Newark voters to choose incumbent Hall or councilman Blake as mayor

NEWARK – The mayor of Newark next year will be a Newark High School graduate with family roots in the community dating back multiple generations.

He will be an accomplished person who earned his bachelor's degree, in economics or accounting, many years after high school graduation.

He will be someone who developed an interest in government at a young age, serving as class president or on the Mayor's Youth Council, during high school.

He will be someone who takes great pride in living in Newark, Ohio.

Two-time incumbent Jeff Hall, a Republican, and city councilman Jeremy Blake, a Democrat, have many similarities in their backgrounds, but very different views on some of the key issues facing the city.

Hall, a 1974 Newark High School graduate, seeks to become just the second person to serve three consecutive terms as Newark mayor, following Frank Stare. Blake, who served on Stare's Mayor's Youth Council, seeks to end 12 years of Republican control of the mayor's office.

Hall asks voters to allow him to continue the city's progress made during his eight years in office since taking over for Bob Diebold in 2012.

"We've achieved quite a few things," Hall said. "We talk about slow, steady growth. A good, strong community people want to live in, want to work in, want to move to."

Blake, a 1996 Newark High graduate, said his administration will aim to include all Newark residents and benefit everyone.

"I really do believe it's time for a change," Blake said. "We're going to have a much more open city government. We're going to have a city government that is truly going to be engaging with people, truly going to be transparent with people. We need to focus on every neighborhood and all of our people."

The candidates differed on city spending, street paving, fire department staffing, response to homelessness and previous tax levy failures during a recent meeting with The Advocate's editorial board.

Street paving

Blake said he will dedicate to neighborhood paving the estimated $1.1 million the city will receive annually from the state gas tax increase. He said neighborhood streets have suffered while the city has focused on major thoroughfares.

Hall said the new $1.1 million will be used for paving streets, which will be chosen based on the recommendations of City Engineer Brian Morehead and others in the engineering department and his administration.

"When you don't have enough money, you have to focus it on the busiest streets in town," Hall said. “We’re going to do paving in neighborhoods, this doesn’t mean we’re not. It just means the engineer gets to pick and choose. He’s the expert. When you become mayor, you don’t become an expert at everything. You manage people that are experts.”

Blake said, "I’m not looking to micro-manage any of our city administrators, but they are public employees. We are representatives of the community. They have to take direction from us. I’m most definitely not going to let Brian Morehead just fulfill his wish list without having input from the community. That is so vitally important and something that has been lacking for so many years.”

Blake said the $1.1 million from the gas tax will be added to what is already used for paving. Hall said the additional $1.1 million allows for flexibility on money currently spent on paving.

“With the $1.1 million coming in and locking that in on paving, then that alleviates some of those dollars to have some flexibility," Hall said. "We’ve taken $300,000 from capital improvements and supplemented our paving program. And we’ll look at that $300,000."

The mayor said capital improvement money could be used for expenditures such as plow trucks, purchase of road salt or new police vehicles.

"When we came in, with prior administrations, there was no replacement plan for police or fire vehicles," Hall said. "Never been in this city. It’s absurd. I mean, it’s just ridiculous. That’s why we had police cars with holes in the floor.”

Blake said, "Listen to what he said. We’re going to take the $1.1 million and take other dollars to purchase things. So, you’re not really dedicating that full new revenue. I’m not looking to get new revenue and then shift it so that I can purchase a truck somewhere else. You’re not really increasing (paving) if you’re doing that."

City spending

Blake said if he were mayor, the city would have spent more money on neighborhood paving and neighborhood policing.

Hall said he hears lots of ideas on where the city should spend money, but sometimes you have to say no.

“Every once in awhile I've got to tell council members it's all great ideas, but I got to pay the bills," Hall said. "I appreciate Mr. Blake’s thoughts and surely understand all those conditions, but how are you going to do it? That’s something critical because it takes dollars. We have to deal with the money we have. Ideas are wonderful, but you've got to fund ideas.

"I'd like to have a busing service, a fixed-route busing service. Can't afford it. There are things you can't afford. You reach a balanced budget by saying no to things."

Blake said city government has failed to explain its financial needs to the people, which is why two income tax levies have failed since Hall became mayor.

