Wheelingman04
Jan 2, 2007, 7:18 AM
IN HIGH GEAR
Mayor Coleman’s ambitious plans suggest he’s running for a third term
Monday, January 01, 2007
Jodi Andes and Mark Ferenchik
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2007/01/01/20070101-A1-00.html
http://www.dispatch.com/2007/01/01/20070101-Pc-A1-0600.jpg
Mayor Michael B. Coleman runs with recruits at the Columbus Police Academy. It appears Coleman will run for mayor again, too.
Facing the last year of a second term, many politicians focus on what they can finish.
Mayor Michael B. Coleman is gearing up for long-term projects.
Twelve months before his term expires, he is looking for a way to pay for streetcars.
He also is telling his crew to proceed with the first full year of a six-year plan called Home Again, aimed at tearing down blighted houses and helping low-income families keep their homes from falling into disrepair.
And Coleman is starting to talk about plans for the city’s bicentennial in 2012. Coleman would have to win a third and fourth term to see those plans carried out.
He won’t say whether he’s running. But after the mayor danced around the topic with a reporter recently, his spokesman said the headline should read: "Mayor Coleman refuses to acknowledge the obvious."
"I’d surprise myself if I didn’t run," Coleman said.
Looking back on the year, Coleman boasts about Columbus being named an All-American City, passage of an accord with neighboring jurisdictions to protect the Darby watershed from development in western Franklin County and creation of a Columbus-based airline called Skybus.
Coleman aspired to win the governor’s office but dropped his bid in late 2005. Seeing a fellow Democrat (Ted Strickland) win in November was gratifying but didn’t cause him to second-guess his decision.
"This year, the city has become more of me than ever before," Coleman said. "This is where I belong. This is my home."
But Republicans say there are many reasons Columbus needs a change.
"There is the city’s violent crime, including the murder rate. Our Downtown economy is stagnant. The City Center mall is on the verge of failure. Downtown vacancies are extraordinarily high," said Brad Sinnott, chairman of the Franklin County Republican Party.
But Coleman says his police strike force resulted in 900 arrests last year.
Coleman has been consistent in saying that the situation at Columbus City Center will get worse before it gets better, but he’s ready to take it over if the owners want to hand over the keys.
Downtown office-vacancy rates now are below 20 percent (19 percent), even with 1 million square feet of new space. And more than 4,200 housing units have been built, are under construction or are planned Downtown since Coleman took office.
Republicans know that unseating Coleman would be no easy task. Coleman faced no Republican challenger in his second bid and he held a 65 percent approval rating, according to a poll in late 2005.
Although Republican Party officials won’t say who will run against Coleman until their Jan. 17 candidate-endorsement meeting, Sinnott described the ideal candidate.
"The candidate we want is a fresh face, someone with private-sector experience who will bring reform to City Hall," he said, seemingly ruling out Franklin County Commissioner Dewey Stokes and outgoing state Treasurer Jennette Bradley.
Meanwhile, the city’s finances are improving. Income-tax collections grew by 6 percent, double the 3 percent rate city leaders expected.
How to spend that money could be fodder for political debate.
Coleman has said he favors using city public-works money to add a streetcar line on High Street between German Village and the Short North. He said he will not raise the city income tax to fund it. "It’s not a given. It’s clear to me, though, there are substantial benefits to occur," Coleman said of streetcars.
German Village Society President Katharine Moore agrees with that.
"It would bring more people into the area," Moore said, and it should be popular with Downtown residents and workers.
But John Benedetti, of the Sharon Woods Civic Association, says Columbus residents prefer to drive and he doubts they would ride streetcars.
"It’s still too much of a cowtown," said Benedetti, who’d rather see Coleman concentrate on redeveloping Northland-area shopping centers and direct the police to crack down on neighborhood break-ins.
Far North Communities Coalition leader Dan Province said public-works money should go toward other needs, such as fixing crumbling Far North Side roads.
Like Benedetti, Province says the city also should concentrate more on redeveloping struggling shopping areas.
The city is spending $20 million to make Morse Road more attractive for retailers and other businesses as it tries to redevelop the old Northland Mall site. Meanwhile, the city is spending $100,000 to study improvements for Hamilton Road near Eastland Mall.
Public safety will be an issue for Coleman to address this year, as it is every year.
Columbus had 102 homicides last year — a number the city has exceeded five times since 1990.
Coleman plans to spend $1 million this year on the police strike force, up from $750,000 in 2006, to focus police in highcrime areas. "The druggies are not out. They’re more on alert," said South Side activist Linda Henry.
"I think every effort is worth it. Everything he does to combat crime will help," said Debra Diggs, president of the South Side Community Action Network. But police have to maintain a strong presence yearround to reduce crime, she said.
Fire-union officials also are pushing the city to upgrade an aging fleet that is so troublesome that even reserve ladder trucks were in the shop recently. The union also has concerns about whether the city has enough firefighters to staff its 32 engine houses.
Both issues are symptoms of a larger problem, said Jack Reall, president of the firefighters union: "a lack of a working relationship with the mayor’s administration."
Coleman’s spokesman, Mike Brown, called Reall’s complaint "absolutely ridiculous."
Another issue for the Coleman administration is finding a way to pay for proposed caps over the I-70/71 corridor to link Downtown with German Village to the south and Olde Towne East. The caps could cost up to $110 million.
The caps are an important project that he wants to continue to push forward, Coleman said.
In German Village, Moore said Coleman and city leaders must make sure the plans to rebuild I-70/71 through Downtown will help neighborhoods.
"It’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity," she said, in which the city’s leaders need to be assertive and creative.
