Candidate Q&A — Feb. 19

Editor’s note: The following is one in a series of question and answer sessions with Portales city council candidates.

Early voting for the election will be at Portales city hall from through Feb. 26. Absentee voting by mail will be accepted through Feb. 26.

The election will be on March 1.

Michelle Bailey is a Ward C Portales City Council candidate and is a local realtor with Homespot.

Michelle Bailey

A lot of candidates and constituents talk about the need for Portales residents to support local business. What do you plan to do in the next year to help make this endeavor a reality?

I think that informing the residents of how far their money goes when they actually shop locally and reminding them that those tax dollars stay here will help bring in tax dollars, and those can go toward some of their other concerns, such as roads or developing the community in some way. The first thing I would probably do is work with economic development and then educate the local community.

What do you believe is the most important quality you should possess as a city councilor?

There are a few. Honesty and transparency. You always want to be ethical in your decision making. You also need to be available to the citizens that elected you, to hear their concerns.

What issues specific to your ward have you been approached about, if any? How do you plan to take action regarding these issues?

A lot of citizens have come to me and said that they want a permanent fix for the roads. They understand that they have limited resources for that, and they just want it to at least be looked into.

Chad Heflin is a Ward C Portales City Council candidate and is the manager of the DawgHouze Bar.

Chad Heflin

A lot of candidates and constituents talk about the need for Portales residents to support local business. What do you plan to do in the next year to help make this endeavor a reality?

I think it’s important that we shop locally. I think that if we can encourage local spending, it will all return back to the community. I think if people knew how much money goes right back into the community, they’d be more willing to shop locally.

What do you believe is the most important quality you should possess as a city councilor?

I don’t think there’s just one quality. I think there’s several. One, I think you need to be involved in the community. This summer, me and Portales MainStreet did some events downtown with the Star Gazer, we got that up and running again. My daughter won little miss merry christmas and raised over $3,000 for downtown Portales.

I think that you also need to know your community. My dad and mom were raised here; I was raised here. All of my kids go to school here.

What issues specific to your ward have you been approached about, if any? How do you plan to take action regarding these issues?

I think that it’s important that in this election, no matter what ward you’re in, that people get out and vote. It’s important to see who wins and loses, of course, but I think it’s more important that the community votes.

I’ve had some people concerned that they can’t get a hold of somebody. They don’t know who to get a hold of. I want to have an open door policy, whether it’s a simple phone call, a simple sit-down meeting or even a simple message on social media. I can’t know everyone’s problems, but people can come to me with their problems, and I think that if I have an open door policy, which I will, that’s going to help.

— Compiled by Staff Writer Eamon Scarbrough