Election day for the general election is Nov 5. This story was compiled using answers candidates submitted to questions from the Springfield News-Sun Voters Guide or from interviews.
At-Large
Patrick Thackery
Cassandra Cress
The incumbent in this race is Patrick Thackery, a Republican, who is entering his sixth year on city council. His opponent is Cassandra Cress, an English teacher at Urbana High School, who is running under the banner “Urbana Wins” along with two other independents.
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Cress' running mates include Teresa Beverly who is running for an open at-large city council seat and Justin Weller who is competing against long-time Republican incumbent Bill Bean for mayor of Urbana. All three independent candidates running in the city say it's their first time seeking political office and want to address what they say are growing problems in the city such as a growing poverty rate and a declining population.
The city has an estimate poverty rate of around 20 percent, according to recent estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau. That data shows the population of Urbana declining from 11,868 people in 2010 to 11,372 in 2018. It also shows a median household income of $39,259.
Cress said that data serves as the basis for her campaign along with the other two members of the “Urbana Wins” team. Her team said in order to address some of those problems, city leaders need to make it easier for local businesses to invest in the city. That includes simplifying the process by taking a look at preexisting zoning laws and working to create a business coordinator position to serve as a single point of contact for businesses that need help with permits, licensing and taxes.
They also say that the city can afford to cut at least $500,000 in “governmental waste” from the present city budget. Cress said that would free up money that can be used to fund important city projects as well as city services. She said her other goals include looking at ways to encourage employers to increase wages and setting up a Community Center for Youth in the city.
“Specifically, the city could save a substantial amount of money by bargaining collectively with other public entities instead of being self-funded. In addition, we would eliminate duplicate positions and improve efficiency throughout the government,” Cress told the News-Sun.
In terms of governmental spending at the local level, Thackery, who is running against Cress to maintain his at-large city council seat, said the budget is a lean as it can be. He said the city has done a good job directing funds to projects that seek to usher development in downtown Urbana as well as improve the city’s aging infrastructure.
He said the main source of funding for the city is through grants, taxes and governmental fees. He wants to see several projects through including a plan to develop the long-vacated Douglas Hotel, which has been in the works for five years.
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The city of Urbana, the Urbana City School District and the owners of the building are working on a proposal that could turn it along with North and South Elementary Schools into affordable senior housing. Urbana is home to a sizable elderly and retired population. Proponents of the project said it would also free up homes in the local market.
“What we need to do and have done a good job on is balancing our spending between government mandates and what the people want. That includes having the resources to accomplish both,” Thackery said.
In terms of ushering in new business, he said the city already has clear guidelines that entrepreneurs can follow. In terms of the local economy, other candidates pointed to an unemployment rate of 3.7 percent that was reported in the county in August.
At-Large (open seat)
Teresa Beverly
Mary Ann Collier
Al Evans
Richard Kerns
Independent Teresa Beverly said the city needs leadership that is actively involved in going after grants, cutting red tape and regulations for businesses. She said the city needs to develop a stronger relationship with the city’s school district, as 53 percent of those students are classified as economically disadvantaged, according to the Ohio Department of Education.
As part of the Urbana wins team, she said it is important for leaders to not only address, but recognize the poverty rate in the community as well as a declining population. She said she wants to work on ways to encourage businesses to raise wages.
“By incentivizing businesses to raise wages, we keep current citizens in Urbana, encourage new families to move to the area and attract new businesses with a strong workforce,” she told the News-Sun. “Addressing the poverty that so many kids are dealing with at home is one way to improve performance.”
Republican Mary Ann Collier who has worked at the Champaign Health District for 15 years, said she feels the city and county are growing and feels that the Douglas Hotel project will offer more housing opportunities and improve the downtown area.
She said by attracting more businesses and capitalizing on institutions such as Urbana University, the city will be able to attract more people.
“With the new businesses, there will be some executive positions that will be available and some of the hometown college graduates may feel the pull to settle in their hometown and help that growth.
She supports the passing of an income tax in the city. She said it would fuel emergency services and improvements to city infrastructure. She said one of the biggest challenges in the city is convincing citizens of the importance of the income tax, which has previously been rejected.
“An income tax increase would reach all employed and not effect just homeowners like a property tax increase. Reducing staff that is already limited would only put the city at a disadvantage,” Collier said.
Al Evans, another Republican said he supports the project to revamp the roundabout in downtown. He said the city should direct its efforts on working with companies to determine what training is needed to fill jobs.
“Once we know what type of training is needed we then can work with the schools to help design programs to achieve desired training needs,” he told the News-Sun.
Evans said he would work with the city’s police and fire departments to see how they can maximize services to citizens in the confines of the preexisting budget.
He said its important for the city to work with the state to restore local government funds that have been reduced over the years under former Ohio Governor John Kasich’s administration.
“These funding cuts left holes in the city’s budget, we have yet to recover from these cuts The city should make every effort to secure grant funding to cover costs,” he added.
Democrat Richard Kerns said he wants to focus on ushering investment into the west end of the city. He said he feels that area has been neglected by city leaders as they work to redevelop other areas of Urbana.
Kerns said he has been involved in politics for decades and this is his third time running for council.
Kerns said if elected his efforts would be geared towards fiscal accountability. He said that means making sure that city departments are operating within the budget and that the city is using allocations responsibly.
For concerns over curb and sidewalk repairs, he said the city should seek grants that would help cover those costs. He said of development, he would like to see more industry emerge within city limits.
Fourth Ward
Everett Ray Piper
Richard Ebert
Everett Ray Piper, a Democrat, is the incumbent and faces Republican challenger Richard Ebert, who serves as chair for the City of Urbana’s planning commission.
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Piper, a Navistar retiree and former parking enforcement officer for the Urbana Police Department, said he feels that the fourth ward has been neglected for sometime and his main goal is to direct the city’s attention to problems such as a lack of sidewalks and curb gutters.
Per the current city code, it is up to the property owner to deal with gutters and sidewalks on their property. Piper said he would like to see city spending redirected in order to better address the city’s infrastructural needs. He said that includes building up the foundations of the fourth ward.
Piper also said he feels money directed to projects such as the one to make a roundabout in the center of the city more pedestrian friendly can be put to better use. That project is slated to cost $1.8 million with$1.4 million for it coming from the Ohio Department of Transportation.
However, Piper said the role of city council is limited and their main function is to “legislate and appropriate.”
His opponent Ebert, a Republican, said elected officials can help usher development by supporting the city’s economic development manager and the Champaign Economic Partnership, which services Urbana as well as the rest of the county. He said that could either be done financially or by helping those entities as they research investment and development opportunities.
“Businesses are hiring and at good wages. While job growth waxes and wanes, we are in a period of growth both in Champaign County and in the areas surrounding us,” he told the News-Sun.
However, he said he felt that some of the biggest challenges facing the city included the availability of affordable housing. “Affordable housing availability, in my opinion, is reaching a critical level and will become a huge challenge,” he added.
He said another challenge is updating and replacing older and outdated city infrastructure.
Second Ward
Cledis Scottis, a Republican, is running unopposed.
VOTERS GUIDE
Check out our voters guide at Springfieldnewssun.com/voterguide.
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