With only a few days left until the polls open, four of the five candidates for mayor of Albert Lea tried to stake out positions on business recruitment, lake improvement, workforce development and other key issues during a forum Thursday night.

Riverland Community College and the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce staged the debate. Candidates Mark Anderson, George Marin, Don Mathison, and Tony Trow were in attendance. Candidate Jean Eaton was unable to attend because as director of the United Way she was participating in the organization’s annual campaign kick-off.

Marin said his main goal is to develop the city economically so youth will return and be easily employed here. &uot;I am the father of two young children. I want them to be able to grow up, go away to school and come back here to work,&uot; he said.

Marin spoke of the importance of tirelessly recruiting and researching to get companies to Albert Lea. &uot;I’d like to introduce something called SMART planning,&uot; he said. SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-oriented, Timely goals.

Marin said that he has been calling companies through this past year to recruit. He said Albert Lea needs to research how other cities across the United States are recruiting companies.

&uot;We need to be doing all that we can for the people,&uot; he said.

Marin said he would also like to implement press conferences as another way to inform the public about what is going on with city government.

Mathison said he will dedicate all of his time to the job of mayor if elected because he is retired. He said the attitude of the city needs to change to a positive one if it is to develop and grow.

Mathison also spoke of the importance of giving as much assistance to companies as possible through the Port Authority, city and Greater Jobs, Inc. &uot;I know the city has loaned money to new companies,&uot; Mathison said, adding that this needs to be kept up in order to spur growth.

&uot;We need to look for some senior-housing opportunities, maybe even at the old high school,&uot; Mathison said. &uot;It is also important to leave room for young families to buy housing.&uot;

Trow focused on economic development as well. He cited lake improvement as a way to increase the quality of life, which he said can make the difference in attracting new development. &uot;The city needs to make more of a commitment than $31,000 to lake cleanup,&uot; Trow said. &uot;We need to recognize that the lakes are a community asset.&uot;

Trow also said downtown revitalization is a must. &uot;Our downtown is very poor,&uot; he said. &uot;I think that says something about the way we feel about our community.&uot; Trow said redevelopment has worked well in many other cities throughout southern Minnesota, giving the example of Rochester, which has &uot;benefited from tremendous development downtown.&uot;

As well as downtown development, Trow said existing businesses have to be nurtured. He criticized the current state of business promotion by the city, saying the city does not create a pleasant and easy environment for businesses to start and develop in Albert Lea. He said he would change that as mayor to make it an easier place to develop for existing businesses.

Anderson focused on building economic strength through the development of an educated workforce. He said that businesses won’t come unless it knows the employees are qualified. &uot;We can’t get 15-to-20-dollar-an-hour jobs with eight-dollar-an-hour skills,&uot; he said.

&uot;We need a technically trained workforce,&uot; he continued. &uot;We could sure afford to make ours a brain-power city.&uot;

As mayor, Anderson said he would not only work for development but to get the public to be active as well. &uot;We have got to get the message out that we need to give a little to get a little.&uot;

He said the community has to invest now in order to grow in the next ten years.

He also stressed affordable housing as a key component of readying the city for new development.

The primary is Tuesday, Sept. 10. Two of the five mayoral candidates will make it past that election and compete in the general election in November.