The Limestone County NAACP hosted a candidate forum Saturday afternoon at Jimmy Gill Park in Athens. Limestone County residents had an opportunity to hear from both Democrat and Republican candidates and register to vote. Each candidate had three minutes to introduce themselves before taking questions from those in the audience.

Democratic candidates for governor, Yolanda Flowers and Patricia Jamieson, presented their platforms at Saturday’s forum.

Flowers, a native of Birmingham, is a speech and language pathologist. She served as the rehabilitation counselor for the State of Tennessee. She said her decision to run for office came from seeing a lack of progress in Alabama. She favors criminal justice reform, expanding Medicaid, establishing a lottery and improving education.

“Alabama is ranked 48 in education. I say that this should not be,” Flowers said. She proposes that all school children, upon entering, undergo a psychological evaluation to identify learning disabilities early so that a individualized plan could be created for the student.

Patricia Jamieson, a native of Atmore, currently resides in Birmingham and is a LPN, minister and certified life coach. “I am here to unite Alabama and in Alabama, we can do better,” she said.

Her platform includes livable wages, expanding Medicaid and healthcare, decriminalization of marijuana, improving education and increasing teacher pay. “We are going to raise the salary for our educators so we can keep qualified teachers in the classroom. I want the lottery for education in Alabama. If we have that lottery we can use it to support the educators,” Jamieson said.

Stephanie Manning, Democratic candidate for Limestone County Commission District 3, and Derrick Gatlin, Republican candidate for Limestone County Commission District 3, spoke to the crowd.

Manning is a social worker from Athens. Addressing the county’s “fragile” infrastructure is one of her top priorities. She also spoke on the community’s treatment of one another now compared to after the tornadoes of 2011. “I remember being a high school student with a Republican living to the left of me and a Democrat living to the right of me. Regardless of their political affiliation, both neighbors came to my house to check on my single mother and I,” she said. “This county’s true values are love, acceptance and fellowship.”

“I do not know a Limestone County that would overlook me as a candidate because I am young and I am a woman. I do not know a Limestone County that would use profanity at the sound of my name because I am a Democrat. I do not know a Limestone County that does not recycle. I do not know a Limestone County that would gerrymander an entire commission district based on its racial demographics. The Limestone County I know wants to see a community of love, acceptance and fellowship,” she said.

Gatlin, a lifelong resident of District 3, has been a volunteer firefighter with the Tanner Volunteer Fire Department for 31 years and serves as their president. He hopes to grow EMS, fire and police infrastructure to meet the demands of the population increase.

“We are mostly concerned about fixing the roads. We’ve got more industry and more citizens so we have to grow also our roads, sheriff department, school system and public safety. We’ve got to put those things in place,” Gatlin said. “I want to be the voice for District 3 on the Limestone County Commission.”

Lucas Beaty, Republican candidate for Limestone County District Attorney, graduated from Ardmore High School and served in the United States Army. After finishing law school in Mississippi, he began practicing in Athens in criminal defense and juvenile matters. He promised honesty in charging and alternative sentencing if elected.

In recent years, he became a prosecutor for the city of Athens and town prosecutor for Ardmore. “Some of the things I see that needs to be adjusted and changed drastically in the D.A.’s office is we have a backlog of cases. That is a result of a person in a leadership position that is afraid to make a decision. You have to make decision, stand by that decision and be accountable for that decision,” he said.

Dale Bryant and Jennifer Castro, Republican candidates for District Court Judge, Place 2, were in attendance Saturday.

Bryant is from Limestone County and graduated from Ardmore and Athens State. He earned his law degree from the University of Alabama. He was a law clerk for the Honorable William K. Bell before working civil cases at a law firm. “I realized that just wasn’t for me so I came home and opened my own practice.” He has primarily handled criminal and juvenile cases.

“After seeing what’s been going on, I felt compelled to make a difference. What I am trying to do is create some diversionary courts. I am trying to get people out of the system that don’t really deserve to be there. Give them a chance to work their way out. Specifically, people dealing with mental illness and veterans,” he said.

Castro is a local attorney practicing in Athens. She is a single mother of four and has been practicing for 17 years. “This position would handle misdemeanor cases and wouldn’t have to worry about any felony cases. We deal with child support cases, back-up juvenile case matters, debt collectors and evictions.”

Castro wants to see some changes especially in juvenile matters. “My goal as a district judge is to go ahead and grab those young adults who have freshly turned 19, rehab them and get them on the right path so they can grow up to be productive citizens,” she said. She also vows to be tough on those not paying child support.

US House of Representatives District 5 candidates present at the NAACP forum were Kathy Warner- Stanton and Charlie Thompson.

Warner-Stanton, a Limestone County native and East Limestone graduate, is running for office in hopes of bringing change to North Alabama. Her platform is improving healthcare, growing the economy and supporting education.

Charlie Thompson, a Huntsville resident, is a graduate of UAB and UAH. He is running a platform of unity, anti-corruption and rebuilding the American family. He hopes to see criminal justice reform, term limits, eliminating Citizens United, increased wages, improved mental health care, affordable college and the decriminalization and legalization of marijuana.

Sheryl Scales, Democratic candidate for Limestone County Board of Education District 1, has been a resident of North Alabama for 19 years. She has a B.S. from Oakwood University and a background in logistics, accounting, budgeting, training and leadership. She is a volunteer youth Bible study teacher, counselor and mentor for young girls.

“I want to provide stability for our students and teachers by creating an atmosphere where both feel appreciated,” she said. “I want to see after school programs that provide academic support, mentoring and positive youth development.”

Republican candidates for Limestone County sheriff, Fred Sloss and Chris Carter, were also in attendance.