Two Abilene mayor candidates take far-ranging questions at ACU forum

Two of the four candidates for mayor of Abilene were quizzed Thursday on the condition of Abilene roads, what's in the city's libraries, LGBTQ issues and water security at a public forum at Abilene Christian University.

The hour-long event, organized and presented by an upper-level policy class in ACU's School of Social Work, drew candidates Ryan Goodwin and Dasi Reddy. A few responses to questions asked Thursday that previously were answered by a third candidate, Weldon Hurt, were displayed on a screen or read aloud.

Hurt, the current Place 4 member of the Abilene City Council, was at a council meeting.

The fourth candidate, write-in hopeful Chad Clark, failed to show.

The armchairs for Goodwin, 36, and Reddy, 51, were moved closer together and a moderator sat in Clark's spot.

Two students posed questions determined in advance, then questions submitted at the event.

City business

The forum began with each candidate giving a summary of his background, Reddy not as brief as Goodwin.

Both were asked what each specifically brings to the election.

Both said their backgrounds included construction, giving them an understanding of how growth, jobs and cost affect Abilene.

Goodwin, a Realtor, called himself a "numbers guy" who has experience with budgets. Reddy said his experience in building hotels gives him an understanding of what that takes.

Goodwin's role as pastor has given him an overview of the community. He wants to bring greater community involvement - "more people with a seat at the table." He believes the church community voice is not being heard.

"We have a lot of people who want a voice in government. Why can't people with giftings and abilities in the church be part of government? Be part of the answer?" Goodwin asked. "They are saying, 'Hey, what about us?"

He believes he can promote better communication between the city and churches in the area of "humanity issues."

Reddy said he is bringing to light overspending and too many taxes.

"That is my main agenda," he said.

He joked that a "breathing tax" may be next.

He reiterated that the downtown DoubleTree by Hilton project, at $81 million, could've been done for no more than a third of the price. He could've built eight hotels, employing more people and widening the tax base he said.

Reddy said a big IT firm settling in Abilene would "keep our children in this town" instead of them moving after graduation.

"I think if I bring one IT hub to this town, my mission is accomplished," he said.

Goodwin complimented the Development Corporation of Abilene, especially efforts to grow small businesses already here.

"We need to encourage people to look outside of downtown," he said.

Reddy said small businesses "are not getting help from DCOA."

Incentives are needed. He said perfume, meat and IT companies are interested in Abilene.

"All they need is a place. If the city can give them a place ... not for free ... they will come," he said.

Asking what each would do with a windfall $10.5 million grant, Goodwin said it could be used to help those who struggling. Some business have told him that the street maintenance fee is the equivalent of a quarter of their yearly property tax.

"I would put it to make our roads better. Take care of things that haven't been taken care of thus far," he said.

Reddy said the city is lacking both human and animal clinics.

"If our health is good, we can do anything," he said.

As for roads, Reddy said redoing streets is needed instead of patching. He said money spent on concrete trails in parks ($1.4 million, he said) and overspending on the downtown hotel should go to streets.

"They are feeding the contractors," he said.

Goodwin said streets rank No. 5 among city priorities.

"How seriously are we going to go after these things and something that affects everybody?" he said. He noted the lack of competitive bidding, due in part to local companies lacking workers. It's time for the city to look elsewhere and perhaps find a cheaper price.

"There's plenty of room for competition," he said.

Goodwin said Abilene getting groundwater from Fort Stockton as part of its 50-year plan may be a great idea, but it won't happen soon. When it does, how much will it cost? He has not gotten that answer.

Reddy said the city should not sell its water.

"We have a lot of water here," he said. Residents also have a lot of fees tacked on to their water bills, he said.

Free water should be given to those who are on government assistance, he said.

Church, LGBTQ issues

Getting away from questions that traditionally are asked local candidates, questions also focused on public library content and the LGBTQ community,

The candidates' answers at times were similar - both have issues with what's in libraries and where items are placed.

