The 2026 Jefferson Candidate Forum, hosted by the Jefferson Jimplecute, brought approximately 60 people in person to hear what the candidates had to say. An additional 50 watched the event live on the Jimplecute’s Facebook and. YouTube channels.
Additional questions were submitted by those in attendance, and sent to the candidates for an answer. The candidates who responded included: For Mayor, Hunter Mannies and Doug Thompson; for Alderman Ward 1, Amanda Limoges and Hunter Mannies. The other candidates had not responded by the deadline provided of 5p Saturday, April 18.
During the forum a deadline of Friday at 5p was announced, but a family emergency in the Jimplecute staff delayed delivering the questions to the candidates, so the deadline was extended by a day.
Their responses follow, in alphabetical order.
What are your top 3 qualities that make you the best fit for this position?
Mayoral Candidates:
- – Hunter Mannies: I’m the best fit for mayor because I bring unity, accessibility, and experienced leadership where it matters. I’m retired and have the time to serve this role full-time, fully committed to the people. My extensive background in tourism, events, and community organizations gives me the unique platform and experience to grow our city while supporting what makes it special. As a nationally known author and TV and social media personality, I know how to promote our community. Above all, I’m approachable, present, and dedicated to representing every resident while moving our city forward
- – Doug Thompson: Leadership, Experience and Integrity Plus I want to be your Mayor. Both of my opponents have said publicly “They did not want to run for Mayor but were talked into it by their friends.” Is that the attitude and energy you want running your city?
Alderman Candidates
- – Amanda Limoges: I have no longstanding ties or relationships in this community. I can only make decisions based on what is objectively the right thing to do, not on what will or won’t cause a flare up in a 50 year old feud or line my great-uncles-cousin’s stepmom’s pockets. I am a voracious reader. I read more than 300 books per year. Learning & growing is an important part of the job; thousands of pages of reading does not intimidate me. I’m not afraid to talk to anyone, anywhere, anytime and I’ll remember what you say. I often don’t feel represented by state & federal government so I would at least like our local community to be a place where we are heard & listened to.
- – Hollis Shadden: A. I listen. Anyone in my ward can call me with suggestions or questions anytime and I will listen. I try to look at everything from all angles before I decide my vote, B. I always try to vote for what’s best for our City, not to benefit a select few, or to please a friend. C. I call myself a full time Alderman. I seldom leave town for more than a day or two occasionally. I make a loop or two through my ward on the average of 3 to 4 evenings a week looking for street lights out, signs down, water leaks, or other issues. I often stop to speak to people who may be out, just to see if all is well with them. My phone is always on at all times for people to contact me for issues or questions and if I don’t have the answer I will strive to find it.
2.Do you have a plan in mind to try and convince Brooshires to relocate in Jefferson (at 59 and Jefferson street) rather than outside the City?
Mayoral Candidates:
- Hunter Mannies: While I’m not currently mayor and don’t have access to all the details of the Brookshire’s discussions, I can speak from my perspective. I absolutely support bringing a new Brookshire’s to our area, and I would strongly prefer to see it located within the city limits—or at least closer than the proposed site at 59 and 2208. Keeping it in town benefits our city through tax revenue and preserves the convenience many residents rely on, including golf cart access. If elected, I would work collaboratively and in good faith to explore every reasonable opportunity to keep it closer to our community.
- Doug Thompson: Yes I do. It is very important that we keep that tax revenue here in the city and the accessibility to the store close to the residence here in Jefferson
Alderman Candidates:
- Amanda Limoges: This is outside of my realm of knowledge but I am open to reading & hearing what suggestions other people have & researching what worked for other locations. I will say- always have at least three suggestions so you can combine them into something that could actually work.
- Hollis Shadden: This is a tough one. I’m not an engineer so I don’t know, but it looks like that property will need a considerate amount of dirt work which may cost Brookshire’s extra. But we do have some barganing chips..Possible tax incentives for a time, Quicker response for Police, Fire, and EMS in case of emergency. Better access to walkers or people on golf carts could bring them more business. If we were able to get this done it could save the money from the grant that is being looked at to run water and sewer lines out to the 2208 property so we could use it for improvements in town. An additional item to think about is that a grocery store uses a lot of water so that may either be additional revenue for the City, or we possibly could do something about that as an additional incentive. Those are things we could look at and possibly bargain with.
