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Paid for by Meadows for Mayor • 3120-A Frederick Road • Opelika, Al. 36801
Listen to Rainer Meadows and Mayor Gary Fuller at the Mayoral Candidates Forum
LISTEN NOW
August 18, 2008
Dear Friend:
We will go to the polls on August 26 to elect our next Mayor of the City of Opelika. I would like to ask for your vote and support. In the last few months, I have visited with many citizens in their homes and have been asked several times what the differences are between me and my opponent. There are differences.
·VALUES- In the areas of campaign contributions and business philosophy in particular, my opponent and I have a different set of guiding principles. To summarize, I do not believe the end justifies the means.
·EDUCATION- I believe the future of our city is dependent on the success of our city school system and that the Mayor plays a critical role in promoting our school system to industrial, business and family prospects. I believe the Mayor of our city should have total commitment to our school system and that includes the attendance of his children in the school system. My family is totally committed to our school system. My opponent chose to have his children attend a private school outside of Opelika.
·RUNNING THE CITY LIKE A BUSINESS- I believe we should LOWER OUR OCCUPATIONAL TAX by ¼% next year. My opponent raised our power rates, business license fees and imposed a sewer tap fee in the face of significant budget surpluses each of the last three years. I believe in spending the taxpayers’ money wisely and providing proper documentation of such expenditures. My opponent has a different philosophy about that. The privatization of our Public Works function to ESG was flawed from the beginning and the results have not been as promised. My goal will be to eliminate ESG.
·CRIME- We still have too much crime! I will work with the Council and the Police Chief to put more officers on the streets. We also need to work on our community relationships. The police can’t do it all by themselves. My opponent has not increased the number of officers on the streets.
·ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT- We must maintain a balance between healthy growth and maintaining our small town quality of life. Economic development is about more than recruiting large industries. We need to also be aware of retail, professionals, small businesses, downtown investors, residential, retirees and young families. My opponent is much more focused on large industries than trying to build growth to enhance our quality of life.
The time to bring Opelika together and improve our quality of life is now! In order for Opelika to become a “Great City”, we must have a leader who respects all citizens and is truly interested in developing a genuine sense of community. I believe I am the best candidate to bring our city together and I ask for your vote and support on Tuesday, August 26. Thank you and please pray for all of the candidates and our city.
Sincerely,
Dear Friend:
We will go to the polls on August 26 to elect our next Mayor of the City of Opelika. I would like to ask for your vote and support. In the last few months, I have visited with many citizens in their homes and have been asked several times what the differences are between me and my opponent. There are differences.
·VALUES- In the areas of campaign contributions and business philosophy in particular, my opponent and I have a different set of guiding principles. To summarize, I do not believe the end justifies the means.
·EDUCATION- I believe the future of our city is dependent on the success of our city school system and that the Mayor plays a critical role in promoting our school system to industrial, business and family prospects. I believe the Mayor of our city should have total commitment to our school system and that includes the attendance of his children in the school system. My family is totally committed to our school system. My opponent chose to have his children attend a private school outside of Opelika.
·RUNNING THE CITY LIKE A BUSINESS- I believe we should LOWER OUR OCCUPATIONAL TAX by ¼% next year. My opponent raised our power rates, business license fees and imposed a sewer tap fee in the face of significant budget surpluses each of the last three years. I believe in spending the taxpayers’ money wisely and providing proper documentation of such expenditures. My opponent has a different philosophy about that. The privatization of our Public Works function to ESG was flawed from the beginning and the results have not been as promised. My goal will be to eliminate ESG.
·CRIME- We still have too much crime! I will work with the Council and the Police Chief to put more officers on the streets. We also need to work on our community relationships. The police can’t do it all by themselves. My opponent has not increased the number of officers on the streets.
·ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT- We must maintain a balance between healthy growth and maintaining our small town quality of life. Economic development is about more than recruiting large industries. We need to also be aware of retail, professionals, small businesses, downtown investors, residential, retirees and young families. My opponent is much more focused on large industries than trying to build growth to enhance our quality of life.
The time to bring Opelika together and improve our quality of life is now! In order for Opelika to become a “Great City”, we must have a leader who respects all citizens and is truly interested in developing a genuine sense of community. I believe I am the best candidate to bring our city together and I ask for your vote and support on Tuesday, August 26. Thank you and please pray for all of the candidates and our city.
Sincerely,
VALUES
1)Campaign Contributions
Rainer Meadows- I have said from the time I entered the race I would not accept contributions from businesses that do business with our city. I have not and will not! A public official who accepts such contributions can’t help but have his judgment influenced by such large contributors.
