Outtakes from the P.A.C.E. mayor candidate forum

Writing a narrative about a political Q-and-A isn’t always easy. The questions can vary widely, and sometimes contenders don’t give good answers – much less speak in complete sentences.



So today’s article on the P.A.C.E. mayoral forum honed in on the “Ron Webb incident,” as categorized by moderator Adam Giblin. Here are some quotations that didn’t make the article.


One topic each candidate seemed comfortable discussing was the plan to bring Louisiana College’s law school to Shreveport. Giblin said the Southern Baptist school discriminates against gays. He asked whether public money should be used to fund a private institution.

• “It shouldn’t be used because of our debt situation,” Libertarian Parker Ward said. “Government should not be involved in somebody’s personal life.”
  
  
• “If we’re not discriminating against anybody… we shouldn’t donate money to an organization that does,” independent Dana Bruhnke said, referring to the city’s personnel policy. “It would be great to have… but we have other budget issues to take care of.”
  
  
• “The city cannot do this deal,” said Caddo Commissioner David Cox, running as no party. “It should not do this deal.”
  
  
• “It’s a discussion that I’m interested in having,” said Mayor Cedric Glover, a Democrat who went public with the proposal for the city to buy the former Joe D. Waggoner Federal Building for the college. And then here are some wildcards.
  
  
  
  • “If you call my office, I will call you back.” – State Rep, Roy Burrell, a Democrat, taking a jab Glover. A common complaint from the public at City Council meetings is that Glove rand staff don’t return phone calls.
    
    
  • “We need a leader that understands coming from behind.” – Cox on how he we manage city finances.
    
    
  • “I do not think the will of the people… should simply be overturned by a judge’s ruling,” Republican Tim Goeders on recent court proceedings about Proposition 8, the California law that outlawed gay marriage.
    
    
  • “You’ve got to kind of make up your mind. Are you going to go forward or go backward?” – independent Hersy Jones on Glover’s decision to honor the city’s Confederate history.
  
  
  
  
  City Councilman Bryan Wooley, a Republic, missed the forum because he was sick, he said. He expects to be at Tuesday’s council meeting.
  
  
  Oration was not Bruhnke’s strong point. He acknowledged that with this swipe at Wooley: “I’m just going to work on my public speaking. One that’s not here – he’s very polished.”