MANSFIELD — Raising the level of conversation and offering more information for voters was the goal of Thursday night’s debate pitting incumbent Republican Mayor Tim Theaker and Democratic challenger Don Bryant at the Renaissance Theatre in downtown Mansfield.
A little bit of both was the result as Bryant and Theaker sparred verbally during the 90-minute debate pointing out their opposition’s flaws in future plans as well as past projects.
“You learned quite a bit tonight from each candidate,” said Tom Pappas, a Mansfield resident. “I am happy with the current mayor, but the new candidate has some good ideas as well.
“I like the idea of having a forwardly-moving plan as opposed to haphazardly moving along,” he said. “I liked (Bryant’s) energy — not that the current mayor didn’t have any, but he showed more vibrancy.”
Doug Beilstein, a Mansfield resident, called the debate excellent and was very interested in the Mansfield Rising plan each candidate spoke about, but wondered where money would come from to afford the ideas outlined.
“If I see one thing I’m concerned about, I heard a lot from Donnie about the plans and people he wants to invest in, and he didn’t mention once how he was going to pay for it,” he said.
Ashley, another Mansfield resident and member of the audience, said she thought Bryant’s idea of creating revenue by adding business was a great idea.
“You can’t just say, ‘This is what the budget is,'” she said. “You have to bring in revenue and up the budget.”
Overall, members of the audience said the debate helped them have a better understanding of the energy and ideas each candidate has if elected mayor over the next four years
A recap of the entire debate can be found on the Richland Source Facebook page.
