Ask the candidates: Incumbent Toles faces two challengers in Council District 1

Gadsden Times
·3 min read

Incumbent Cynthia Toles faces two challengers in the race for the District 1 seat on the Gadsden City Council.

Toles, a retired educator, is opposed by Chari Bostick, head of Grace Heritage Foundation, and Tonya Latham of Tonya Latham Ministries.

Gadsden's municipal election is Aug. 23. A runoff if necessary would be Sept. 20.

The Times asked the candidates for their short-term goals and long-term objectives should they be elected. The responses are published as submitted, subject to minor editing.

Chari Bostick
Chari Bostick

Chari Bostick

Short-Term Goals:

Promote a safe and secure community; maintain city infrastructure; promote economic prosperity; maintain effective government; provide life-affirming programs and services to the city’s youngest, oldest and most vulnerable populations; financial support of our public schools, K-12; preservation of the city’s history, aesthetics and beauty.

Long-Term Objectives:

Address a number of complex challenges in the area related to poverty, homelessness, housing, community safety, mental health and substance use, particularly opioid-related overdoses; priorities that guide the city’s cultural programs and services; shape investments related to the arts, film and entertainment industries, and museums and heritage; focus on ways to better integrate government, economic development and employment services for the mutual benefit of employers and jobseekers.

Tonya Latham
Tonya Latham

Tonya Lynn Latham

Short-Term Goals:

If elected to the office of City Council for District 1, I will serve with integrity.

My short-term goals include:

To build a relationship of trust and confidence between myself and the constituents;

To voice concerns, opinions and views of the constituents;

To improve neighborhood safety and cleanliness;

To raise awareness by providing information and stimulating community engagement through town hall meetings and forums.

Long-Term Objectives:

To develop and promote programs and projects that will improve the overall quality of life of the constituents;

To enhance and expand education;

To develop opportunities for employment and affordable housing;

To generate and increase business revenue;

To promote programs and activities that engage and involve youth and senior citizens.

Cynthia Toles

Short-Term Goals:

My goals for the next four years are to continue to be committed, caring and concerned about the city I serve. It is my goal to progressively seek the completion of the 29 projects that are currently underway in the city. I would also seek to ensure that the 26 drainage projects in the city be complete. Paving is a continuous infrastructure that will always be a goal to accomplish, and I want to inform citizens of how the pavement of streets is selected and their progress of completion.

Long-Term Objectives:

My long-term goals are quite extravagant, but realistic in the future: a City Hall that would house all the departments of the city, a performance arts center, a hotel/convention center and a must-need 50+ senior housing community. I would also like to see and seek to have a City Council forum (not a committee) that would meet monthly to inform the citizens of Gadsden in real time of the city's business that affects the welfare of the city and families.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Gadsden District 1 City Council 2022: Meet the candidates in this Q&A