Brooks Candidate Comparison in their own words – Town Council, Post 5 Edition

Who should you vote for in the Town of Brooks next election? In this feature, you’ll find the differences between our candidates in their own words as they answer questions from The Citizen. Candidates were given exactly one week to reply to our questions. 

The Post 5 candidates, David Harris and Sara Nelson were invited to respond to an identical set of 4 questions about candidate differentiation, challenges, planning, and budget.

Each answer appears exactly as submitted, up to a 250-word limit, and has been lightly formatted for readability.

Personal contact details and website links have been removed from candidates’ submissions. Answers were truncated to ensure the 250-word limit. 

Early voting in Fayette County is ongoing.

1.     Why do you feel that you would be a better choice than your opponent?

David Harris

I believe I’m the better choice for Town Council because I bring over 20 years of real-world experience on top of my competitor. Experience matters, and I’ve got four decades of hard- earned lessons under my belt — lessons you don’t learn from a textbook. I’ve spent my life solving problems, managing responsibilities, and making decisions that truly affect people — not just talking about it.

For the past six years, I’ve sat in those Brooks Town Council meetings — nearly every single one — with better attendance than some of the folks already sitting up there. I didn’t just show up when an election was coming. I’ve been there all along, paying attention, asking questions, and holding leadership accountable. Because you can’t represent the people if you don’t understand what’s really going on in your town.

I’ve also spent years managing property — working with rentals, dealing with government agencies, balancing budgets, and handling the kind of issues regular folks face every day. That means I know how to be responsible with money, property, and people’s trust.

My mission’s simple: bring common sense, accountability, and transparency back to Brooks. I’ll always stand up for what’s right, and I’ll always put the people first.

Brooks doesn’t need more politics — it needs leadership that shows up, listens, and works for you. That’s what I’ve been doing for years, and that’s exactly what I’ll keep doing as your councilman.

Sara Nelson

I am a fourth generation Brooks resident. For the last three years I have put myself out there in the community and have involved myself within the community in more silent ways. I have helped at the Second Chance Thrift Store which gives and provides for the needs of the community, and I am a substitute at the Brooks United Methodist Church’s preschool. In my involvement with the community, I attempt to leave Brooks better than I found it. My history here gives me a long-term perspective on how to preserve what makes Brooks special while planning carefully for its future.

2.     What is/are Brooks’ biggest challenge/s currently?

Sara Nelson  

As I’ve watched our neighboring communities become overrun by suburban sprawl, I’ve become even more committed to protecting what makes Brooks unique. Maintaining our five-acre zoning is essential to preserving our small-town charm, open spaces, and the peaceful character that residents value so deeply. Growth should never come at the cost of the community we love.

Education has always held a special place in my heart. I would like to partner with the new administration at our local school to strengthen the connection between students, families, and the town. By encouraging more community involvement, we can help create a stronger sense of pride and belonging in Brooks’ next generation.

David Harris

The biggest challenge facing Brooks today is plain and simple — there’s a lack of transparency and accountability in our local government. Too many decisions are made behind closed doors, too many good folks are treated like the enemy, and too often, the truth gets buried under politics.

I’ve seen it with my own two eyes. The Town Manager stood right there in my driveway, looking at the memorial stones we respectfully removed for safekeeping while cutting down a dead tree. We talked about it — not once, but several times. Now suddenly, he “can’t recall” a single word of those conversations. And despite knowing full well that the land and those memorial stones legally belong to my parents after years of requests for us to donate them, the Town went ahead and sued anyway. I was dismissed from that lawsuit, but they’re still dragging my family through court — wasting taxpayer dollars to punish people who’ve done nothing wrong.

