One office, two men, many challenges await new mayor

Editor’s note: Information for this story was obtained from public forums and speeches made by the candidates, their campaign material and individual questions submitted to the candidates.

On July 14, Dothan voters will elect a new mayor. It is a big job, even when times are good, and currently, they are not.

A reduction in sales tax revenues has put the city more than $3 million behind budget. That shortfall has affected everything from hiring to capital improvement projects. Currently, there are 59 vacant city positions which are not being filled. The development of two parks has been put on hold while the city puts back money for a $46 million sewer project and long-term water needs expected to include the construction of a $200 million regional reservoir.

Also facing the city is an ever-increasing debt to the Retirement Systems of Alabama, which totals more than $90 million. The city’s annual RSA payment is rising from about $9 million a year to $10 million. And there is a landfill that must be closed and future garbage needs to be addressed.

In every department, there are needs. And in every way, a true leader is needed.

The candidates

Two men with fundamentally different backgrounds, perspectives and goals are seeking the office of mayor.

One, Keith Seagle, is a sitting commissioner who has spent a tumultuous 21 months in office. From the district 6 chair, Seagle, 52, has built a coalition of support that currently represents a 3-vote minority on numerous issues. Rarely does a meeting go by that some issue doesn’t pass on a 4-3 vote. Prior to his running for office, the counselor at Troy Dothan kept a low profile. Today, he likes to distinguish himself on the commission by saying he has gained a reputation for “independent thought.”

The other candidate, Mike Schmitz, 56, is a long-time businessman who has never before sought public office. Yet because of his vast community involvement and his philanthropic habits, Schmitz is widely known and very popular. The car dealer advertises his business as being located in “beautiful downtown Dothan” and is always positive in his approach to problems.

Neither candidate is from the Circle City, but both have chosen to make Dothan their homes. Dothan is the place where Schmitz and his wife, Sandy, have raised their son, and Seagle and his wife, Deborah, raised their two children. The Seagles also have three grandchildren.

Seagle was born in Honolulu and raised as a self-proclaimed “army brat,” spending much of his life on the move. He graduated from the University of South Alabama and was a field artillery officer in the U.S. Army. He returned to Dothan in 1989, and has owned three businesses. He has a master’s degree in counseling psychology and was previously employed with SpectraCare.

Schmitz was adopted at age 5 from an orphanage near Monroe, Wis. He graduated public school there and was immediately drafted. After a short stint in the military, he moved to Panama City in 1974 and attended Gulf Coast Community College, where he studied real estate. Schmitz said he always wanted to live in the South. He worked briefly in real estate and advertising before he got into the auto business in Panama City. Today he owns multiple dealerships, many under the auspices of Mike Schmitz Automotive, and has been in the business for 31 years.

Their platforms

Mike Schmitz

As he pulls up a chair in the Dothan Eagle’s executive offices, Schmitz once again takes a center stage to which he has grown accustomed. Through his years of civic and community involvement, Schmitz has addressed whole schools and civic centers full of people. He is at home at the podium, where he is quick to crack a joke, and is always positive.

Today, he makes an appeal and explains why he is running.

“I always had a desire for public service and I thought it would be a state senate post that I sought. In talking to a past mayor, he asked if I wanted to make a difference.” Making a difference, several previous mayors told Schmitz, is best done in the mayor’s seat, a near thankless job that brings harsh criticism in exchange for the $42,000 a year salary.

“I think I’d love the job,” Schmitz says candidly. “I am at the age where it is time to do something. The way my business is set up, I’m prepared to be a full-time mayor, bringing with me my 30 years of business experience and my 20 years of community involvement. I will go to work at the mayor’s office every day.”

Schmitz says he has a good feeling for what city government is doing and what can be done better. He lists four areas of priority:

—Fiscal Responsibility in Government
—Education
—Economic Development
—Consensus-Building in the Community

On fiscal responsibility:

“Because of the times and the serious issues we’ll be tackling, it’s very important that we watch every expenditure,” he said. “During the next four years we must deal with the waste-water treatment plant, the landfill, our future water needs, and several other priority items. We must not take on additional debt unless it’s essential and future non-essential projects need to be pay-as-you-go.

“Where we find waste or unnecessary spending, we’ll cut the fat — not the meat. The city must remain fiscally sound and we must prioritize our wants and needs, establishing clear, specific goals to ensure the citizens that we have the best essential services. My goal will be to listen and make decisions that prove to be best for us all.“

On education:

“It is not the job of the mayor to fix education, but our high school drop-out rate (30 to 40 percent) is just not acceptable. The quality and overall health of the education system has direct implications for our city. If we all agree that our youth are our future, we know if our education system suffers, we all suffer as a consequence.