"We’re counting on Mayor Coleman to do both," Moore said.
jandes@dispatch.com
mferenchik@dispatch.com
Mayor Coleman’s ambitious plans suggest he’s running for a third term
Monday, January 01, 2007
Jodi Andes and Mark Ferenchik
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2007/01/01/20070101-A1-00.html
http://www.dispatch.com/2007/01/01/20070101-Pc-A1-0600.jpg
Mayor Michael B. Coleman runs with recruits at the Columbus Police Academy. It appears Coleman will run for mayor again, too.
Facing the last year of a second term, many politicians focus on what they can finish.
Mayor Michael B. Coleman is gearing up for long-term projects.
Twelve months before his term expires, he is looking for a way to pay for streetcars.
He also is telling his crew to proceed with the first full year of a six-year plan called Home Again, aimed at tearing down blighted houses and helping low-income families keep their homes from falling into disrepair.
And Coleman is starting to talk about plans for the city’s bicentennial in 2012. Coleman would have to win a third and fourth term to see those plans carried out.
He won’t say whether he’s running. But after the mayor danced around the topic with a reporter recently, his spokesman said the headline should read: "Mayor Coleman refuses to acknowledge the obvious."
"I’d surprise myself if I didn’t run," Coleman said.
Looking back on the year, Coleman boasts about Columbus being named an All-American City, passage of an accord with neighboring jurisdictions to protect the Darby watershed from development in western Franklin County and creation of a Columbus-based airline called Skybus.
Coleman aspired to win the governor’s office but dropped his bid in late 2005. Seeing a fellow Democrat (Ted Strickland) win in November was gratifying but didn’t cause him to second-guess his decision.
"This year, the city has become more of me than ever before," Coleman said. "This is where I belong. This is my home."
But Republicans say there are many reasons Columbus needs a change.
"There is the city’s violent crime, including the murder rate. Our Downtown economy is stagnant. The City Center mall is on the verge of failure. Downtown vacancies are extraordinarily high," said Brad Sinnott, chairman of the Franklin County Republican Party.
But Coleman says his police strike force resulted in 900 arrests last year.
Coleman has been consistent in saying that the situation at Columbus City Center will get worse before it gets better, but he’s ready to take it over if the owners want to hand over the keys.
Downtown office-vacancy rates now are below 20 percent (19 percent), even with 1 million square feet of new space. And more than 4,200 housing units have been built, are under construction or are planned Downtown since Coleman took office.
Republicans know that unseating Coleman would be no easy task. Coleman faced no Republican challenger in his second bid and he held a 65 percent approval rating, according to a poll in late 2005.
Although Republican Party officials won’t say who will run against Coleman until their Jan. 17 candidate-endorsement meeting, Sinnott described the ideal candidate.
"The candidate we want is a fresh face, someone with private-sector experience who will bring reform to City Hall," he said, seemingly ruling out Franklin County Commissioner Dewey Stokes and outgoing state Treasurer Jennette Bradley.
Meanwhile, the city’s finances are improving. Income-tax collections grew by 6 percent, double the 3 percent rate city leaders expected.
How to spend that money could be fodder for political debate.
Coleman has said he favors using city public-works money to add a streetcar line on High Street between German Village and the Short North. He said he will not raise the city income tax to fund it. "It’s not a given. It’s clear to me, though, there are substantial benefits to occur," Coleman said of streetcars.
German Village Society President Katharine Moore agrees with that.
"It would bring more people into the area," Moore said, and it should be popular with Downtown residents and workers.
But John Benedetti, of the Sharon Woods Civic Association, says Columbus residents prefer to drive and he doubts they would ride streetcars.
"It’s still too much of a cowtown," said Benedetti, who’d rather see Coleman concentrate on redeveloping Northland-area shopping centers and direct the police to crack down on neighborhood break-ins.
Far North Communities Coalition leader Dan Province said public-works money should go toward other needs, such as fixing crumbling Far North Side roads.
Like Benedetti, Province says the city also should concentrate more on redeveloping struggling shopping areas.
The city is spending $20 million to make Morse Road more attractive for retailers and other businesses as it tries to redevelop the old Northland Mall site. Meanwhile, the city is spending $100,000 to study improvements for Hamilton Road near Eastland Mall.
Public safety will be an issue for Coleman to address this year, as it is every year.
Columbus had 102 homicides last year — a number the city has exceeded five times since 1990.
Coleman plans to spend $1 million this year on the police strike force, up from $750,000 in 2006, to focus police in highcrime areas. "The druggies are not out. They’re more on alert," said South Side activist Linda Henry.
"I think every effort is worth it. Everything he does to combat crime will help," said Debra Diggs, president of the South Side Community Action Network. But police have to maintain a strong presence yearround to reduce crime, she said.
Fire-union officials also are pushing the city to upgrade an aging fleet that is so troublesome that even reserve ladder trucks were in the shop recently. The union also has concerns about whether the city has enough firefighters to staff its 32 engine houses.
Both issues are symptoms of a larger problem, said Jack Reall, president of the firefighters union: "a lack of a working relationship with the mayor’s administration."
Coleman’s spokesman, Mike Brown, called Reall’s complaint "absolutely ridiculous."
Another issue for the Coleman administration is finding a way to pay for proposed caps over the I-70/71 corridor to link Downtown with German Village to the south and Olde Towne East. The caps could cost up to $110 million.
The caps are an important project that he wants to continue to push forward, Coleman said.
In German Village, Moore said Coleman and city leaders must make sure the plans to rebuild I-70/71 through Downtown will help neighborhoods.
"It’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity," she said, in which the city’s leaders need to be assertive and creative.
"We’re counting on Mayor Coleman to do both," Moore said.
jandes@dispatch.com
mferenchik@dispatch.com