Goodwin, a former full-time Methodist pastor, now volunteers at Mosaic Church. He said in October 2020, he was called to run for mayor while in prayer.

"I didn't jump in because I was mad at anybody. I jumped in because I felt called to," he said. "I have been going to council meetings and learning as much as I can."

He said he wanted to make it clear that he did not seek to ban books but to review what content was in the children's area and to move materials that are not appropriate for youngsters. An adult section should be created "where books that are obscene can be pushed to," he said.

"I'm not talking about books that were there 20 years ago," he said. "I thought children at a young age shouldn't be exposed to things like this. If adults want to look at that, then go for it."

He said a homeschooling parent with five children can miss these kinds of books when in a library.

Goodwin said that when a book was read at a council meeting, it was "blacked out."

"That's how vulgar they were," he said. "It was so bad you couldn't have them on television for people to see. Moving it to the adult section is not banning a book."

A statement from Hurt read aloud said a restrictive children's card was approved by the council but as yet, no one has applied for one.

Reddy was more limiting. He believes there no place for pornography in the city.

"I am personally thinking the books should go out of the town," he said, suggesting those placed in adult stores "that are out of the city. If you can't keep it in your house, you can't keep it in the library."

Goodwin spoke to drag shows, particularly those on city-owned land. A recent show was held at Abilene Community Theatre, which independently schedules event but whose building is owned by the city.

Goodwin said it's inappropriate to have shows at which youths put dollar bills in participant's clothing.

'You haven't seen me protest a drag show where kids aren't involved," he said. "I'm not about one group being picked on.

"Adults can go whatever they want to do."

Reddy gave a short answer.

"Everybody should have equal rights. Be treated equally," he said.

Reddy said he is Hindu but while in India, he helped Christians find a place to worship when others turned them away.

"We should work together," he said.

Asked about applying "biblical community standards," Goodwin said he has substituted "community standards" on his website.

"I wasn't meaning to push the Old Testament on you," he said. "I was meaning that if the believers would just stand up, it would benefit everybody."

Reddy declined to answer.

Goodwin said he heard from city firefighters who were OK with being present at the 2022 Pride Parade for safety reasons but not being forced to participate.

"I'd be able to honor that," Goodwin said.

Quizzed on campaign signs being place at churches, Goodwin, whose sign has been posted at New Hope Church in southwest Abilene, said he has not seen the IRS stepping into this issue. Church financial involvement in campaigns is regulated by IRS to determine tax-exempt status.

"I think if the church wants it there and the church has it, it's not breaking any rules," Goodwin said. "This is a gray area. "You look at a lot of politicians, they are in churches all the time.

"But if someone from a church asked me to remove my sign, I'd do it in a heartbeat."

Goodwin recounted the role of clergy in establishing government.

"The church has always had an active role in where our country went," he said, adding separation of church and state was meant to keep the state out of churches, not to keep the church out of government.

Reddy's answer was more succinct.

"We should not put any signs in the churches," he said.

Reddy leaned toward Ryan and said, quietly, "You lose 501(c)."

Wrapping up

The candidates were asked about donations. The 2022 effort to make Abilene a "sanctuary city for the unborn" showed outside support and funding of the effort.

Goodwin said most of his campaign donations are local, but not all. Reddy said he is 100% financing his campaign as part of his effort to give back 15 years of service to Abilene after 15 years of business success here.

Reddy defended his callout of two Abilene mayors for profiting from their leadership position.

"That is called inside trading," he said, raising his voice. "That is illegal."

Other campaign events planned are:

• April 5 - Abilene Chamber of Commerce members-only forum, Abilene Woman's Club

• April 4 - Hispanic Leadership Council, public invited, downtown Abilene Public Library

• TBD - Abilene Freedom League forum

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Two Abilene mayor candidates take far-ranging questions at ACU forum