The Moody Political Forum hosted by the Moody Area Chamber of Commerce was held last week at Moody Civic Center for the St. Clair County Sheriff’s race and the St. Clair County School Superintendent race.  Candidates Billy Murray, Roy Mullins, Greg Cobb and Mike Howard participated in the forum with questions submitted from the community.  None of the candidates knew the questions until they were asked during the forum.

Questions for the Superintendent Race

1)      How do you plan to prioritize resources for all the schools within our county? 

Greg Cobb:  Make sure cutting edge resources are available.  Always be looking for grants and other ways to find money for the classrooms.

Mike Howard:  Put more money back in the classroom.  Class sizes are too high.  Find ways to reduce class size. 

2)     As a school administrator, what is your opinion of teachers/staff having weapons?

Mike Howard:  Inside schools, we are not trained for guns.  We need officers to handle that threat.  Rather than teachers having guns, use security resource officers instead.

Greg Cobb:  It’s a sad day that we have to think about these type of decisions.  If the legislature tells us that we have to arm teachers with guns, we will follow the law.  We will have the strongest criteria to carry out the safety of our children.

3)     What can you do as the new superintendent to assure St. Clair County schools continue to have passing grades?

Greg Cobb:  We have an 84 report card, which is higher than those with much higher revenue available.  Building a child is like building a house.  Our classrooms must mirror the workplace to prepare our kids for jobs.  Watch student progress and have a great relationship with teachers who are watching students learning so that we recognize a problem before reaching the end of a grade period.

Mike Howard:  Work on literacy beginning with K-5.  It must be the same across the board and prepare our kids for enrollment in college, workforce or military.  That’s our job.  Implement a program for a student leadership council and give them a voice to help raise GPA and drop discipline.

4)     What experience do you have at the district level to adequately meet the needs of each community?

Mike Howard:  I haven’t been at central operations, but have been at St. Clair County High School and will take my experience to all grade levels and determine what the needs are.

Greg Cobb:  I have 8 years’ experience in the central office at the district level and understand the land mines and challenges.  I can go in on day one running.  Before the opportunity to work in the central office, I worked with the Alabama Reading Initiative.  I have worked on the outside and on the inside.  I already know the challenges we face.  I plan to do a daily audit, evaluation and make changes.

5)     What are your top three priorities for your term?   And how will you measure success for each of them?

Mike Howard:  Audit, recruit and maintain the best and continue to upgrade facilities

Greg Cobb:  Confirm reliable funding to find money.  We currently get 13 mil vs. 31 mil on proper funding.  Create a philosophy to listen to the community, engaging and new initiatives/innovation to mirror the workforce.

6)     There seems to be a disconnect between the BOE and the communities.  How will you repair that relationship? 

Mike Howard:  We need transparencies for each community, more open lines of communication with panels to make decisions for each district and partnership with business schools.

Greg Cobb:  Six months ago, I began looking at how to change perception.  I work many hours to continue to improve our education in this county and realize that the general population needs to be educated more about what’s going on in our education system.  We need to utilize our website as well. I have developed a plan for advisory and executive committees with plans to take the central office out in the community, get buy-in for decisions so we can all work together to raise that child.

Questions for the Sheriff Race

1)     This question was asked to both sheriff and superintendent candidates:  In light of the events at Parkland High School, what would be the top three things that you would like to see going forward to best protect students in St. Clair County and why?

Billy Murray:  One of the most important things we can do is train, then we must respond and do everything in our power to protect.  We have some important decisions to be made. 

Greg Cobb:  Our job is to educate.  Our #1 priority is to protect our students.  We have a great relationship with our police department and Sheriff’s department.  We must always know who is in our schools.  We should install panic buttons in every school.

Mike Howard:  We should use preventative measures, train children as they progress through school so they will not be a threat and have a second layer of security.

Roy Mullins:  We should install metal detectors.  This would cost around $5000.  We need armed people, not unarmed people and everybody trained together.  Be ready.

2)     What is your response to the officers not proceeding into the Florida school when there was an active shooter? Do you consider these officers cowards?

Roy Mullins:  This is a disgrace.

Billy Murray:  There is no more solemn duty than to protect life.  We must fulfill our entire departments with people who never hesitate.  Your life is secondary to the lives of those you are protecting.

3)     What would be your plan in working with our municipalities police departments on the fight against drugs in our county?

Billy Murray:  We plan to continue the fight against drugs in our society.  We have no greater responsibility than to work with all municipalities and we must work together as a countywide task force to eradicate drugs.

Roy Mullins:  I’m not opposed to a task force.  Everyone can work tips together as one team.

4)     What formal training have you had that qualifies you to be the Sheriff more so than your opponent? Be specific. 

Roy Mullins:  Over 25 years in law enforcement with 15 years on night shift and supervisor with decision making role.

Billy Murray:  Over 26 years in law enforcement.  I have trained and prepared myself for the role I seek as your St. Clair County Sheriff, my entire life.  I started as a jailer and worked my way up to Assistant Sheriff, but the best training I have had, has been the privilege of serving along-side our current St. Clair County Sheriff, Terry Surles.

5)      The St. Clair County Sheriff is responsible for managing a multi- million dollar annual budget. Tell us about your experience in financial planning and developing new revenue streams. Please use specific examples.

Billy Murray:  Our budget is over $11 million.  We must be able to manage the budget effectively.  I serve on many boards in the area and all of them have budgets.  Boards I have served on include St. Clair County Healthcare Authority, St. Clair County Children’s Advocacy Center and the St. Clair County Day Program, to name a few.  I feel that I am very qualified to take on this task.

Roy Mullins:  I have been on night shift so I never had the opportunity to work on a budget.  Yes, you can write grants, but I’ve never done that.

6)      The Sheriff’s office is a multifaceted organization with many divisions including administration, patrol, investigations, corrections, and communications. Describe your experience in managing large operations.

Roy Mullins:  I have been a night shift supervisor and have always gotten everything taken care of.

Billy Murray:  I have been a part of many large operations as I have risen through the ranks.  I am responsible for many day-to-day operations and report directly to the sheriff.  You must know the job.  I have handled huge operations on a daily basis over 26 years and am excited about the future and where that will lead.

7)      One role of the Sheriff is to be involved in the communities you serve. What boards, commissions, committees, or organizations have you served on?

Billy Murray:  My credentials speak for themselves.  I have been in many leadership roles and am ready for the many roles a sheriff must play.  Look at my credential with the many board and committees that I have served on.

Roy Mullins:  I have not had a lot of opportunities to serve on boards, etc.  I worked night shift just to serve the people.

Among the agenda during the forum, the new Moody City Council member, Ellis Key, was introduced on stage as taking Ricky Parker’s place on the council.  Also, Nickie VanPelt and Charles Isbell were both given a few moments to speak about their candidacy for St. Clair County Board Of Education – Member at Large.  Everyone was encouraged to vote on June 5.