It's Election day in Monroe County and Democrat John Hamilton is against Republican John Turnbull in the race for Mayor. Here's what the candidates had to say on some of the city's issues.
Public safety
Hamilton: “Our police department has done an excellent job adding the downtown resource officers to focus on a community approach to policing in the downtown area. I’d like to extend community policing across the city. We have had an increase in violent crime in the city, and it’s very important that we address it head-on, which is what I intend to do. I might add I will encourage the IU and city police department to continue strong collaboration and cooperation.”
Turnbull: “A general presence makes a huge difference, and so I am very much in favor of a sub-station downtown, maybe along Kirkwood somewhere, and just a general greater presence of the police. When we develop the Switchyard Park, it would be great if we could increase the presence there and maybe put ... a stopover point, a get-warm point or a gathering point for the police. One of my points in my campaign is managing growth ... so we’re going to have to increase our police force, there’s no doubt about it.”
I-69 construction
Hamilton: “I-69 is coming, and it’s going to be a challenge and an opportunity to our city. No. 1, we need to work very closely with the county government and our region to plan for its impact. As mayor, I will work closely to ensure that we get positive results, not negatives, in development and jobs and housing impact. But it will take collaboration with our neighbors.”
Turnbull: “First, let me tell you that the completion of I-69 itself will provide growth and jobs, because, you know, it’ll be the distribution hub. ... The entry to the city and the exits to the city are very, very critical. We need to make it look nice. We need to put growth where we want to put it ... We have an opportunity to plan, we have an opportunity to make it look (how we want it to look).”
IU-Bloomington relationship
Hamilton: “IU and Bloomington are mutually dependent, mutually supportive. ... I intend to work very closely with the university on issues like job growth and affordable housing, and sustainability. I also look forward to strong internship programs. I want us to be excellent neighbors.”
Turnbull: “(I would) demand that we have discussions about how many people are you bringing in, what (are) their demographics ... If we know Indiana University’s bringing in 3,000 out-of-state students from the East Coast and the West Coast ... then we’ve got an idea of what their wealth or their demographics, then we’ve got an idea of what sort of things are going to directly influence our town.”
Affordable housing
Hamilton: “We need specific strategies such as inclusionary zoning to require new construction to include affordable units, deploying the nearly $1 million Housing Trust Fund that’s been unused, supporting nonprofits who can help create affordable homeownership and any other good ideas being used around the country. This is an important area for pragmatic, active government involvement.”
Turnbull: “The greater the supply, the more affordable housing is. ... My plan would always be, in a growth phase that we’re in, (to) keep letting the supply of housing be built, but make it look nice ... You also have to make permitting and coding simple, clear, concise and fair ... That is all counter to my opposition, who talks about anti-market things like inclusionary zoning, which is never going to pass.”
Job growth
Hamilton: “The mayor is the chief spokesperson for the city. I will be a very active promoter of job opportunities here, both with existing and potential employers. I will work actively with the tech park downtown to focus it on ... office space for employment. I’ll work to develop new financing supports for growing businesses, and I’ll work very closely with Ivy Tech and IU on job growth and technology transfer.”
Turnbull: “It’s disingenuous to say that you’re going to snap your fingers and bring all these jobs ... You make a fertile bed for things to happen, and you do that by, number one, being business-friendly. ... You also get all the basics and the infrastructure right ... Make sure the bus system gets as much ridership as possible. And then the other point is aesthetics. ... When a place looks nice, it makes people feel good — it attracts more people, it attracts more businesses. It attracts CEOs that like the town and the look and bring their company to it.”
Sustainability
Hamilton: “I was the first chair of the Bloomington Sustainability Commission. I care about the issue. I want to put solar panels on City Hall. I want to reduce energy use in government. I want to increase green stormwater management and work closely with IU on its sustainability efforts. Climate change is real, and we need to act together to improve our (sustainability).”
Turnbull: “One thing that a lot of people don’t realize is that we run a lot of large buildings and a lot of large facilities. And there is great room and low-hanging fruit to save energy in a lot of those buildings. When you burn energy, it’s the peak load you get charged on. If you alternate the load or if you alternate the draw from pumps and pressures and HDAC, heating and cooling — if you alternate that, you can reduce your costs greatly.”
Public education
Hamilton: “I served on the school board and believe strongly in public education. As mayor, I will work closely with the school system on issues like transportation, property maintenance, planning, volunteer coordination and any other way I can help them. I will support the referendum in 2016 — I will actively support the referendum in 2016.”
Turnbull: “First of all, (the mayor) can be an ambassador, but secondly, I do think the bus system does need to go to Ivy Tech, and I would work hard for that. I think it’s vital. I recognize that education is our No. 1 investment, and ... I am also in favor of the referendum that will come up in about a year."
Bloomington has 23 polling stations, and precinct polling places will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Below is the 2015 general election ballot
Mayor
John Hamilton (D)
John Turnbull (R)
Clerk, City of Bloomington
Nicole Bolden (D)
City Council Cember At-Large
Tim Mayer (D)
Andy Ruff (D)
Susan Sandberg (D)
Jennifer Mickel (R)
Scott Tibbs (official write-in candidate)
City Council, District 1
Chris Sturbaum (D)
Dave Nakarado (L)
City Council, District 2
Dorothy Granger (D)
City Council, District 3
Alison Chopra (D)
Nelson Shaffer (R)
City Council, District 4
Dave Rollo (D)
City Council, District 5
Isabel Piedmont-Smith (D)
City Council, District 6
Steve Volan (D)
