental health, infrastructure and in the school system — and COVID-19 has caused even more problems among the small businesses of the community — so the city will need to quickly act to address those issues, Bussman said. 

“All this is going to have to be dealt with in a short period of time,” he said.

Andy Page, who currently serves on Place 1 of the Cullman City Council, said he originally ran for the council in 2008 with a campaign motto of “For the future of Cullman.”

“The future of Cullman from ‘08 to 2020 is pretty remarkable,” he said. “You think about the things that we’ve got now but we didn’t have then.”

Page said the number one reason behind that success is the same reason that sports teams also see success — teamwork — and the current council has been working well together for the past 12 years to make that growth possible.

“If you don’t get along with the people that you work or play with, you won’t be successful,” he said. 

Brad Smith, who is challenging Page for Place 1 on the council, said he is excited to be jumping into politics in Cullman. 

“I appreciate everything Coach (Page) and the council have done for the city,” he said. “At the same time, I think I can bring new vision and a fresh voice to the council to lead us into some unprecedented times that we’re up against coming out of COVID-19.”

Smith said it’s also important for the city to support local law enforcement and first responders, seek common sense solutions to help improve the facilities in the city’s school system and maintain good relations with other local entities. 

“I’d like to communicate and maintain open conversations between the Cullman City Council and all of its community partners, whether it’s Cullman Regional, Wallace State or education, whatever we can do to help everyone’s strategic plans move in the right direction,” he said. 

David Moss, who has served on Place 2 of the council for the past two years, focused on the impact of COVID-19 and said he played a part in all of the behind-the-scenes communications between the city’s departments and other local organizations to get out in front of the virus, and that cooperation has helped the city prevent a major breakout that some other cities have seen.

Moss said he felt like he was joining a winning team when he first joined the council, and that is in large part due to the leadership of the mayor and council. 

“I feel like my job as a relatively new council person is to keep that momentum going,” he said. “I don’t have to be a hero and change things, I just have to do my part to keep the successes that we’ve enjoyed.”

Place 2 of the Cullman City Council covers the city’s utilities, and Tony Townson, who is challenging Moss for the seat, said his four decades of experience of an electrician and small business owner makes him qualified for the seat. 

He said he is looking at retiring in the near future, and he wants to give back to the community that has supported him over the 35 years that he has had his business. 

“Since the city of Cullman has been really good to me and my business, I just want to try to help the city back a little bit,” he said. “I’m going to have the time to be able to do the job, and I think I would enjoy working with the people of the city. 

Johnny Cook, who is the incumbent for Place 3 on the council, said he has had the same goal since he took office in 2008. 

“I didn’t have an agenda,” he said. “My agenda was to be part of this city’s government to carry it forward, to make it what it is today. That’s what I pledge to continue.”

During his time on the council, Cook said he has helped the city work through the 2011 tornado, the 2018 hail storm, the 2015 Christmas flood, the 2020 Easter flood and now the COVID-19 outbreak.  

“I’ve been there, working for the city making sure that it’s safe and secure, and making sure our employees are safe and secure,” he said. 

Gwen Parker, who is running against Cook for Place 3 on the council, pointed to her years of experience serving the community, and said she is currently working with the Cullman Elks Lodge, the Cullman Pilot Club, Victims Services, Saving Forgotten Warriors and the Cullman County Veterans Day Committee, and has served on numerous other boards in the past. 

“Anybody that knows me knows that I’ve always been involved in the community and in service organizations,” she said. “I’m used to working with a lot of people with a lot of projects.”

Parker also pointed to her work with Peoples Bank of Alabama as giving her experience with budgets and how to think outside the box, and said she wants to work to make Cullman an even better place to live and raise a family. 

“If elected I would like to work hard to improve the quality of life for its citizens, address any inefficiencies that are there and encourage transparency in all dealings,” she said. 

Clint Hollingsworth is the incumbent for Place 4 on the council, and said he is a small business owner who has personal experience with cash flow and other struggles that businesses may face.

He echoed Cook in pointing to the several crises that the current council has dealt with over the last several years, and said the current members have proven that they can handle those issues. 

“I think experience does matter,” he said. “I think it’s important to have people that you trust that can make a tough decision contrary to what others say on social media and other things,” he said. 

Steve Cummings, who is challenging Hollingsworth for Place 4, took the opportunity to share two of his ideas to help the city save some money and maybe bring in more tourism. 

He presented an asphalt patch that is a self-adhesive that seals potholes, and said other cities have used them for years and have seen their patchwork withstand time and weather better than before they were using them. 

Cummings’ other idea was a new vehicle sticker that could help raise awareness of the city and county. 

He said many people like to wave to other people when they see they have the “25” that denotes a Cullman County license, so he had the idea to create a “25A” sticker that people could place on their cars that would lead people to ask what it meant and let more people know about the area. 

“That’s just a couple quick ideas,” he said. “If I get in, I get in, and if I don’t, I’m still going to pursue some things that I’ve got and do what I can to promote Cullman County.”