Democratic candidates sound off on future plans

In Bloomington’s citizen-driven community, there’s no reason business cannot start up or expand, Mayor Mark Kruzan said at a press conference held Thursday in the atrium of City Hall.\nKruzan gathered with Democratic city council members Dave Rollo (D-4th), Stephen Volan (D-6th), Susan Sandberg (D-5th), Jillian Kinzie (candidate for 2nd district seat), Isabel Piedmont (D-5th) and others to launch the city Democrats’ “Everybody’s Bloomington” campaign. The event was a chance for many Bloomington Democrats who, like Kruzan, are running for re-election this year to sound off about their goals for the city. \n“We can’t just think about what we’re going to do in the next 60 days, but in the next four years,” Kruzan said. \nThe purpose of the news conference, Kruzan said, is to identify the campaign as “Everybody’s Bloomington.” Thursday, he said, was a symbolic start for raising awareness on a citizen level of what Bloomington’s Democrats represent and how they can live up to promises made. He upheld the role of voters in his vision for a more inclusive and economically equal community.\n“Bloomington’s strength is in its spirit. ... We want voters to know that we will not take the support or responsibilities they’ve given us for granted,” Kruzan said. \nThe reason Democrats have been entrusted with governing Bloomington up to this point, Kruzan said, is that “we have lived up to our promises ... and are planning (to) build on the successes of the last four years.” \nHowever, mayoral candidate David Sabbagh said the current administration has been “business unfriendly” and has made it difficult for new companies to expand. \n“We had 150 well-paid jobs in downtown Bloomington,” Sabbagh said, referring to Finelight. “This administration let them move to the west side. If you talked to the business community in this town and they were honest with you, they would say it’s very difficult to get things done.” \nBut chief among what Kruzan considers his successes was the city’s high quality of life, which he and his city council colleagues hope to preserve through updated infrastructure, investments in affordable housing, subsidized health care programs and financial allocation programs. \nSabbagh, however, said that infrastructure is not a strong suit of the current Democratic leadership. \n“Their record is dismal,” he said. \nVolan said that improving transportation is crucial to these goals. He also mentioned the need for easier, safer garage parking, downtown shuttle and continuing sanitary initiatives.\nBut though Piedmont expressed pride in the Democratic ticket, she was quick to highlight the “great income gap” and “stark contrast in income levels,” in Bloomington, stressing the need for programs such as the Boys and Girls Club and Big Brothers Big Sisters.\nThe arts are a big part of Bloomington, Sandberg said. As a city council member, she said she wants to “take advantage of the talent, tenacity and generous heart, cultural influences, collective joy and coordinated artist community at IU.” \n“There’s a viable engine for economic growth in the arts,” Sandberg said. \nSabbagh disagreed with current administration’s approach to “arts as economic development.”\n“This administration set up the (Bloomington Entertainment and Arts District),” Sabbagh said. “By far the biggest generator of arts is IU, and BEAD stopped at the Sample Gates and does not include IU at all.”\nStill, Kruzan said he is dedicated to serving students as a key part of his \nconstituency. \n“Students are full participants in the city,” Kruzan said. “First of all, they’re paying taxes while they’re here. ... (They are also) a huge part of the purchasing power of the community.” \nDuring the academic year, “(students) literally make up half of the population,” and thus half of the constituency and citizenry, Kruzan said. He remembered first coming to IU as a student in 1978, and said “students should never assume that we’re here for only four years.”