The Post endorses Ed Baum for the Athens mayoral race.
Baum's experience with municipal government is solid. He has eight years on city council and five years on the regional planning commission under his belt. In addition, he is a professor emeritus of public administration at Ohio University, and he still teaches a course once a year.
Baum's ideas for student housing are more conducive to growth than those of his Democratic opponent, Paul Wiehl. Baum advocates developing existing buildings, as does Wiehl, but Wiehl's plans are more restrictive. Student housing needs room to grow, and Baum understands that.
While it might be a bit strong to label Wiehl anti-student
Wiehl does not try to hide the fact that he is somewhat anti-university. His blatant honesty is refreshing, but we respectfully disagree with his views, especially in the area of development. Wiehl seems to advocate no growth instead of smart growth as he says.
Another topic of particular interest to students is Halloween. Everyone wants the block party to be safe, and no one wants the city to lose money over the weekend. But Wiehl seems to be overly negative about the subject ' He voted against the festivities nine times as a protest vote, and he voted in favor of a fence around Court Street in the name of safety. Baum is more optimistic in looking for ways to make the party both profitable and safe without alienating students and other partygoers.
Third candidate Sergey Kahn is likeable, but he is too na+
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As mayor, Baum would allow Athens to grow