Given that such a large percent of Jefferson homeowners are over 65 and their taxes are frozen) and with little or no job opportunities to attract young adults, where do we look for funds?
Mayoral Candidates:
- Hunter Mannies: With many homeowners over 65 and limited job growth, we must focus on expanding revenue beyond property taxes. That starts with strengthening tourism—investing in beautification, events, and preserving our historic charm to draw more visitors and increase sales tax revenue. We should aggressively pursue state and federal grants to improve infrastructure and enhance our city’s appeal. At the same time, we must work to attract new businesses that fit our community, creating jobs and broadening our tax base. By growing tourism and smart development, we can generate sustainable funding without placing added burden on our residents.
- Doug Thompson: We need additional retail, restaurants, entertainment (mini-golf – paddleboats) and manufacturing businesses brought to town, but we also need to have the housing built here locally to make sure the new employees and their families spend most of their income here at their new home
Alderman Candidates:
- Amanda Limoges: These are the questions I am asking too. What is the long term plan for Jefferson? Who is the town being passed to when the current guard checks out? Who is going to pick up the torch to continue the work & preservation of homes that the people here have committed their lives to? Are we creating a place that younger generations with disposable income will want to invest their lives in? Just some additional questions to think about.
- Hollis Shadden: JEDCO should be looking for new businesses and industries to bring to Jefferson..Think outside the box and try to find companies who employ young adults.
What are your plans to clean up the downtown? Weeds in streets and sidewalks, sidewalks are broken and uneven – tourists and locals fall.
Mayoral Candidates
- Hunter Mannies (4) A clean, welcoming city starts with a multi-faceted approach. I would prioritize downtown revitalization through sidewalk repairs, weed removal, and overall upkeep, while actively pursuing Main Street and similar grants to fund improvements. I’d partner with local organizations to launch a “Clean Up Jefferson” initiative that extends beyond downtown into every neighborhood, encouraging community pride and involvement. At the same time, we must consistently enforce ordinances—working with law enforcement to address overgrown or dilapidated properties and habitual littering. By combining investment, community effort, and accountability, we can create a cleaner, more attractive Jefferson for residents and visitors alike.
- Doug Thompson: We are currently discussing these issues and looking at some possible grant money that could help us resolve the look, feel and safety of our down town quicker than trying to do it out of our general funds will allow.
Alderman Candidates:
- Amanda Limoges: The Main Street Grant that Jefferson has been approved for will cover sidewalk repairs if that is what the public views as most necessary (I agree, they’re awful even for people without mobility issues) but we need to make sure that the utilities underneath are in good enough shape to spend the money on the sidewalk. It’s unlikely we will get that grant over & over again. We cannot afford to waste it. The weeds are a conundrum to me as we seem to have city employees for maintenance such as this and yet there are weeds in the walkways. This might be more of a project management issue with city workers rather than something we will need to actually throw money at
- – Hollis Shadden We are in the process of applying for a Downtown Improvement grant which would help with that. In addition to that we should try to encourage the store owners to clean up in front of their businesses, and to help their neighbors who are unable to do it. Often local service organizations are willing to take on public service projects. Perhaps weeding and cleanup could be one of those.
5. What are you going to do to collect past due property taxes? And traffic fines? More revenue? Note: I’d add that the city has a contract with a tax collection attorney (Linebarger) to collect taxes, and a significant portion of the “past due or delinquent” taxes are either in deferrals or bankruptcy, which limits the ability to collect until certain legal status of property owners change.
Mayoral Candidates
- Hunter Mannies: While the mayor does not act alone, I would work closely with council and the city attorney to take a more proactive approach to collecting past due property taxes and fines. That means reviewing current processes, setting clear timelines, and ensuring consistent follow-through so accounts don’t continue to be delayed or tabled. I would support stronger coordination between the city attorney and law enforcement to pursue collections where appropriate, while also exploring fair payment options to encourage compliance. The goal is simple—address the backlog, improve accountability, and ensure the city is collecting the revenue it is rightfully owed
- – Doug Thompson: Put an increased focus and effort on each
Alderman Candidates:
- Amanda Limoges The city has a tax collection attorney who is responsible for collecting delinquent taxes. There is a state limit on revenue from traffic fines for cities our size so I cannot testify to how close we are on that limit without requesting numbers
- Hollis Shadden: Our hands are tied on much of this by State laws.One thing to look at would be to actively work to sell properties which are delinquent so we could get them back on the tax rolls.