“We can and must do better, and proactive leadership from the mayor’s office can be a key component in drawing the community together to tackle specific issues like the drop-out problem and unsatisfactory test scores. Working together, our community can also confront matters related to the health and well-being of our students, including issues related to health, physical fitness and the growing obesity issue.“

On economic development:

“We should double our efforts on economic development, recognizing that retiree recruitment is economic development. While things are crazy in California and crazy in Florida (real estate markets), now is the time to knock on doors and sell them Dothan. I have a positive attitude and I am the guy to close the deal.

“Expanding our job market is much more than simply increasing the number of jobs we already have. It also means creating a variety of new career choices that are appropriate for our community and our emerging workforce. Jobs have to be a top priority. Dothan’s mayor must have the experience and attitude that create an environment where people want to come and do business.“

On consensus building:

“I’ve always heard the east side doesn’t like the west side and the north doesn’t like the south side. It’s us against them. We are all in this together. My style of leadership is to sit down with ideas and have us all move forward. I want to reach out to all the districts. We’re stronger when we work in unison. I will fight for people, not with people.“

Keith Seagle

The freshman commissioner, speaking like a car salesman himself, appears on local TV advertisements pointing the finger at viewers as he declares, “I WILL cut your taxes!” It is an appealing promise for voters, but one many say he cannot possibly deliver.

Seagle explains how he can lower taxes and why he entered the race:

“I met with Mike before and after Christmas about cutting taxes on groceries and that’s not his priorities,” Seagle said. “To me, it’s about where we are going, not who is driving the bus. We will cut taxes, not maybe. I am making it clear. It can be done. We can and will take the tax off groceries.“

Seagle said if one candidate sympathetic to the cause of removing the grocery tax gets elected, the previous 4-3 consensus to keep the tax, will become a 4-3 vote in favor of asking the legislature to remove it. “At least one of the incumbents will be displaced,” he said, noting that if he is elected mayor, before a special election can be called for in district 6, the majority of the commission will appoint someone to that post.

In essence, Seagle will choose his successor. “We will choose someone who will let it go on the agenda.“

Currently no cities in Alabama have repealed the grocery tax, and it cannot be done without a change in state law. Numerous attempts to remove the food tax on the state level have not passed. Seagle remains undaunted even though he alone, or he and three others on the commission, cannot remove the tax without an action of the state.

On tax and spend:

“I want to cut taxes to help the needy and put more money in your pocket,” Seagle said. “In turn it will stimulate our economy and attract more shoppers to Dothan. I want to put an end to checkbook problem-solving and prioritize our needs before our wants.“

Seagle wants to remove the $7.90 service fee on all Dothan Utility customers, calling it an unneeded tax. He favors, instead, giving the poor a tax cut by removing the city’s 4 percent grocery tax. The poorest among us, however, who receive food stamps, do not pay taxes on groceries.

“People have said a 4 percent cut will not make a difference. For people on fixed incomes or who receive SSI, $24 to $29 a month will help. They will drive in from Ozark, Abbeville and all around to shop. That money doesn’t disappear. A family that saves $24 a month, they are going to buy something else. People will spend their money elsewhere. It is going to attract more people to Dothan.

“Nobody has to come to Dothan. We can decrease our cost of living by cutting the grocery tax and losing $5.6 million to $6 million a year, which can easily be made up in a $384 million budget.“

The city of Dothan currently has one of the highest in-shopping rates in the state, meaning the city has a wide draw from other counties and states.

On the one-cent sales tax increase:

“It’s hard for me to say if it was needed. City government is outgrowing the economy. We would not have lost essential services. That’s a scare tactic. Look at what we have spent our money on. It is an example of our priorities being out of whack.“

He is critical of the way the city has spent an additional $14 million to $16 million raised with the additional one-cent sales tax. As examples, he pointed to the hiring of lobbyists to represent the city’s interests in Montgomery and Washington, and the construction of a new half million dollar press box, half of which was paid for by Knology.

“It seems whatever we need, we just write a check.“

He also said the fact that the city has more than $4 million in reserves is a sign that the people are being over-taxed; otherwise, that money would not be there.

On his battles with fellow commissioners:

“I’m a determined man. Independent thought is important. It is important we bring these issues up. We have got to get past this ’if you don’t agree you are villainized.’ We need to advance the discussions.“

Seagle makes no bones about it: There is no T in commission.

“I firmly reject the team concept when it comes to politics. It is a good idea for athletics and companies. It implies there is a coach and everybody follows along. You wind up with a panel of yes men. We will never get anywhere without accepting opposition.“

On the Sunshine Law:

“I want to enforce the Sunshine Law. Several weeks ago there was a disagreement about adding an additional sales tax holiday. We were not going to put it on the agenda without a majority consent. You don’t know you’re not going to put it on the agenda unless you do that in private.“

He proposes the commission continue to meet bi-weekly, with an open-to-the-public work session in between.