LEBANON — Challengers seeking Lebanon City Council seats used a candidates' forum Tuesday evening to criticize three incumbent candidates for contributing to a council they said is overly contentious and generally unresponsive to residents.

        The forum at the Lebanon Town Hall attracted candidates for four open City Council seats.

        Three of the eight council candidates seeking election used their incumbency status at the end of Monday's locally televised council meeting to get an early start on delivering campaign-oriented speeches to voters.

        Council members Mark Flick, Jane Davenport and James Mills touted the accomplishments of the current council, with Mr. Flick pointedly contrasting the three officials' various infrastructure improvements with what he described as previous councils' focus on “golf courses and TV stations.”

        Mrs. Davenport denied some challengers' accusations that squabbling has dominated the current council term, saying the seven members do not have personal conflicts.

        The three candidates, who are running on the same ticket, continued to hammer on a theme of progress during their term during the candidates' forum, while challengers raised points of disputes, including that the council is not responsive enough to citizen concerns, overly contentious and reluctant to open all its proceedings to public scrutiny.

        Candidate Gary Casimir called for both more stability on council and “no more behind-the-door stuff so that people can have their input....”

        Candidate Norman Dreyer criticized the current council for “fiscal irresponsibility” and promised that should he be elected, the public will have greater access to information regarding Lebanon's finances.

        But Mr. Mills said the city's overall financial picture will improve in the coming year when it pays off some long-term debt and that “I just like to see the city keep going the way it has been going” in that regard.

        Other candidates for council are Amy Brewer, James Hause and F. James Norris.

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