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Forum's focus on future
Candidates told board holds the key
Debate WEB 1
Commission candidate Bill Mulrooney, center, fields a question Tuesday during a Smart Growth Forsyth County forum. From left are fellow candidates Cindy Jones Mills, Tim Hubbard and moderator Bob Slaughter. - photo by Autumn Vetter
Forsyth County commission candidates aired their plans for the future during a forum Tuesday nightOrganized by Smart Growth Forsyth County, the more than two-hour event brought candidates from the three districts up for election to discuss resources, development and more.Bob Slaughter, founder of the nonpartisan watchdog group, moderated the forum and emphasized the impact of the commissioners’ decisions.“In our view, as the economy slowly recovers, we feel that in the next three to four years, we’re on the cusp of the next wave of development in Forsyth County,” Slaughter said. “We feel that this board in particular will have some great impact on the trajectory of where the county’s going to go.”The commission posts are elected by districts. The July 31 primary likely will decide the outcome, as all the candidates in the running are Republicans.All the political hopefuls in Districts 2, 4 and 5 who attended offered their visions for the county.Incumbent District 2 Commissioner Brian Tam said he’s worked toward achieving his vision eight years ago when he first took office.Tam noted the importance of education, recreation and public safety to enhancing the quality of life and desirability of Forsyth.An opponent in that southern district, Dennis Brown, said the focus needs to be on quality, not quantity to shape Forsyth’s future.