Those that endorsed the camera company's PAC were; Mayor Stephen DonCarlos, Terry Sain, Pete Alfaro, Calvin Mundinger, Ronnie Anderson, Dr. Don Murray, Sammy Mahan, Charles Schaffer, Aubrey Wayne Henscey and Byron Jones. Sammy Mahan, Owner Sammy's towing

The third, Sammy Mahan, owns a towing business and wants to bring a business management approach to what he calls a "spending problem" at City Hall. Mahan is the only candidate who has served on a city committee.In January, Godwin appointed him to the Charter Review Committee, which will recommend city charter amendments to Council.His business experience qualifies him for the job, he said, as does his past attendance at meetings and work sessions - even bringing new towing regulations before council."I've been preparing myself for this challenge for several years," Mahan said."I have support across the board with City Council now, and I can work with everybody there."Mahan is also treasurer of volunteer organization Baytown Cares.He feels like the city is in a catch-22 with its funds.It needs more development to accrue more money, he said, but has a budget deficit and lacks the funds to expand the sewer system.A need for more neighborhood patrol in District 6 is high on his list of priorities.Crime is worsening with more activity in city parks and on city streets, he said, and residents he talked with told him they wanted more police officers on the streets.He referred to what he called a "car show" in front of Roseland Park on a recent night that completely blocked Roseland Drive.Mahan believes it took too long for the police department to check into it and said he called Chief Byron Jones about the incident. "Luckily nothing happened, but you never know," he said.Mahan said he has better name recognition than his candidates and feels confident about the race but knows his opponents are working hard, too.

At least one representative - District 6's Sammy Mahan - said he opposes the device."I hate red-light cameras," Mahan said."It's an invasion of privacy.

"What has been proposed is pretty fair," Sammy Mahan, Baytown city councilman for District 6 and owner of a tow truck company said in an interview Saturday."We have not had an increase in over 10 years."Mahan said he would abstain from any council vote on this issue because of his obvious conflict of interest, but he hopes the city will consider what the industry needs in order to continue operating.He also said he will attend the committee meeting on Wednesday, but only as an observer."I hope this is not going to be a struggle," Mahan said."There may be some negotiations, but I know [City Council] understands because we can sit and talk about the cost of gasoline in council."Tow truck companies also attribute other things to their struggle for survival.Deregulation of the tow truck industry during the Clinton administration is blamed for many of the industry's problems."In 1994, trucking was deregulated and now the city has a hard time regulating it," Mahan said."That is when you started hearing stories about price gouging and people not knowing where their disabled vehicles were taken."Deregulation was the worst thing to happen to the industry; any time you kill the industry, you kill the service too."Deregulation has made it harder for the city to maintain a shorter rotation list - the list of tow truck companies that get called to move vehicles for the city.Mahan said before deregulation, the rotating list had 15 or 20 tow trucks, but now it probably has around 50."There are way too many trucks on rotation," Mahan said."[The city's needs] have not grown that much since 1994."Mahan has faith that the committee will do something to better the situation for the tow truck industry.The meeting on Wednesday could be the first step in addressing the important issues surrounding the contract between the City of Baytown and local tow truck companies."We work 24-7," Mahan said of tow truck operators, "and we should be compensated for it."