From its start three years ago, Dunwoody has shown it’s a city that cares about the environment.

So it was no surprise that the candidates for mayor and city council were asked to participate in a forum on sustainability Oct. 25 sponsored by the Dunwoody Student Volunteer Organization and the League of Women Voters of DeKalb County.

Candidates were asked questions about what they think the city’s role should be when it comes to sustainability in Dunwoody, including questions from Dunwoody High School students.

Here’s what the candidates had to say:

“The question is what can we do today that is going to make a difference not next week but in 20, 30, 50 years?” said Rick Callihan, who is running for the Post 4 city council seat. “Adding sidewalks and fixing problem intersections are the two most important things we can do.”

“I’m a fan of green markets in a big way,” said Bob Dallas, who is running for mayor. “That’s exactly what creates community in Dunwoody and I’d like to see more of it.”

“The first thing we have to do is maintain our parks,” said Lynn Deutsch, who is running for the Post 5 seat.  “There is no community green here, no community gathering space. That’s a priority for me and it doesn’t have to cost very much.”

“The government’s role is not to mandate sustainability issues,” said Terry Nall, a candidate for the Post 4 city council seat. “The role of government is to teach, to set the pace, to do everything it can to encourage people to lead a sustainable life.”

“We shouldn’t mandate recycling,” said Councilman Robert Wittenstein, who is running for another term in his Post 4 seat. “But we shouldn’t have to pay for it either. It’s a modest amount of money, but it’s a disincentive.”

“During the day, Dunwoody becomes a city of over 100,000,” said mayoral candidate Gordon Jackson. “For those that come into the city, we need to additional modes of transportation to help them get in.”

“We really need to solve this transportation problem,” said Mike Davis, a candidate for mayor. “(Businesses) can’t get their workers off 285 and into the office buildings.”