Candidates show passion for Walhalla

The candidates in next week’s special election for a Walhalla city council seat displayed a passion for their city during a joint appearance last night at a forum arranged by the chamber of commerce. Both men, Lamar Bailes and Chris Grant, agreed on a pair of major issues. They like the Streetscape project the current city council is pursuing, as well as the path city leaders are following toward a new water plant. Bailes and Grant separated from each other when it came to the question of raising taxes to accommodate the public good. Bailes described last week’s countywide one-cent sales tax referendum as bloated with projects which the voters, he said, decided were too expensive. Grant, however, hinted he voted for the referendum and said he felt paying an extra penny for a transaction at a convenience store wasn’t too much to pay. And, when asked about his attitude toward raising Walhalla fees and taxes, Grant said he’d favor a tax increase if that increase were the only thing standing in way of a community project, such as a new water treatment plant.