City Council Place 2 candidates speak at forum

Danny Muskrat answers a question at the forum, as Sherri Spruill listens.

By LOU ANTONELLI

Editor-in-Chief

Mount Pleasant voters face some important decisions in this year’s May 4^th spring election.

There are three candidates running for mayor in the wake of the decision of Paul Meriwether to retire. There are also contests for two other seats on the city council.

Additionally, the Mount Pleasant school district is asking voter approval for a $55 bond issue.

The Tri-County Press hosted a Candidates Forum the evening of April 15 at the Mount Pleasant Civic Center. The well-attended annual event, hosted by Tri-County Press Publisher Sonya Roberts-Woods, saw all the candidates attend.

In an effort to help voters make an informed choice in this election, Mount Pleasant for Real is publishing a series of articles based on the candidates’ appearance that evening.

We continue today with the race for Place 2 on the City Council, where first-term incumbent Danny Muskrat  is being challenged by Sherri Spruill.

Sonya Roberts-Wood introduced the two candidates for their two-minute opening statements.

Muskrat said he’s been a banker for 28 years moved to Mount Pleasant 12 years ago. Both he and his wife work in the city, and they have three children. He first got involved in civic affairs in the Rotary Club before running for the city council two years ago.

Spruill said she is a Titus County native and her family has deep roots here. She has worked as a real estate broker since 1985. As such she is good with number and budgets, and she said she ran because she is concerned about the financial future of the city, which is still struggling to make up for losses in tax revenue, such aa from the closing of the Luminant power plant.

“I’m not making any promises, but there still is the possibility we could go bankrupt,” she said.

Woods then asked candidates questions that had been submitted by members of the audience.

When asked if they supported term limits, Muskrat said he is used to them because of many organizations be belongs to that have them. Spruill said she’d rather “trust the citizens and let the voters decide” how long someone should serve in office.

When asked what they would do for the local economy, Muskrat said he would “work hand in hand with the EDC” to create more job opportunities. He said the relatively new director of the EDC “has gotten very creative in making the city as attractive as possible.”

Spruill said despite working in real estate so many years her college degree was actually in marketing and she know “how to put the best foot forward.”

“I know how to promote marketing,” she said. “And close the deal.”

When asked they would do to help the youth of the city, Muskrat said the city has already taken a big step in building a new sports complex. He said he know some people thought there should have been baseball field, but a city study showed “soccer was the bigger need.”

Spruill agreed, saying the new sports complex is a “head start” on meeting youth needs.

In their closing remarks, Muskrat said he feels his primary task on the city council, whicl Spruill said she intends “to ask a lot of questions.”