Do any of you owe taxes to this city or any others that you have resided in and why are those outstanding? If we vote you into office, how will you fix those debts owed?Note: elected Officials are prohibited from collecting funds from the municipality if taxes are owed – And see note above.
Mayoral Candidates:
- Hunter Mannies Neither I, Hunter Lee Mannies, nor my trust (Hunter Lee Mannies Trust), nor my companies—Hunter Lee LLC or Benwood’s Surely Southern—owe any current or delinquent property taxes on any land or properties owned or under our control. All obligations are paid and in good standing.
- Doug Thompson I do not owe any back taxes here in Jefferson or any other place I have lived. I think every elected official in our City should own property that they are paying taxes on. Why should they decide what or how much you pay when they are not paying their share.
Alderman Candidates:
- Amanda Limoges I do not owe taxes of any kind, anywhere & due to my age I also do not qualify for exemptions or freezes
- Hollis Shadden: I don’t know of any elected officials who owe back taxes. In fact when we file to run for office we sign a statement swearing that we don’t owe any.
If it were to come up for vote again, how would you have or would you vote for 207(g) (local law enforcement cooperation with ICE)? Why?
Mayoral Candidates
- Hunter Mannies As mayor, I would not have a vote on this matter unless it came down to breaking a tie on the council. With that said, if I were in a position where my vote was required, I most likely would have supported participation based on several factors. I believe in following U.S. immigration laws and support legal immigration, but do not support illegal immigration in any form. At the same time, I also believe in representing the voice of our residents and businesses—many of whom I’ve spoken with support participation. Additionally, given our location along Highway 59, a known drug trafficking, and human smuggling corridor, I strongly support ensuring our law enforcement officers have the tools and authority needed to protect our community and handle situations safely and effectively.
- Doug Thompson YES, I would vote for it again. I support our Police in working hand in hand with every law enforcement agency in our County, State and all of the National Agencies and I expect to see each one of those same law enforcement agencies providing us help when our men and women of Jefferson need it
Alderman Candidates
- Amanda Limoges I would vote against this. Our police department is small, even when combined with Marion County officers. It is an undue burden upon our system here to expect detainment and care of outside prisoners while also still bearing the day to day fluctuations of local issues. The federal government can pass their responsibilities on to a community with far more resources than Jefferson.
- Hollis Shadden: I support Law Enforcement. It has always been understood that a law enforcement officer always tries to cooperate with officers from other agencies. This is in my opinion a no brainier. Chief Perez explained that this agreement would not add any additional workload on our Officers, and all it does is open the door for possible additional money for training and equipment. I would vote for it anytime.
8. What are your thoughts on outdated ordinances or ordinances that need to be looked at and revised? How do you plan to address those and enact change where needed?
Mayoral Candidates:
- Hunter Mannies: My approach to outdated ordinances is the same as my overall campaign: it’s time to stop putting things off. For too long, important issues have been tabled, delayed, or simply not enforced—and our ordinances are no exception. We need to roll up our sleeves, work together, and engage our residents to determine what’s working, what isn’t, and what’s on the books but not being enforced. From there, we must take action—review, revise, and implement ordinances in a timely manner with real, lasting solutions. Not quick fixes, but policies that will serve Jefferson for years to come. It’s past time to move our city forward and leave a stronger, more sustainable future for the next generation.
- Doug Thompson: We are currently working on updating all of our outdated ordinances and are very excited in getting them voted in and implemented here soon
Alderman Candidates:
- Amanda Limoges: Outdated ordinances bloat the municipal code & prevent effective enforcement which all ends in a matter of public safety. If something is outdated because it no longer exists- we need to remove it. Not talk about it for months and table it- remove it. If it is outdated because times have changed & it simply needs to as well, we are obligated to start making that change as soon as it is pointed out. A yearly review of the ordinances would not be amiss.
- Hollis Shadden: It’s no secret that our ordinances are a mess. I believe many were never run through a competent Attorney. This is something that can’t happen overnight. We need to start working through them and revising them with input form an Attorney
Questions which were submitted that had already been addressed, or were close duplicates were not sent to the candidates.