In Brooks, if you don’t give in to their demands, they’ll use the system to come after you. My wife and I were harassed for months over so-called “ordinance violations” that never existed — from her RV to her military truck being turned into a water feature, part of a Memorial Project to honor all who served. The Town Manager even trespassed onto private property, taking photos of our yard while I was in court fighting a citation that never should’ve been written. But when Councilman Scott Israel’s had a rusted-out tractor with a skeleton sitting in his yard for years, that’s just fine? When the Town wants to add pavers and sidewalks to their own property, that’s fine too. But when my wife and I wanted to add a memorial stone to honor soldiers from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq — on private property — suddenly that’s not acceptable?

That ain’t leadership — that’s intimidation. And it stops when I’m elected. No more backroom deals. No more selective enforcement. Just fairness, honesty, and respect for every citizen of Brooks.

3.     What would you like to see Brooks do differently, should you win this race? What is your plan?

David Harris

Since I’ll be sworn in early to fill the vacant council seat, I plan to hit the ground running by pushing for new legal counsel — fresh eyes and clean hands — to review not only the ongoing lawsuit, but also the many questionable and perhaps unlawful actions that have gone on for years inside Town Hall.

That new counsel should also address the misconduct of our current Mayor, who sent me threatening texts trying to pressure my wife into making public statements on social media over private property matters. He has repeatedly misled the public to push his own agenda, silenced residents asking valid questions, and pushed forward with a lawsuit over property he knew did not belong to the Town. Both he and the Town Manager — who, according to another councilman I spoke with, contacted legal counsel before the council was even aware or gave approval — should be removed from office. The Mayor has failed in leadership, and the Town Manager has abused his authority. Together, they’ve turned Brooks government into a free-for- all with no accountability.

I want to eliminate all municipal property taxes, cut unnecessary spending, and put that money back in the pockets of hard-working Brooks families. I’ll fight to keep Brooks small-town proud — low-growth, low-density, and free from the overreach and overdevelopment creeping in from surrounding counties.

Twenty years from now, I want to look my daughter in the eye and say, “When you see something wrong, don’t wait for someone else to fix it — stand (truncated for length at 250 words) 

Sara Nelson

Don’t break what isn’t broken. The Town of Brooks is doing a wonderful job maintaining the balance between progress and preservation, and I want to continue that momentum. My goal isn’t to change who we are, but to strengthen the sense of togetherness that already defines us.

I would love to see our community come together more often through simple, small-town traditions such as seasonal gatherings, volunteer clean-up days, or community picnics. These kinds of events remind us why we call Brooks home and help ensure that our residents stay connected, not just to the town itself but to one another.

4.     Do you approve of how the budget is being managed in Brooks? How is it, or is it not, fiscally sound?

Sara Nelson 

I am very proud of the way Brooks has managed its budget over the last several years. We are one of few municipalities in the region that has not burdened its taxpayers with debt and still are able to do a lot with our annual revenue. I’d like to continue this tradition of fiscal responsibility while exploring small-scale grants or partnerships to enhance local services.

David Harris

Absolutely not. I do not approve of how the budget is being managed in Brooks. Our budget meetings need to be clear, itemized, and written in plain English so everyday taxpayers can understand exactly where their money is going and how it’s being spent. Right now, the budget is summarized in broad groups, which in my opinion is done purposefully to hide how funds are truly being itemized and where they’re really going. That’s not transparency — that’s deception. That’s also how they’re hiding the legal budget from y’all.

I also don’t agree with Town employees receiving continuous pay raises “for inflation,” especially when it’s government policies that helped cause that inflation in the first place. Those raises only lead to higher taxes and drain the pockets of hardworking Brooks families, who themselves can’t just make more money appear out of thin air, like the government. Our Town Manager proclaims in meetings that Federal Grant Money is “free money”. Well I hate to break it to him, but there is no such thing as “free money” and small towns continuously taking the so called “free money” is only adding to the national debt, kicking the can down the road for our children to deal with in the future. The same “free money” that paid for those unnecessary side walks nobody truly needed.

Also, take the ongoing lawsuit, for example. Instead of spending tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars dragging an innocent family through the courts, the Town could have resolved the (truncated for length at 250 words)