“I believe that up to this point we have not had any public conversation about what our needs are," Blake said. "There was no coalition behind either of those (levy) attempts. We need to explain ourselves to the people. Those public discussions have not happened. I wouldn’t say I’m ready to put up any type of levy until we’ve had that first initial community engagement.”

Hall said there were public meetings explaining the levies, but the unions opposed them and more support from council would have helped.

"The community said they didn't want a tax increase," Hall said. "You have to understand, you're taking more money out of people's hands that you say can't afford to live here. There has to be a realistic side of this of what it costs and what do you really think another 0.25 (percent) is going to bring in. Do you think it’s going to fix everything in this town? Oh, no.”

Blake said when he was on the school board, tax levies passed because everyone contributed to the effort to get the message out to voters, including the superintendent.

"The campaign itself was not effective," Blake said. "You, as the mayor, you’re the leader of the city. Even before the levy came out, you need to have engagement with the business community, you need to have engagement with our social services, with those different stakeholders, to get them on board before it even got on the ballot.”

Fire department staffing

Hall said the new fire station to be built on Sharon Valley Road is essential to reduce the slow response times in that area of the city, which has continued to grow.

"That whole area has changed in 20 years, so as a result fire response needs to change," Hall said. "Finding the location for a fire station is tough. If your house is on fire, you'd love for it next door to you. Every other day of the year, you don't want it next door."

Blake said he favors the new station, if there is a way to staff the facility without reducing personnel at the city's other fire stations.

"We have not had an open discussion about staffing at all since I've been on council," Blake said. "Not at all. No public-record meeting has had an honest discussion about staffing."

Hall asked Blake, "How are you going to solve response times on the west side of Newark?"

Blake responded: "“How are you going to solve response times when you take staff from other stations to fill the new station. That’s where it’s going to come from. You’ve had no answer how we’re going to improve the number of personnel for the division of fire. So that means you’re going take people from either the west side or from the Hollander Street station.

"That’s what you’re saying. You’re going to start cross-staffing across all these stations. So, you’re solving an issue in the Sharon Valley station but causing an issue on the other side.”

Blake said the East End Station was closed due to staffing issues, then another station opens on the west end with the same number of firefighters.

Hall said, "We have metrics and the metrics help make the (fire) decisions. That (East End) station out there was built when the Longaberger Basket had 500 employees. It does not anymore. We looked at need and run data. Nothing has suffered out there because of that station being re-used for another purpose.”

Homelessness, poverty

Blake said almost one-third of the community is a paycheck away from being in financial trouble. He said he would be more engaged with the recent collaboration to address homelessness.

Blake told Hall, “I look forward to not only work on continuing the progress that has been made, but to work on issues that you haven’t focused on. When I do sit in those council meetings and people come up and give their testimony about being safe in their neighborhoods or give testimony of working with populations that are marginalized, and then, when a mayor just sits there, has no response and shows no compassion to those people when they’re talking, that concerns me. That very much concerns me. You have to be engaged with people. You have to be open with people.”

Hall responded, "Mr. Blake mentioned homelessness has grown since I’ve been mayor. Well, I don’t think that’s because of being mayor. Surely, other communities have experienced the same. It's critical we look at that in many ways and how we address it."

Blake said he would seek to add block watches and neighborhood officers working with police, as well as increase police officers on patrol, and work closer with social service agencies and non-profits to address issues such as poverty, crime, drug addiction and mental health.

"As mayor, you can be a convener," Blake said. "You can be a facilitator. I believe the office of mayor can do that, can help facilitate discussions."

Hall responded to Blake's reference to what was done under former Mayor Frank Stare, compared to today.

“Under Frank Stare, we had a lot of money and we had a lot more employees and we had a lot going on," Hall said. "Expenses have gone up and revenue has gone down.

"Our relationships in the community and I think the community involvement is as great as it's been in many, many, many years. I’ll be the first one to say we’ve got things broken. We’ve got issues. But it’s generally issues that other communities have. That’s not an excuse, but it’s going to dollars and it takes input, but I don’t think there’s a thing out there we’re not trying to work on, but it has to be in the realm of your revenues.”

kmallett@newarkadvocate.com

740-328-8545

Twitter: @kmallett1958