County council candidates participate in debate

Half of the candidates running for three at-large Pulaski County Council seats took to the debate stage Wednesday night to discuss a number of pressing county issues. The debate was hosted by the Pulaski County Republican Party at One Eyed Jack's Celebration Station on April 3. There are no Democrats running for any of the available seats. Present candidates were Sheila Hazemi-Jimenez (incumbent), Kenneth "Ken" Boswell (incumbent), Isaiah Tidwell, Joseph Bucinski and Ronald "Rudy" DeSabatine. Candidates who did not participate in the debate were Ed Cotner, Albert "AJ" Gutwein, Levi Messer, Tim Overmyer (incumbent) and Sara Strus. The debate moderators for the evening were Brian Ledley, Vice President of Communications and Patient Experience at Pulaski Memorial Hospital and Courtney Papa, District 2 Republican Chairman. Each candidate had a clear jar in front of them with pieces of paper labeled one through nine. When it was their turn, they randomly pulled a number from the jar and Ledley read the corresponding question to them. Each candidate did not necessarily get to answer each question. Topics covered included funding county services, the budget, major challenges facing the county and the county council, tax abatements and wages.