ZEBULON - All board of commissioner candidates seemed to agree with every solution 31-year town council member Bob Matheny posed to the town's pertinent issues in last Wednesday's candidate forum held at town hall.

On numerous occasions Matheny answered a question and one or all three candidates running for the board - Annie Moore, Beverly Clark and Roy Collins - had little more to add. They agreed with Matheny, who has been mayor for 16 of his 31 years serving with the town and is running unopposed in this year's election.

Moore, who at the forum said her key issues are creating more jobs in town and getting a transit system up and running, struggled to find a response to several questions throughout the forum and at times asked to be skipped and returned to after another candidate had responded.

The key issue noted by Collins was transportation - getting back and forth from Raleigh. For Clark, traffic and growth were her big concerns and for Matheny it was growth issues and infrastructure.

As for town services the candidates would like to see added in the next four years, Clark said she could not think of anything in particular, and Moore agreed. Collins agreed as well, aside from implementing a new transit system.

"We have wonderful amenities served to our citizens," Clark said.

Matheny said he'd like to see parks and recreation programs expanded to meet the needs of both children and adults, mentioning the completion of a walking trail from the community park to Five County Stadium. He, too, mentioned the busing system.

"My hope is that it's so successful it can be expanded," he said of the system, which is already on the drawing board.

Another prime topic discussed was keeping the downtown area a vibrant place to do business.

"We've done a lot in that area, and sidewalks are an example," Collins said.

Moore said she'd like to see more stores in the downtown area while Matheny and Clark focused on actual appearance.

"The downtown area does need some help, but we have to get property owners involved," Clark said, noting it may be time to form an appearance committee, something the town has done in the past.

Matheny said new parking and overlay districts are good ideas, but said, "It's still not where I want to see it. We've got some vacant buildings."

At the end of the forum the candidates gave closing statements on what makes them the better candidate.

Matheny pointed toward his experience and his passion for politics, and joked if he didn't win the race while running unopposed he really must not deserve another term.

Clark and Collins pointed toward experience in the commissioner position - Clark with eight years and Collins with 18 years - and their love for serving their home town. Moore, who in the past served nine years on the town's planning board, said she is easy to work with and has good ideas for the future of the town.