Gary Fuller
Has accepted contributions as follows from companies or executives of:
·ESG- The Company that was awarded the $3 million contract to privatize our Public Works Department. No bids were taken on this contract,
·Paving Contractor- Was awarded several million dollars in contracts over the last three years,
·CPA Audit Firm-Audits the city operations over which the Mayor is in charge,
·Insurance Company-Provides the majority of Insurance coverage for the city,
·Celebrate Alabama Contractor-South Carolina firm,
·Frederick Road Property Owners- Mr. Fuller recently decided to delay construction and re-design the plans, which had been approved for over ten years, for the badly needed extension of Frederick Road from Tiger Town to Auburn,
·Out of state development/construction firms- At least eight,
Source: Elected official pre-election reports filed in the office of the Lee County Probate Judge.
2)Business Philosophy
Rainer Meadows
All decisions will be based on whether they are morally, ethically and legally proper. The end does not justify the means.
Gary Fuller
On his “good friend”, Dr. Roy Johnson, former chancellor of the Alabama Community College System,
“Instead of implying that he is costing Alabama taxpayers, we should be asking how much is he saving taxpayers? Instead of spending so much time swatting at gnats, we should look at the much bigger picture.”
Source: O-A News 6-27-06
EDUCATION
Rainer Meadows
The future of our city is dependent on the success of the Opelika City Schools (OCS). It is imperative that our Mayor be totally committed to our City School System. Total commitment means that the Mayor should have first hand experiences by virtue of his involvement and the attendance of his children. This is necessary so that the Mayor can relate his first hand experiences to industrial/business prospects along with young families moving to our area. All of my children graduated from the OCS. My grandson currently attends. Since my oldest daughter graduated from OHS in 1997, the student population has dropped significantly while our neighboring school systems are bursting at the seams. This tells me that young families moving to our area and internally generated young people are not choosing our community. We must stop this trend! I will develop a recruiting team which will consist of young families to help recruit for our city and I will work with the School Board to enhance existing and develop new programs to better serve our children.
Gary Fuller
His children attended a private school outside of Opelika therefore he can’t relate first hand experiences to prospects.
RUNNING THE CITY LIKE A BUSINESS
1)Revenue Enhancement
Rainer Meadows
Sound business principles should be applied to all facets of running our city however, our city is not a business, it is a public trust, and cannot be run totally like a business. My background in banking and homebuilding has given me a great understanding of cost control and customer service both of which are necessary in providing services in the most efficient manner. I do not believe the city is in the business of maximizing revenues and generating large profits. Because of our recent revenue gains, I believe it is time we lowered our occupational tax. I WILL PROPOSE THAT WE LOWER OUR OCCUPATIONAL TAX BY ¼% BY MID YEAR 2009 WITH A GOAL OF LOWERING IT AN ADDITIONAL ¼% BY FY 2012.
Gary Fuller
Per the FY2007 financial statements, Mr. Fuller reported in his March, 2008 press release, we had $22 million more in revenues than expenses. That being the case, why did we, in 2007, have to 1) raise our light and power rates by 7.88 % and, 2) increase business license fees by 33%? The city is in the business of providing services, not maximizing profits.
2)Cost Control
Rainer Meadows
On all city business, I will spend the taxpayers’ money as I do my own, very responsibly!
Gary Fuller
A review of the city’s credit card reimbursement records reveals that in May, 2005, Mr. Fuller participated in and approved a meal which cost the taxpayers of Opelika over $1,200. This meal took place during one of his many trips to Las Vegas over the last three years and there were no business prospects in attendance, only 4 local people. I can assure you I have never had a $300 meal and will not charge the city for one!
Source: Accounting records, City of Opelika
3)ESG
Rainer Meadows
I am not against privatization. However, the way we came about a relationship with ESG was totally flawed. We awarded a $3 million contract and not only did not bid it, we only talked to one company. What good business would do that? We were told by Mr. Fuller that we would save $1 million annually. In 2005, Public Works expenditures were $3.2 million and the 2008 budget is $3.3 million. Where is the $1 million savings? It has not happened!
Gary Fuller
He saw no problem with the ESG process and was quoted as saying’ “when I see something I like, I buy it”. That may work well in the radio business, but not when you are spending the taxpayers’ money!
Source: O-A News 8-14-05
CRIME
Rainer Meadows
In 2004 we had 58 authorized police officer positions, 52 budgeted
In 2008 we only had 50 Budgeted-We need more officers on the streets!
