Voters had a chance on Sept. 25 to attend a forum featuring each of the candidates, during which they were asked questions that allowed them talk about their backgrounds and some of the most pressing issues facing the town.
About 50 people attended, watching as the candidates, sitting in a semicircle in front of the crowd, went one-by-one up to a podium to answer the questions, which had been provided ahead of time. Moderating the forum were a pair of Franklin High School teachers, John deVille and Nancy Scott.
Here's a look at what the candidates had to say.
Because current mayor Jack Horton announced he wasn't going to run again, Franklin will have a new mayor. Squaring off to take Horton's spot are current Vice Mayor Stacy Guffey and business owner Matthew Holland.
Guffey was the first to speak. He touted his decades of public service and said the reason he wanted to get involved was to give back to the place that he thinks has given so much to him and his family over the generations. While he said he never intended to get into politics when he was young, it's been rewarding.
Throughout the night, there were several candidates who uttered some iteration of the familiar words "I am not a politician." Guffey said he was happy to own the fact that he is a politician, adding that his experience means he understands how to get things done, how to work with other officials at different levels to affect change.
"I'm going to lean into it and own that word," he said.
Holland pointed out that while he doesn't have that same experience holding elected office, he does understand how to get things done and plan for success. Holland spoke about his leadership role in the community as a small business owner and employer. He also talked about his foray into public service through his six years on the county's tourism development authority board.
When asked what the biggest problem facing Franklin is, Holland said the lack of small business development, noting specifically the unique opportunity that the former Angel Medical Center property may hold. He also considered that Franklin could benefit from more restaurants and even a conference center or small hotel with the aim of continuing to add things that will bring in visitors.
Holland noted that while he thinks it's nice raising his family in a small town that isn't "a little Asheville," the small town that many grew up in has progressed and grown, and there are opportunities in that.
"That's gone, and what we've gotta do with this growth is we gotta meet it," Holland said.
Guffey made a similar point, talking about investing in the town while also making efforts to bring in people who "ascribe to mountain values." Like Holland, he said the makeup of the town has changed, noting that even many in the audience watching the forum weren't born and raised in Franklin, something that would not have been the case just a few decades ago.
Specific issues facing Franklin that Guffey mentioned included repurposing the hospital property and improving infrastructure as Franklin grows. He said that the morning of the forum, he'd met with people to talk about a study analyzing what could be done with the hospital property, adding that he learned a lot about economic viability but that he also wants to know "down to the dollar" what the return may be on any investment.
One question posed by Scott involved the growing movement throughout the state to make more races partisan, including most recently all judicial races and some school board contests. Guffey and Holland strongly agreed that municipal elections should remain nonpartisan.
"I haven't seen a pothole that's a Democrat or Republican," Guffey said. "I haven't seen a sewer that cares about the letter by your name."
"We don't need partisan politics in our local and school boards," Holland said. "We need to look at the integrity of a person."
The question that allowed for the deepest discussion addressed a pressing issue -- land use and specifically the town's floodplain ordinance. That ordinance has been the subject of much debate in recent years. The change to the ordinance that had been under consideration would have allowed placement of fill on up to 25% of the flood fringe area of any property, where previously the ordinance prevented placement of any fill on properties in the floodplain. The ordinance change was tabled in January, but the debate seems far from over.
The ultimate question posed by deVille was, how should property rights be balanced against the collective good?
Guffey said that one of the top reasons for people moving here is the natural beauty. But to him, along with the economic boon that provides the region, it's also the "inheritance" that families who've been here for generations can leave their progeny. Guffey said that he considers the flood plain to be a matter of property owners' rights, although that's perhaps not how others may think. He said that if some property owners build in a way that reduces the resiliency against flooding in general, it puts other property owners at risk.
In this matter, there was also little daylight between Guffey and Holland. While he said he understood the desire of some property owners, especially people new to the area, to build along the scenic Little Tennessee River, ordinances exist to protect people and property.
"We also have to be looking out for our neighbors," he said. "We don't want to be doing things that will cause your neighbors property to slide or their driveway to wash out."
Running for one of three open town council seats are Kelton Bailey, Jeff Berry, Tim Cook, Travis Higdon, Rita Salain and Paul Thatcher.
Bailey works in the service industry, and while he's new to politics, he said he understands how to get people the resources they may need, which is at the very heart of local public service. Bailey said he believes that his love for his hometown is a foundation on which he can find common ground with any voter or resident regardless of their personal beliefs.
Berry owns rental houses, which he noted were rent controlled, meaning his tenants will never see an increase in rent once the initial lease is signed, something that's rare in the region. He also has a background in accounting and is a trustee for a local cemetery.
