Depending on how the Gun Barrel City Council election goes May 9, there might be enough support for a local smoking ordinance.
Candidates running for the Gun Barrel City Council split along public safety and political lines while discussing smoking bans during a candidate forum April 14.
Linda Rankin, who is one of three candidates running for the Place 5 seat, and incumbent Councilwoman Carol Calkins, who is running unopposed for the Place 3 seat she now holds, said they favored an ordinance targeting businesses and other public venues to protect people from the hazardous effects of second-hand smoke. Calkins noted she lost a relative to cancer who contracted the disease from exposure to second-hand smoke.
Rankin limited her support of a smoking ban to restaurants and public venues that would allow nightclubs to continue allowing smoking if the owners so choose.
All of the other candidates said they opposed any type of ban on smoking because they objected to local government interfering in business operations.
Nightclub owner Rob Rea, who is running unopposed for the Place 1 seat, noted he smokes along with many of his customers. Prohibiting smoking could ruin his business, he said.
Incumbent Councilman Marty Goss and candidate Steven Schiff, who are running against Rankin for the Place 5 position, agreed with Rea that local governments should not impose smoking regulations on businesses.
Mayor Jim Braswell recently asked on a social media site for opinions about the possible need for a smoking ordinance in Gun Barrel City.
Two other council members whose seats are not up for election this year, Mayor Pro Tem Dennis Baade and Councilman Ron Wyrick, have not yet weighed in on the issue of a smoking ordinance.
Other issues discussed at the forum included funding for future civic projects, such as an ad valorem tax, what priority civil projects should take, the importance of economic development and financial accountability by city management.
The candidate forum was sponsored by the Athens Daily Review, The Monitor, Henderson County Now and CedarCreekLake.com. ADR reporter Kathi Nailling coordinated the program. The Cedar Creek Lake Area Chamber of Commerce represented by Marty Mullins hosted the event in the Gun Barrel City Council Chambers.
The media participants chose three of the questions, including the one about the smoking ordinance, to be asked. The audience submitted several other questions at the 90-minute forum moderated by Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Kevin Pollock.
Each candidate gave a two-minute opening and a one-minute closing in addition to answering the questions. The candidates chose the order in which they answered the questions in a random drawing.
The video of the candidate forum will be posted on the Gun Barrel City website at gunbarrelcity.net