Selma City Councilwoman Susan Youngblood is calling off plans to host a mayoral forum Sunday, as the city’s slate of candidates for next year’s election are currently remaining silent on their intentions to run for the top spot.

“I think there’s a lot of gamesmanship going on,” Youngblood said. “There’s just a lot of tap dancing and no one is taking the bait.”

Youngblood, who was organizing the event on her own, scheduled the forum to be held one year to the day before next year’s municipal elections but, despite discussions online and in the local press, candidates are staying mum.

“I guess no one wants to commit at this juncture,” Youngblood said.

For her part, Youngblood doesn’t intend on rescheduling the event and believes some other individual or organization will host a similar event in the coming months.

“It needed to be apolitical,” Youngblood said of the event, noting that she is not planning to run for reelection next year.

Despite the disappointment, Youngblood said she is not surprised that no one stepped up to announce their candidacy.

Rumors have swirled around the Queen City for weeks regarding potential candidates, including business leaders and local elected officials, but residents will have to wait before they know who those candidates are or have an opportunity to hear them speak.

Youngblood noted that she met with one of those potential candidates last week, though she didn’t mention a name, and plans to throw her support behind him.

Regardless of who is elected to lead Selma next year, Youngblood believes they should come in ready to do “heavy lifting” and “hard work” in an effort to bring Selma back to life.

For that, she says, the right candidate should be prepared to be a “one term” mayor, as much of the work that needs to be done won’t win a lot of popularity contests across the city.