City Council candidates speak at event

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

A number of candidates for Van Wert City Council participated Tuesday evening in a Candidates’ Night program held in the Family Living Center of Trinity Friends Church.

Nine City Council candidates — one of which is unopposed for re-election — spoke during the event, which was hosted by the Heart Land Patriots group. Candidates first spoke for five minutes on their qualifications and background, and then answered questions from audience members attending the event.

First up were Pete Weir and Kenneth Mengerink, both candidates to replace Council President Gary Corcoran, who is stepping down from that position.

Weir spoke first, talking about his 20 years in the military. Weir, who was an officer, but retired as a chief petty officer (E-9) because he didn’t have the requisite 10 years as an officer to retire as one, cited his community interest as the reason he is running for council president.

“I want to be council president because I’m all about our community,” Weir said. “I got involved with Council because I desired to help find solutions in such areas as trash, junk vehicles, parking, speed limits, traffic signals, condemned housing, budgets and so forth. I want to put that same energy into being council president.”

Mengerink, a veteran of public service with eight years on City Council in the 1980s and a total of 20 years as a Van Wert City Board of Education member and 12 years on the Vantage Board of Education, cited his leadership experience, noting that he was board president of the Van Wert and Vantage boards for a combined total of 22 years (14 at Van Wert and eight at Vantage).

“I feel I have the knowledge to run a very good meeting, and to direct the city the way that we need,” he said, adding that he was involved in a number of important, but controversial, projects at the time during his stint on Council during the 1980s. Among those projects was the renovation of Fountain Park and the purchase of land for what is now the city’s greatly expanded second reservoir.

“There are no magic answers, but I think I have a lot of experience running board meetings,” Mengerink said, while adding that he would not be afraid to tell city officials and others when they are wrong about something.

First Ward Councilman John Marshall got five minutes to talk about his three terms on council and his goals for a fourth term. He is running unopposed.

Third Ward Councilman Stuart Jewett and his opponent, Jerry Mazur, both talked about their backgrounds and their goals if elected.

Jewett, who owns and operates Be Scene Multimedia, an advertising, video, website and graphic design and photography business in Van Wert, also noted his memberships in various community organizations, such as the Elks and Mason.

“I think you can recognize that I’m a person who really cares about my community,” Jewett said. “I volunteer everywhere and every way I can to help this community run smoother and grow.”

Mazur, who is retired from management at Otis Elevator Company, talked about his 51-year career in “vertical transportation,” which included jobs in New York City, the Cayman Islands, New Jersey and other cities.

The transplanted Van Wert resident, who first moved to the city in 2000, also talked about his many volunteer efforts for the local community, including organizing the former Festival of Flight events and last year’s Hot Balloon Festival.

“What I do in Van Wert, I volunteer,” Mazur said. “My whole life is dedicated to volunteerism … I get a lot of pleasure out of volunteerism, and I think the city should encourage volunteerism.”

He also is a proponent of the city’s undergoing a performance audit conducted by the Ohio Auditor of State’s office. “As far as government is concerned, I am a firm believer in processes,” Mazur said, noting that he feels a performance audit could help the city provide more efficient and cost-effective services to the community. “I think the city is not looking into the processes of every position they have out there to determine whether they are doing the best practices.”

Fourth Ward City Council candidate Jim Hamman, a Democrat, spoke and joked about his running as a Democrat in a largely Republican city, but noted that, as a fiscal conservative with family values, he is much more like local Republicans than he is like national Democrats.

A career educator who was a teacher and coach at Van Wert High School and an administrator at Vantage Career Center from 1973 until his retirement, Hamman also worked for what was then Community First Bank for several years.

He noted that, as a government teacher, he told students to get involved in local government, since it would affect them more than state or national government, Hamman said he felt it was about time he followed his own advice and ran for public office, noting his interest in his community as a contributing factor in the decision.

Three candidates for at-large City Council seats, current incumbent Stan Agler and candidates Jon Tomlinson and Kirby Kelly, who both formerly held Council seats, were the final speakers on the night.

Agler talked about his long career of public service in the city, first as mayor in the 1970s and 1980s, and then as a City Councilman. He also discussed his jobs in industry and business in the community.

Agler said he enjoyed being a part of city government and hoped to continue that service, adding that he feels he still can be useful as a member of City Council because of his experience.

Tomlinson, a professor at the University of Northwest Ohio who earned his doctorate in 2012, first explained his decision to not seek a second term after being elected to a first term in 2009, noting that the requirements of writing a doctoral dissertation, as well as family and work, had to take priority at that time.

“What you need to get that dissertation done is time … and I decided not to rerun,” he explained.

The 36-year-old Tomlinson said that, with his doctorate out of the way, he feels it is important for him to again seek public office to better serve the community.

“I committed to myself and to others, that once I got that Ph.D done, if it felt right, then I would run again, that I would get back on City Council, and that’s where I’m at, and that’s why I’m here,” he said.

He said that, like Mazur, he also supports doing what is possible to make city government more efficient and more effective.

Tomlinson talked about pursuing opportunities for consolidation of operations, including a possibility of combining the city and county 9-1-1 operations.

“It’s not just about decreasing expenses it’s also about providing better service for the citizens of Van Wert County,” he said, although he added that cutting safety areas such as police and fire should only be done if doing so doesn’t threaten local residents’ lives.

Agler said he felt changes should be done slowly and cautiously, noting that he was in office when the city was a defendant in several lawsuits he said were brought on by legislation that was not thoroughly researched before it was adopted.

Kirby Kelly, the third at-large candidate, talked about his long business career, mostly in management, as well as his term on City Council, noting that he feels keeping the budget in line is critical to Van Wert’s financial future.

“We need to start getting serious on the budget,” Kelly said, adding that linking pay increases to inflation would be a good way to eliminate the current union-driven contract negotiations he feels sometimes are too automatic and provide more in pay raises than the city can afford.

He also said he feels city employees should contribute more to the cost of their health care and other benefits, noting that the cost of a person the city’s family health insurance plan pays only $6,000 a year, while the city pays out $15,000. “I don’t think the taxpayer should be subsidizing the fact that you have a family,” Kelly concluded.

Candidates who did not participate in the program included Second Ward Councilman Joi Mergy, who is running unopposed and was away for the birth of a grandchild; Republican Steve Trittschuh, who will oppose Hamman in November; and at-large candidates Brent Crone, a Republican who will face off in May against Stan Agler, Tomlinson and Kelly for the three at-large Council Republican nominations; and Democrat Jeff Agler, who will face the three highest Republican vote getters for an at-large seat in November.