We need to utilize our existing crime task force on a REGULAR basis to provide community input which is critical to the success of our efforts. Our community policing concept needs to be continued and expanded. We must evaluate our pay and benefits relative to our primary competitors so that we can recruit and retain quality officers. Experienced officers are not only better equipped to handle their jobs, they are more cost effective.
Gary Fuller
Has not increased the number of officers on the streets and the Crime Task Force is used primarily for publicity. Our starting pay for police officers is currently the lowest in our county.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Rainer Meadows
We need to make sure we maintain a balance between healthy growth and maintaining our small town Quality of Life. Economic development is more than recruiting industrial prospects. It also includes development of retail, small business, professional offices, residential, retirees, young families and downtown. We need to diversify our industrial base so that we are not tied to one industry.
At this point in time, I believe we should be highly selective in our efforts to recruit new industry. We should be focused on supporting our existing industries so that they can succeed and ultimately expand. As a part of supporting our industries, we need to work with the school system, Southern Union and industry to develop a meaningful workforce development program so that we are preparing future workers for jobs which require greater skills. Our efforts to recruit new industries should be limited to those that will bring truly high paying jobs and be good corporate citizens. Companies that require primarily professionals such as engineers and others with college degrees should also be a major part of our program.
Gary Fuller
Being the beneficiary of a most favorable economic climate with the Hyundai and Kia plants locating nearby, Opelika has continued to see growth in industrial expansion that was jump-started during Mayor Patton’s term. What Mr. Fuller fails to mention is that he inherited a world class industrial park, an outstanding economic development director and an experienced industrial development board. Also, one of the industries he touts as his was recruited by Mayor Patton and in the final stages of locating when Mr. Fuller took office. Included in the job numbers Mr. Fuller touts are natural expansions of industries recruited by Mayor Patton. And finally, you may remember four years ago Mr. Fuller was extremely critical of Mayor Patton’s inability to land the Nissan and Hyundai auto plants saying he could do better. After traveling the world and spending thousands of your tax dollars the results are in. Kia is in West Point and Volkswagon is in Chattanooga.
Please vote for Rainer Meadows on August 26!
Letter of Endorsement for Rainer Meadows for Mayor of Opelika
I want to make it perfectly clear that I am endorsing RAINER MEADOWS as a candidate for Mayor. After an advertisement that ran yesterday, I have had a number of calls from people stating that they were surprised that I had changed my mind. That is not the case. I have tried to support Rainer without being "out front" because I thought that it would hurt his chances and people might say that "it was just sour grapes on my part." I truly think that Rainer will make an outstanding Mayor. I have known him for 35 years and I know that he has strong principles and will stand up for what he thinks is right. He will run the City of Opelika with sound policies and strong ideals. He works well with people and will see that civic contributions come from all areas of the city. You have seen his information and you know that EDUCATION is the hallmark of his campaign. I know that he will be an advocate and a partner with the Opelika City Schools to make sure that they are not only funded properly
but will work for other programs within the school that will help children succeed and "be the best."
He knows the City Schools first hand and is the candidate whose focus will be on our young people. Bringing young families into Opelika is critical to its future! Rainer has the business experience, the governmental experience, and the civic involvement to work with everyone to continue to grow this city and still retain its feeling of community. He knows the importance of ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT and also knows there are many facets that must be balanced. Again, I do support Rainer Meadows. Go to the polls and vote Tuesday.
Barbara H. Patton
Opelika
I want to make it perfectly clear that I am endorsing RAINER MEADOWS as a candidate for Mayor. After an advertisement that ran yesterday, I have had a number of calls from people stating that they were surprised that I had changed my mind. That is not the case. I have tried to support Rainer without being "out front" because I thought that it would hurt his chances and people might say that "it was just sour grapes on my part." I truly think that Rainer will make an outstanding Mayor. I have known him for 35 years and I know that he has strong principles and will stand up for what he thinks is right. He will run the City of Opelika with sound policies and strong ideals. He works well with people and will see that civic contributions come from all areas of the city. You have seen his information and you know that EDUCATION is the hallmark of his campaign. I know that he will be an advocate and a partner with the Opelika City Schools to make sure that they are not only funded properly
but will work for other programs within the school that will help children succeed and "be the best."
He knows the City Schools first hand and is the candidate whose focus will be on our young people. Bringing young families into Opelika is critical to its future! Rainer has the business experience, the governmental experience, and the civic involvement to work with everyone to continue to grow this city and still retain its feeling of community. He knows the importance of ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT and also knows there are many facets that must be balanced. Again, I do support Rainer Meadows. Go to the polls and vote Tuesday.
Barbara H. Patton
Opelika
Paid for by Meadows for Mayor • 3120-A Frederick Road • Opelika, Al. 36801