The Zachary Chamber of Commerce Government Relations Committee and Metro Councilman Trae Welch of District 1 co-sponsored a 90-minute candidate forum Thursday, Sept. 16, at Fellowship Church.

Candidates running for office in the Oct. 2 municipal election were invited to speak at the forum. District court judge, city council, police chief and mayoral candidates all received a designated time bracket to address pertinent issues facing Zachary residents.

First up was appellate court judge candidate Toni Higginbotham. She received one and half minutes of talk time, and her only opponent, Tim Kelly, was a no-show.

Chief of police candidate John Herty spoke second. In his three allotted minutes Herty referenced a track record of weapons training seminars for the police department and a youth cadet program for high school students.

Herty’s opponent David Brown is still on the ballot, but he did not attend the forum.

Candidates running for City Council were third in line and had three minutes to discuss their own choice of topics.

While councilmen Francis Nezianya of District 1 and John Coghlan of District 3 are running unopposed, both men still chose to speak.

Newcomers Brandon Noel and Jack Miller are gunning for the District 2 seat left vacant by councilman Randy Bouley. Wilbert Scott and Dan Wallis are running for the District 4 seat with Tommy Womack challenging councilman Melvin Riley for District 5. Pat Fuller, also running for District 5, was not in attendance.

Lastly, the three mayoral candidates were given 10 minutes to address four topics including annexation, traffic and infrastructure issues, business retention and development, and additional revenue sources for the City of Zachary.

Mayoral candidates are David Amrhein, Henry Martinez and Steve Nunnery.

Early voting for the Oct. 2 election began Saturday, Sept. 18, and will continue through Saturday, Sept. 25. To vote, visit any EBRP Registrar of Voters Office from 8:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.