| Questions & Answers with Middletown City Council Candidate Andrew Smith |
| Monday, July 13, 2009 8:06:33 AM - Middletown Ohio |
Second Ward Candidate Andrew Smith
Photo By: Randy Lewis
Posted By: Randy Lewis
Tell us a little about yourself and what qualifies you to represent your ward?
My name is Andrew Smith, Jr., the son of Andrew Smith, Sr. and Celia Smith. I'm the eldest of two children in our family. I have a younger sister, Elicia Smith, who is 19 years old. When I am not out knocking on doors and hearing the concerns of community members, I am listening to music, playing my keyboard, participating in church activities, reading, etc. What qualifies me is that I am a lifelong resident, born in Middletown’s second ward, raised on 16th and Wisconsin; even at the age of 20, I understand that we have many challenges. My vision and passion for progression in the second ward will enable me to find one voice that unifies the community. That will ultimately allow our community to break down barriers and rise above expectations.
Where would you like to see the city in the next few years?
In the next few years, I would like to see the city:
• ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
1. Bring more 21st century jobs to Middletown through community involvement and out of the box thinking
2. Break down barriers for small business development
3. Work with current businesses to strengthen their companies and continue to grow
• COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
1. Strengthen our community
2. Make our community a more vibrant and attractive place to work and live by doing away with blight and underutilized property
3. Protect our current assets (The parks, Health Dept., Community Center, etc.)
• PUBLIC SAFETY
1. Clean up our streets
2. Lobby for more Police & Fire in the public and private sector for operating funds
3. Work to repair the open line of communications between the community and police department
These are the top three issues that I will tackle on city council with the help of community involvement.
What is your plan to replace the businesses that Middletown has lost?
As your councilman, my plan will be to go out and actively solicit business to Middletown, although, helping our current large and small businesses is our best mechanism of growth. Working with them to find out what their needs are, who they buy from, who they sell to and what we can do to get their partners here will allow for rapid job growth.
How would you begin to repair and strengthen our relationships with the surrounding communities?
As your councilman, I will work collaboratively with my counterparts in other cities to repair frayed relationships by:
• Keeping an open line of communications
• Being supportive of their communities
• Understanding the challenges and differences between the cities
• Working to create solutions, opposed to problems
These four solutions alone will allow for relationship building with surrounding cities.
What would you like to see happen with the downtown area?
They’re growing. I would like to see them continue to grow!
What are your thoughts on Middletown's Section 8 situation and what would you like to see happen?
Middletown has 15% of the county’s population and 58% of the county’s Section 8 vouchers; predominately in the second ward. That is entirely too much; not to mention, it has segregated our city by class and overall concentrated poverty. Concentrated poverty is an open door for high, outrageous crime rates. That is the result of our city administration not monitoring the program for many years. As your councilman, I will work hard to make sure that we not only enforce building codes to landlords, but also decrease the number of vouchers over a period of time. However, in spite of lowering section 8 vouchers, I’m also interested in seeing the families on section 8 become homeowners. In working with you, I would be interested in how I could help provide resources such as, but not limited to:
• Educational Partnerships that would provide the workforce with the skill-sets that would allow them to compete in the 21st century
• Job Training that allows them to effectively achieve their day-to-day tasks on the job
• Job Placement so that men and women are able to provide a stable income for their families
This would be a difficult task, but as your councilman, I am up for the challenge for the greater good of the community.
Tell us how you would handle the city's budget concerns?
I've made an appointment for this week to learn more about the budget. Once I have acquired more knowledge, I will give you an answer. I want to have a strong grasp of the specifics before I recommend how to make Middletown’s government operate more efficiently or how to increase revenue.
In your opinion, what is the biggest problem that needs addressed in Middletown and how do we repair it?
I believe that the biggest problem in Middletown is economic development. Middletown has a lot of potential for commercial, retail and industrial growth. As the east end is developing itself, there are still developmental opportunities in the heart of Middletown.
But because of the many brownfield’s and greyfield’s, it makes it hard to market property and solicit business because the property isn’t ready for new construction. So, we must do away with as many brownfield’s and greyfield’s as possible. That will help make our community a more attractive place to do business. Also, we have to market Middletown as the place to do business and give reasonable incentives to them so that they build here.
If elected to city council, I will make sure that we become more business friendly to everyone. In a time of economic struggles, we can’t be picky. It’s time to get Middletonian’s alike back to work!
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