Candidates for Tommy Carter’s soon-to-be-vacated District 5 House seat brought their early campaigns to educators Tuesday when five of the six candidates addressed the Limestone County Education Association meeting.

Only about a dozen teachers showed up for the LCEA meeting at Limestone Career Technical Center, but the gathering gave a taste of things to come for the candidates who hope to fill the seat held by Carter for 36 years. Carter will retire this year.

Candidates on hand for Thursday’s unofficial forum included former Limestone County superintendent and now Reid Elementary School Principal and Athens City Councilman Henry White; former Athens City councilman and drafting instructor Brian Terry; retired Limestone County educator Anita Raby; local surveyor Ronnie Coffman, and retired Delphi employee Eural Claxton.

Candidate Tim Hice was ill and not at Thursday’s meeting.

In their opening remarks all five candidates vowed their sincerity in wanting to serve Limestone County.

White touted his 35 years in education. “I’m a public servant,” said White. “By going down to Montgomery I can serve a greater number of folks. On the City Council I serve my district and the whole city, but as your state representative I will serve both the city and county.”

Brian Terry, a former Athens City councilman, said he would be attuned to the needs of education because of his years as an instructor at the technical center.

“One thing that I’m concerned about is the education budget,” said Terry. “We’ll have to fight for funding more than ever before. Politicians are trying to divert money intended for education…I will fight to keep teachers’ wages at the national average. For the money that the state puts into education, they get one heck of a return on their money.”

Terry also said he was very concerned about student safety on school buses and would work to put an aide on every bus.

Anita Raby said anyone winning the District 5 race, would have to “fill some big shoes” in replacing Carter.

“I was a member of the LCEA for a long time and a West Limestone teacher for many years,” said Raby. “Early in my career I went back for a masters degree. Thelma Braswell, the governor’s representative for AEA, spoke to us and said we needed to be involved to have an impact. I came home and got on the (AEA) legislative committee and became an advocate, spoke before the school board and I’ve been an advocate for education in Montgomery and Washington. That is my strength. When I walk into the halls in Montgomery, they know my name.”

Raby, however, said she would not be a “one-dimensional candidate” because of her education background. She said she would work to recruit business and industry to keep the state’s youth employed locally.

Ronnie Coffman said as a 20-year businessman, he knows the pressures behind making a payroll and paying business taxes.

“School teachers are very underpaid,” said Coffman. “If elected, I will be underpaid like the rest of ya’ll.”

Coffman compared Limestone County graduation rates and earned degrees to the city of Madison schools, which have 8,000 students, the same as Limestone County. He said that Limestone’s graduation rate is 74.5 percent, compared to the city of Madison’s 94.6 percent. He also said that 16.9 percent of Limestone County’s graduates go on to earn bachelors degrees, compared to Madison’s 52.9 percent. He said the difference is parent involvement and he said local schools should stress more parental involvement.

Eural Claxton, a retired machinist and tool-and-die maker, said he first became involved in public issues during the so-called local “annexation wars” of the 1980s. He said that since then he has gone on the stump in Montgomery and Washington for many different issues that concerned him.

“I have studied local, state and federal governments,” said Claxton. “I have worked for boards of education. If I see a situation that hurts our county in any way I will take up for us…If you want someone to fight for you in an honest way, you won’t be ashamed of me. If there is no improvement in four years, then don’t send me back.”

Educator Al Wassum encouraged whomever is the new legislator to fight for a state budget funded through more dependable property taxes than the precarious sales taxes that often leave education budgets in proration.