The League of Women Voter’s held a City of Milton candidate forum on Tuesday, October 9th, 2007. The purpose of the forum was to allow the candidates in each of the Districts to showcase their skills, background, qualifications and vision through a series of questions asked of each candidate within a given District. Each candidate answered questions with a one minute response limit followed by each candidate having a one minute closing statement. The order of questions rotated between candidates.

The video offered here is the live footage of the District 2 candidates, including Milton City Council person Julie Zahner Bailey and her opponent.

Julie clearly demonstrated an unmatched command of the issues facing Milton and the solutions needed. She definitively stated her extensive business experience and community advocacy that has served our new city well. Julie has been at the center of all issues facing this area for the last twelve years and it shows. Her positions of fiscal responsibility, conservative land use planning, detailed approaches for preserving the rural character that has defined this area for so long and a balanced approach towards commercial and office in the appropriately designated areas were articulated well.

According to the October 17, 2007 Milton Herald article entitled “Birmingham candidate forum draws crowd”

“Experience with the details of the issues proved the decisive factor of the night… In the race between Roger Santi and incumbent Julie Zahner Bailey, the incumbent’s almost encyclopedic knowledge of tax, land use and transportation issues resulted in a quick fire, stat taco delivery to her questions. She repeatedly made references to her own voting record and experience with the issues. In closing, she assured the audience she would stand firm on her commitments.”

The article went on to say that “Santi has made a point of basing his campaign on dissension in the council, which he repeated in his closing statements after drawing an embarrassing blank”.

Please look at the video and see first hand Julie’s distinct qualities, in-depth expertise, unmatched knowledge and leadership as we continue to need to ensure that this is a city and a community that is citizen centric and one that retains its’ unique and distinctive character.

Click on the picture below to see the footage
from the 2007 League of Women Voters Forum.

District 2 Debate (36 minutes)

When you compare the candidates, you
will see there is only one TRUE choice.
Re-elect Julie Nov 6.

Zahner Bailey Dominates Milton Candidate Forum

By Paul Kaplan/Staff
Managing Editor Beacon Media

Milton has slogged its way through a very trying first year as a city. Some significant accomplishments have been drowned out by the noise of infighting, finger-pointing and a slew of bad press.

That usually comes out in the wash at election time, which can’t be comforting to the three incumbents who’ll be trying to keep their City Council seats on Nov. 6.

One of the three, Julie Zahner Bailey, has obviously taken the challenge to heart.

Zahner Bailey completely dominated last week’s candidate forum at Birmingham United Methodist Church.

She was the best-prepared and most poised of the six candidates, and she did the best job of selling herself and her experience as a citizen-activist to the 150 people in attendance.

Even when Zahner Bailey and Roger Santi, her opponent in District 2, agreed on an issue, Zahner Bailey found a way to separate herself.

Both candidates promised to work to uphold the city’s ban on sewer expansion in order to control growth in Milton. Santi added that there’s so much support for the ban that it’s actually become more of a political issue than a real issue in the city.

“It’s a real possibility, not a political issue,” Zahner Bailey shot back. “I believe we’re as close as one [City Council] vote from allowing sewer in this area.”

Both Santi and Burt Hewitt, the challenger in District 4, chose not to attack their incumbent opponents for the dysfunctional moments that have plagued the Council. Hewitt and District 4 incumbent Neal O’Brien were so low-key and respectful of one another that their segment felt more like speeches at an awards banquet than a debate.

The challengers will find out in three weeks if the high road leads to the Council chambers or to political oblivion.

Alan Tart, the challenger in District 6, appeared ready to do some battling, but the incumbent in his race, Rick Mohrig, could not attend the forum because he had what was described as a “minor” surgical procedure that day.

So the debate format was scrubbed in that race, and Tart was given three minutes to make a statement, during which he complained about mischaracterizations about his campaign and also touted his leadership qualities.

The moderator, Rev. John Wolfe of Birmingham United, then read a statement from Mohrig saying he was proud of the city’s balanced budget and would continue to oppose development that would increase density in Milton.

So much for the fireworks that some expected to follow Milton’s queasy first year. Even Rev. Wolfe had seemed prepared for some combative give-and-take.

“As pastor of the church, I can turn the lights out if it gets out of hand,” he teased the crowd in his opening remarks.

But the only bombshell of the night came from O’Brien, the low-key incumbent in District 4. He shocked a good portion of the room when he cited his experience as a Navy commander who was “certified to carry nuclear weapons.”

Several people in the crowd let out a nervous laugh, as if to say, “Oh great, just what this City Council needs.”