Mayoral Hopefuls Take Stage at Regional Chamber Forum
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Mayoral candidates Jamael Tito Brown and John McNally agree the Covelli Centre should remain in the city's hands, but differed over the 2.75% income tax this morning during a joint appearance at a Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber breakfast.
McNally, a former Mahoning County commissioner and city law director, and Brown, City Council president and a former 3rd Ward councilman, each said that the city-owned Covelli Centre, which opened in 2005, is a "regional attraction" for the Mahoning Valley.
The candidates will appear on the Democratic primary ballot along with Matthew Smith, who was invited but did not attend the event, which was presented by the chamber's government affairs council.
"There's no other choice but to keep it," said McNally. He cited the work the city did to ensure the proper construction and funding of the Covelli Center, which has become "a beacon of downtown Youngstown," as his proudest moment as law director, as well as probably in his political and legal careers. He also said the arena moving into private hands would likely result in an erosion of community support over time.
The two candidates took different positions regarding whether they would support decreasing the city income tax rate, which some business owners have cited as their justification for leaving Youngstown. McNally noted that for all the good economic news the city has received in recent years in terms of big-project announcements, there has been a reduction in tax collections in the city. While reducing the tax is something the city fathers should look at, he said, for the city to provide the services it needs to, "I don’t' see it realistically occurring anytime soon."
"We've got to try something," Brown said. The idea is to get existing businesses to grow and recruit new businesses to the city. "We don't want that 2.75% to be a barrier," he said.
Neither candidate said they would vote for the proposed charter amendment that aims to give Youngstown citizens the ability to curtail oil and gas activity in the city.
Brown, who said he doesn’t think the oil and gas industry is "one of those issues that you can police and govern," warned that proponents don’t realize the potential there is to tell the industry to "stay away from Youngstown. We can't afford that. I won't turn my back on that economic opportunity for this community." He also called on state legislators to provide "stronger local control" over the industry in the Mahoning Valley.
McNally, who acknowledged proponents' good intentions, said he signed the petition to put the issue on the ballot because he felt voters had the right to debate the issue "but many of the provisions are completely off base." They are probably unconstitutional and are likely unenforceable by the city and probably will be ruled unconstitutional, he said. "These issues are going to be legislated and enforced by the state," he said.
Brown said he supports joint economic development districts, or JEDDs, as they are known, with neighboring communities. "We can't operate in silos anymore," he remarked. "We have to start partnering with one another and putting our resources together to figure out how do we get better in this community." However, he added the city has to build partnerships and not force the JEDDs. "I will take a swing at this," he said, pledging to address the issue in his first year as mayor if elected.
JEDDs are an issue that has to be addressed on a "case-by-case basis," McNally said. Former Mayor Jay Williams' decision to introduce a proposal for JEDDs by "throw[ing] it out there one day into the newspaper" as one of his "biggest mistakes."
With regard to other collaborations, Brown said the bottom line is going to be service delivery.
McNally, who pointed to the successful integration of the city and county building inspection departments, cited information technology as another area "ripe" for collaboration among "a bunch of jurisdictions."
Copyright 2013 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.