Three of the four incumbent City Council members running for re-election were present at a community forum Wednesday evening at Holy Temple Church in Henderson.
Ola Thorpe-Cooper, Garry Daeke and Lamont Noel were in attendance; the other incumbent, Sara Coffey, was not feeling well, and was not present.
The three incumbents spoke about the importance of the upcoming municipal election, and then entertained questions from the audience.
Thorpe-Cooper started things off, saying, “We care about you and your concerns in the city of Henderson – not the ward you live in, but the city of Henderson.”
“We are running for re-election – not because it’s easy, but because we care. Experienced leadership still matters. Let’s not trade progress for…promises.”
She said the Council works together to get things done.
“I don’t believe it’s about me, it’s about us,” Thorpe-Cooper said. “We sit together, we talk together, we pray together. We are here with a record of standing up…when it hasn’t been easy to stand up. Showing up when it matters and getting real results.”
Noel said he decided to run for a seat on the City Council so he could be a voice for residents who may not know how or to whom to address complaints or concerns.
He ended up writing a city ordinance – before he was on the Council – to address one such issue that he had involving driving golf cars on city streets. The police chief at the time took it to council and said he’d never had a citizen come to him with a problem AND a solution.
Shortly after that, Noel said people approached him to run for City Council.
“I realized that I had an opportunity to be a voice for those people that couldn’t speak for themselves.”
“We have to love Henderson,” he said. “What we go through, we wouldn’t be doing it if we didn’t have a love for Henderson. We want the best for Henderson and that’s why we’re here.”
Daeke grew up in Henderson, went to college, got a degree and came back because he wanted to serve his community.
“I came back to this town because I loved it,” he said.
He spent time on the city’s zoning board, planning board and downtown development commission and then felt he had the experience and knowledge to run for City Council.
“I’ve enjoyed every minute of it – it’s work – very hard work. but great work.”
“We’ve hit a wall lately and we need to get beyond that,” he said.
Affordable housing is the city’s biggest project, and he said being a member of the Council is like being a part of a team – working on a team and seeing what you can accomplish when you work together.
When you go to the polls, he said, “think about my service when you’re voting.”
The non-partisan municipal elections are Tuesday, Oct. 7.
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