Cook has worked in Macon County since the late 1980s, largely in law enforcement and as a detention officer. Cook said that experience has led him to believe that there are certain laws, especially quality-of-life laws, that aren't enforced strictly enough in Franklin. This includes speeding on Main Street and the drug problems that plague the entire region.
Higdon said he has gained experience through community service by working on different fundraisers and coaching youth sports.
Salain is the lone incumbent running for town council and said that in her time serving, she's learned to approach things with an open mind, listen to experts and consider opinions of residents when deciding on any issue. She also touted that experience, saying that serving on council comes with a "huge learning curve." She said she's specifically learned a lot about budgeting, zoning, ordinance drafting and enforcement and municipal services.
Thatcher has lived in Western North Carolina four years but has known Franklin for decades, going back to when his mom retired to the area 25 years ago. With a background in engineering and a law degree, he has worked about 10 years as a patent attorney and said he wants to be in a position where people "actually listen to the common sense I have to bring forth."
During his opening statement, Cook voiced his desire to increase pay for local law enforcement, even just to match what's offered in nearby places like Sylva and Highlands. This was echoed by several other candidates, some of whom took it a step further and mentioned reconsidering the pay scale for all municipal employees.
While everyone seemed to agree that raises were needed, at least for police officers, no one mentioned raising property taxes, and only Higdon posed another potential solution, recalling that county voters had the chance to pass a sales-tax increase recently and failed to do so. Such a tax spreads the burden, including to out-of-towners, instead of saddling property owners with it.
"We'll have to keep it off the backs of taxpayers," Higdon said.
Council candidates also generally agreed on the fact that municipal elections should not be partisan with the lone exception of Thatcher, who considered that knowing what party candidates belong to simply provides voters with another data point they can use while making their decision.
"Having a little letter by someone's name might give voters a little bit more information," he said.
When asked what issues are facing Franklin, many of the answers touched on common themes -- infrastructure falling behind and not enough jobs that can support a family.
Bailey summed it up as a lack of direction. He pondered a question: as Franklin inevitably continues to grow, will leaders guide that growth with "intention and direction?"
"I'd like to see us with a direction moving forward," he said.
Berry focused on infrastructure, and he had some facts to help him make his point. Right now, the town can process 1.2 million gallons of freshwater daily with a possible maximum of 2 million. The water department is working on an upgrade that would process up to 4 million gallons daily. This similar growth and improvement should be seen, he said, across the board, including considerations of how increasing vehicle traffic will affect roadways.
Cook said the town should court employers who can offer more "career-type jobs."
Higdon recalled that his house has been flooded twice in all the years he's lived there, both times because of town sewer or water system failures, so he understands firsthand why infrastructure must be maintained and upgraded as necessary.
Thatcher noted that even Drake Software, long a community cornerstone providing reliable jobs, is hiring more remote workers from other parts of the country. This, he argued, highlights the need for new opportunities, not only bringing in good companies but also offering the training people need to compete for those good jobs.
Salain reminded folks that the former Angel Medical Center provides a tremendous opportunity and should appeal to potentially quality employers. She hoped to find investors ready to "match what we already have," ones that won't try to change things too quickly or drastically.
The candidates largely agreed that the flood plain ordinance should stand and thought it served to protect residents and the environment.
Bailey reminded everyone that water is the most powerful natural force on earth.
"It's a darn fool thing to build stuff in a place that you know every now and then is full of water," he said, adding that if we take of the river, it will "take care of us."
Berry, like a few others, recalled the catastrophic flooding of Peeks Creek that occurred when Hurricane Ivan hammered the mountains in 2004.
"We need to be mindful of what we do to our property and what that does to our neighbors," Berry said.
Cook, the outlier on this issue, said that people who own property and pay their taxes should be able to do as they please with their land.
"Who are we to tell them what they can and can't do?" he said.
"How lucky we are to have that river running through our town?" said Higdon, who added that he grew up fishing in those waters and wants to see conservation of the town's natural resources prioritized for generations to come. He noted that he sees more people wanting to build near waterways.
"They'll hate that one day," he said. "That river will come up."
Salain said that the town has ordinances to protect infrastructure and the environment and needs to enforce them. She added that she also wants future leaders to prevent any filling in land on the floodplain and summed up her feelings toward the Little Tennessee River plainly.
"No more building in the flood plain, and that's all she wrote," Salain said.
Thatcher saw both sides of the debate, thinking that property owners' rights should be honored but that there are bigger issues to consider that may go beyond consideration of any individual.
"When you're trying to balance people's rights and community rights, it has to be a very pressing community right to go over an individual property owner's rights," he said.