Hamilton, Kruzan debate approaches to senior care

Issues and services affecting Bloomington’s senior citizens were Monday’s battleground for the Democratic mayoral primary campaigns, which are in their final month before the May 3 election day.

Incumbent Mayor Mark Kruzan announced Monday his plan to improve services provided for senior citizens in the city.

Challenger John Hamilton countered later with claims that Kruzan made similar promises in 2003, which still have not been met.

“While much is being done by the public and private sectors to improve livability, a lot of those decisions are made by people who are younger and mobile and don’t always address the needs of the disabled, less able and older citizens,” Kruzan said.

Kruzan highlighted some of the actions made by his administration and outlined his plans for the future of the city’s senior citizen services.

These plans include developing senior-oriented housing options downtown, the creation of a new senior center in the downtown area, working with social service agencies to ensure senior citizens are being effectively helped by the city and creating an Adopt-a-Neighbor program for younger citizens to help elderly neighbors, among other things.

“Further establishing Bloomington as a retiree and senior friendly community is both a way to improve livability for more of our neighbors as well as another way to bolster the economy. It’s another way for us to set our community apart,” Kruzan said.

Hamilton reacted later with accusations that Kruzan’s promises were nothing but talk.

“Mark Kruzan is very good and experienced at holding press conferences in the month before an election to announce new plans,” Hamilton said in a statement to the press. “After eight years, though, he’s not proven effective at getting things done and following through on specific plans.”

Hamilton also released a Kruzan press release from Oct. 7, 2003, which made several suggestions for improving senior citizen services that have not yet been implemented, including a job referral program and improvements to the city’s volunteer network.

“I’m running for mayor because I believe Bloomington needs to see more results, not more press conferences,” Hamilton said. “When someone promises something to the community, it should get done. When I’m mayor, that’s what I’ll do.”