Four Dems seek Newark City Council at-large positions

NEWARK – The four Democratic candidates for Newark City Council at-large agree on many things, including the need for more affordable housing, but displayed very different perspectives in a recent interview.

Bill Cost, Jen Kanagy, Seth Dobbelaer and Daniel Crawford discussed topics such as poverty, homelessness, a needle exchange program, police enforcement, the new fire station, part-time firefighters, an income tax levy and the removal of the gazebo from the Courthouse Square.

Kanagy, a nurse and co-founder of Newark Homeless Outreach, said she is not afraid to speak up and ask city leaders the hard questions about homelessness, public transportation and poverty. Kanagy ran unsuccessfully for the council in 2017.

"I think it's about focusing on the mission of what we should be doing, and that's taking care of people," Kanagy said. "I will always stand on the side of the people.

"I am passionate. That's why I'm running. I'm not afraid to speak out, and if that ruffles feathers, I'm sorry, but we're just going to tell what we're seeing."

Dobbelaer, who lost a city council run two years ago at age 19, said he will work harder than anyone if he's elected to council.

“I like representatives who work really hard to represent their constituents," Dobbelaer said. "And, what I see a lot of times on City Council, not necessarily from Bill (Cost), but some other council members, is they’re not out and about in the community, talking to folks, learning about the issues, being engaged, being involved, being visible like they should be.”

Cost, a councilman for eight years and the lone incumbent in the race, is less critical of the city administration than his fellow Democratic candidates.

“I feel in a lot of ways, we’ve made a lot of progress," Cost said. "We’ve done a lot of very positive things in the community, but I’d like to have an opportunity to go on. There are things that still need done. I feel I've stayed engaged with the community.

“I’ve found the administration to be good to work with as far as communication to council. We’re not always in total agreement, but I feel I can reach out and ask a question and get information.”

Crawford, who lost a council race in 2015 and a school board race in 2017, said the interaction between the city government and the community could be better.

“When you interact with citizens, they do often tell you they’re not getting that regular interaction with elected members of council, or even any elected officials, unfortunately," Crawford said. “You hear a lot about they don’t get returned phone calls, and how their neighborhoods being ignored.”

"A big part of why I’m running is because of my kids, and their future. I want to make sure the Newark they inherit is better than the Newark they have now.”

Cost said the gazebo removal was one time communication to the public was sorely lacking. The downtown improvements have been positive, overall, he said.

“The meetings that we had concerning downtown were open to the public and I felt there was a lot of positive things that came out of those," Cost said. "I wish the gazebo would have been part of those discussions.

“When we did the planning, and we had meeting after meeting after meeting about the planning for downtown Newark, the gazebo was never brought up as an issue. I think if it had been and there could have been more open discussion concerning it, I think we might have had a different scenario, a different result, and we wouldn’t have some of the perceptions that are prevalent.”

Crawford agreed there should have been more discussion about the gazebo, and he still wants to know who paid for its removal.

"The administration just said we're going to do it and just forced it through," Crawford said. "People can't be expected to trust that they're being represented if we don't have all the information that we deserve to have."

An exchange between Kanagy and Dobbelaer showed very different perspectives on police work, especially in the downtown area.

Kanagy said she has heard from people who said they were stopped by police on the Courthouse Square because of their appearance. She said they were unfairly targeted.

“People are being stopped around the Square for safety checks," Kanagy said. "Who does that? I think we’re criminalizing people. People are stopped and being searched because they’re wearing backpacks, or because they look like they may have a needle in their pocket, and that’s not right. We shouldn’t be doing that."

Dobbelaer pushed back against Kanagy, saying, “I just think we need to get away from an us verses them type of idea. It’s not homeless versus police. It’s not haves versus have-nots. I think it can be a coalition of people and we can work with law enforcement and with police to make sure we’re all working together to lift each other up, and not throwing stones at the PD when we hear things like this.

“When you immediately just throw a stone at law enforcement, it makes us more divided, and it makes the haves and have-nots go further apart.”

Kanagy responded, “I don’t consider it throwing stones, I consider it shining light onto the darkness.”

Crawford said, “Criticizing the police is not the same as hating the police. We can’t be scared to say something that is wrong. We have to be open about this."

The top three in the Democratic primary move on to face three Republicans in the November general election for three at-large council seats. The Republicans are Ryan Bubb, Mark Fraizer and Jeff Harris. There is no Republican primary.

kmallett@newarkadvocate.com

740-328-8545

Twitter: @kmallett1958

Q&A with candidates

Following are some responses from candidates to two questions.

Q. Tell us something positive the mayor and his administration have done?

Kanagy: Improved snow removal in Park Trails, on River Road.

Crawford: The new Mount Vernon Road Bridge. "And listening to people in not blocking off the Pearl Street Bridge. At least those two things, they at least listened."

Cost: Communication to council, downtown improvements.

Dobbelaer: Downtown improvements, public-private partnerships, pursuit of grant funding, understanding of city finances.

Q. A personal question for each

Kanagy on her passion for issues: "I just have to let people know what's going on. I think people want to hear what I'm saying and what some of the people I work with are saying."

Crawford on being a perennial candidate: "I will run as often as my kids need me to and as often as people will support me."

Cost on getting votes of people wanting change: "I feel people know who I am and what I stand for and know that I'm going to reach out and try to cooperate and work with people to get things done."

Dobbelaer on his youth: "That's definitely a barrier for me. Most times the first question I get when I knock on a door is, 'Are you old enough to run for office?' So, I make sure I always carry my ID so I can prove that I am. But, I think that's easily overcome with knowledge of the issues."