NEDERLAND — The candidates for Nederland City Council vied for votes during a forum at First United Methodist Church on Monday.

Each of the candidates was given seven minutes to state their case for a spot on the city council in the May 4 election.

Two races are contested (mayor and Ward 4 councilmember). Ward 2 Councilmember Billy Neal and Emmett Hollier, who is running for a seat representing Ward 3, are running unopposed races. Neal attended the even, but declined to speak.

The winner of a coin toss determined who would speak first in the contested races. Among the candidates for mayor, former councilmember Jeff Ortiz won the toss and let former councilmember Don Albanese take the microphone first.

Albanese began the proceedings by acknowledging current Mayor R.A. “Dick” Nugent.

“I want to take a few minutes of my time to tell you about this guy,” Albanese said. “He has more gumption, more ‘get up and go,’ and more will power than anyone I know.”

Albanese, who stepped down from his seat on the city council in January to run for mayor said he was most proud of the work the city has done with the street program.

“One of the main programs I was a part of was our big street, Nederland Avenue,” Albanese said.

Ortiz followed Albanese and said it is time for a new generation to step up.

“We need a fresh approach to the everyday challenges we face,” Ortiz said. “If I am elected to serve you as mayor, we will continue the positive impact our city has on this region.”

Ortiz said he wants to keep families safe and create new opportunities for citizens and business owners.

“I also want to see our city look into the drainage issue we have,” he said. “I’d also like us to maintain our low tax rate, while continuing to provide safe and efficient services to our city.”

Sylvia Root and David Guillot are running for a seat representing Ward 4.

Guillot, a Port Arthur native, moved to Nederland in the mid 90s.

“I spent 37-and-a-half years at the Port Arthur Fire Department,” he said. “My daughter is a graduate of Nederland High School. My wife is a graduate of Nederland High School.”

Guillot said he decided to run because he thought the city could “use some new blood.”

“Since I worked as a firefighter, I’m a big proponent of fire and police,” he said. “Our streets need to be safe. Our firefighters and police need to be equipped with proper training and everything they need to do their jobs.”

Guillot said Nederland may be a small town, but it can still grow.

“I’ll borrow a phrase from my daughter who said ‘It’s good to come home to a small town America,’” Guillot said. “They live in Houston, so they like to come home.”

Root said she participated in PTA boards while her children were in school.

“I wanted to have an idea of what was going on in our schools,” she said. “Later, I became a member of the Education Foundation. I served on that for about 15 years.”

Root said she then started Sport Connection with her husband.

“Many of you may know me from there,” she said. “We operated that business for 16 years. While we were in that business, I wanted to get involved in our community so I joined the chamber of commerce. In doing so, I was elected to be on the board of directors, where I served for nine years.”

Root said she started working as an administrative assistant at the chamber for two years before retiring.

Root said she serves on the Nederland Parks Advisory board.

“In the beginning, one of our major assignments was our city pool,” she said. “We had to decide if we wanted to do away with it or do a makeover. We recommended to the city council that we wanted to keep it. Our pool is a big asset to our city.”

Early voting begins April 22 and runs through April 30. Election Day is May 4.