The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
4 candidates running for Vermilion mayor Voters to pick 2 on May 2
Four candidates are vying to become the next mayor of Vermilion, and two will go on to the November election.
On May 2, voters in Vermilion will see four names on the ballot in a nonpartisan race for mayor. Voters will select a candidate and the top two vote-getters will become the candidates to run in the fall.
Vermilion City Council members Jim Forthofer, Fred Ostrander and Monica Stark, and political newcomer Shawn Perry, all hope to succeed Mayor Eileen Bulan, who will step down after her current term.
The mayor of Vermilion serves a four-year term and earns $65,000, according to city figures.
There are 7,273 voters eligible to cast ballots on May 2. That includes 3,864 voters on the Lorain County side of Vermilion and 3,409 voters on the Erie County side, according to the respective county boards of elections.
The candidates are:
Forthofer
Forthofer said new, clean businesses will help Vermilion.
“Vermilion’s infrastructure is failing and taxpayers are exhausted,” he said. “We need to expand our tax base. New, clean business is needed to share the future tax burden.”
Most of Vermilion’s opportunity for business growth is in the Lorain County portion of town, Forthofer said.
“I would start with Liberty Avenue East,” he said. “This strip’s zoning and lot definitions were created decades ago. The realities of business today make the East Liberty design unappealing to businesses.”
He suggested organizing a Liberty Avenue Advisory Committee that includes Liberty Avenue business and property owners, commercial real estate agents, Vermilion’s Service Departments, and residents.
“The purpose will be to recommend changes that will make Liberty Avenue appealing to taxpaying business on the move,” he said.
Vermilion has limited street repair dollars, so those must be spent by professional analytical assessment rather than annual “need of the moment” spending, Forthofer said.
“We need to establish multi-year repair plans for the most critical systems,” he said. “We need to make those plans visible to the residents. Need of the moment spending on our infrastructure is wasteful.”
His 35 years of executive level business experience parallels the experience needed to be an effective city executive officer, he said. Forthofer also has served on numerous city boards.
Ostrander
Ostrander said Vermilion’s water plant, the drug epidemic and infrastructure are three key issues facing the next mayor.
“Our water plant produces over a million gallons of quality water every day and has for years,” he said. “I will explore all options possible to keep it doing so and at a price more affordable to residents than any other option.”
The mayor also is director of safety, so Ostrander said he will work with health departments, safety forces, local business owners, schools, ministerial association, hardworking advocates and support groups — “everyone in this circle of care to do all in our collective power to help eradicate the drug epidemic.”
Much of Vermilion’s infrastructure is old and in need of repair, Ostrander said.
“It’s time to invest in Vermilion by leveraging what we have and looking for outside sources of revenue to allow us to invest further,” he said. “The longer we wait the more things deteriorate.”
As mayor, Ostrander said his everyday goal will be to make Vermilion a great place to live, work and play.
“My work and government experience has prepared me to be a very understanding and supportive spokesman to those considering Vermilion as a place to start or expand their business,” he said. “It will also allow me to address the issues we experience within the community.”
Perry
“The biggest issue facing Vermilion is the same issue that the whole North Coast is facing — heroin,” Perry said. He said he has been working with local recovery services and law enforcement, as well as helping addicts and their families, for almost four years.
“To fight this issue, first of all, you have to be brave enough to acknowledge it — and then strong enough to fight it,” Perry said. “Most of the other candidates have been embarrassingly silent on this issue. If you can’t deal with this problem headon like a warrior, then you have no business running for a position of leadership in our area - end of story.”
The problem is not going away anytime soon, and the death toll keeps rising, Perry said. He noted four people died in Vermilion on a recent weekend.
“If elected, I will make it my top priority to help addicts who seek help, even if I have to drive them to rehab myself, and to help law enforcement to pursue dealers relentlessly,” Perry said.
After the heroin epidemic, Perry noted his top three issues are roads and infrastructures, expanding our tax base and building a new civic center.
Perry said he has spent his life serving the community and demonstrating my dedication to the people and kids of Vermilion.
He said he learned a great deal from his father, a Ford worker who also owned numerous rental properties and a salvage and towing business, and from his brotherin-law, the owner of a large concrete company. Perry also has been a pastor and a successful business owner and he has brokered international
manufacturing deals.
Stark
Stark said It is important that the next mayor help keep Vermilion affordable for families and businesses.
“I believe the biggest issue facing our community is the need to strengthen Vermilion’s business district by attracting new businesses and partner with current businesses to help them grow,” she said. “This will increase our tax base.”
Upgrading an aging infrastructure is the second most pertinent item facing the next mayor in Vermilion, Stark said, adding that includes repairing the roads.
“The current administration and Council have done a good job tackling as many roads as possible each year with the funds available,” Stark said. “The next administration and Council must continue this work.”
The increased revenue from business growth would also bring more funds through taxes to Lorain and Erie counties to create or expand programs to assist those who have been affected with the growing heroin epidemic in our community, Stark said.“I will not be leading from behind a desk,” she said. “I am young and energetic with a can-do attitude. I will be working alongside you to get projects accomplished.”