Fort Wayne’s candidates for mayor, clerk and city council at large, both Democrat and Republican answered a range of questions at the Fort Wayne Media Collaborative’s Candidates Forum at the Allen County Public Library.
Candidates included were the following:
- Mayor Tom Henry (D)
- At Large Councilman Thomas Freistroffer (R)
- At Large Councilwoman Michelle Chambers (D)
- Council At-Large Nominee Luke Fries (R)
- Council At-Large Nominee Marty Bender (R)
- Council At-Large Nominee Audrey Davis (D)
- Council At-Large Nominee Stephanie Crandall (D)
- Council Fourth District Nominee Patti Hays (D)
- Council Second District Nominee Melissa Rinehart (D)
- Clerk Lana Keesling (R)
- Clerk Nominee Porsche Williams (D)
In the two-hour discussion, the candidates answered questions about economic investment, communication from the city government to community members, infrastructure and how to balance between investing in downtown and investing in neighborhoods.
At-Large Councilman Thomas Freistroffer is running for re-election. The Republican said finding that balance is on the at-large council members.
“At City Council, we At-Large have to look at the city as a whole but also our districts and where that money’s being allotted,” Freistroffer said.
Republican At-Large Council candidate Luke Fries said he thinks every candidate agrees investment in downtown can’t stop, but more needs to be done for neighborhoods.
“Downtown’s doing a great job,” Fries said. “Downtown looks great. I work downtown, but where we lay our heads at night is more important than where we work in my opinion.”
Each of the candidates at Saturday’s forum agreed there should be a balance in how the city invests in downtown and neighborhoods.
Fries and Freistroffer said the district representatives on the City Council should each get a budgeted amount of money and determine how to invest it into their districts as a way of finding that balance. The proposal was similar to what Republican mayoral nominee Tom Didier, who was not at the forum, has suggested.
Henry said investing in downtown is an economic development strategy.
“When businesses come here to decide whether or not to invest here, the first place they look at is downtown. If downtown doesn’t give off the vibrant, thriving atmosphere ours does, businesses won’t come here," he said. "Then, they look at neighborhoods and what living conditions are, to find a place to live. So, both are important. That’s why in addition to the downtown development, we’ve made record investment in our neighborhoods.”
Eventually, the conversation came to communication and full representation.
Democrat City Council At-Large candidate Stephanie Crandall suggested the city government structure may need to change.
“We have to think about how do we open the door for more people to have a seat at the table,” Crandall said. “So, I would love for us to consider just how the whole partnership structure exists.”
Freistroffer took that as suggesting adding more seats to the City Council.
“I would look at that also. I mean we’re a growing city,” Freistroffer said. “Our population has increased inside the quadrants and outside the quadrants, but we have the same amount of people here on City Council.”
Crandall later said she was not suggesting adding more people to the Fort Wayne City Council.
“I was actually talking about adding more seats to the table for the partnership conversations because we have area partnerships, and we ask a lot of people to participate in our government," Crandall said. "If you’re a part of the neighborhood association, you have to be the president and you have to go to the area partnerships and then also go to the neighborhood presidents meetings. Are there more effective ways for us to really engage with a lot of our neighbors?”
The State of Indiana determines the size of city councils. Fort Wayne’s municipal elections are Nov. 7.
WBOI is part of the Fort Wayne Media Collaborative.