Five city council candidates answered questions at the League of Women Voters of Athens County at-large candidate forum Tuesday night.
Athens County's League of Women Voters hosted its at-large city council candidate forum Tuesday night at the Athens Public Library with all five candidates in attendance.
Candidates were asked what was the biggest issue facing Athens for their potential term as a city council member.
Joan Kraynanski (D), who's a member of the Board of Zoning Appeals, answered the question first, choosing the budget as the main issue facing the city.
“I’ve always believed that you can run your organization on your ethics, your morality and your philosophy and have an incredible organization,” Kraynanski said. “But unless you have a stable accountant, then none of that is possible.”
Kraynanski also said a decrease in tax revenue was one of the “most crucial” things facing Athens.
Pat McGee (I), the managing attorney for Ohio University’s Center for Student Legal Services, who stood for all of his answers, focused on the “appropriate application” of city resources.
“We can’t overspend, but we also have to be a bit creative,” McGee said. “I’ve been very disappointed with the roads in Athens. I dread the fact that many streets in Athens are still unsafe.”
Peter Kostes (D), owner of Athens Bicycle, chose a problem he categorized as a loss in a “generational quality.”
“We always tend to lose community members at some point,” Kostes said. “We have people who grow up here and they move away. And you have people who come here for jobs, but at some point, they retire and they move on.”
Kostes said he understood that is a difficult problem, but Athens must help maintain its identity from generation to generation and create services to assist elderly residents.
“If you grow up and spend your time here, you find that all your friend move away,” he said.
Aaron Dauterman (R), an OU senior studying communication studies, pointed to the budget.
“Whether you like it or not, the state is cutting funding by $500,000 within the 2016 fiscal year alone,” Dauterman said. “It’s something that should be raising flags for every member of our community.”
Dauterman called on all city officials to make sure the three core functions of government are funded: roads, police and fire.
“If we are unable to fund those functions, we are losing sight of the goal,” Dauterman said. “Our budget should be our top priority.”
Incumbent Councilwoman Jennifer Cochran, D-At Large, labeled choosing a single issue as a “false choice,” but ultimately selected building a “resilient and sustainable community.”
Cochran mentioned the Athens City Pool, ongoing environmental efforts and innovative funding of roads and other projects as priorities moving forward to achieve this goal.
Candidates then described their stances on the state issues 2 and 3 — two being the anti-monopoly legislation and three being the legalization of marijuana with the established structure of dispensaries, testing facilities and growing sites.
Only Dauterman and McGee came out in support of Issue 2 with Kraynanski, Cochran and Kostes opposing it.
Dauterman labeled Issue 2 as “common sense legislation,” whereas Kraynanski called it “ill-advised.”
Kostes said he is against Issue 2, but recently noticed the League of Women Voters is in support of the issue and would re-evaluate his position.
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Only two candidates, Kostes and McGee, support Issue 3. Dauterman, Kraynanski and Cochran are all against it.
The response shared from all three in opposition to Issue 3 was not that they were against the legalization of marijuana, but in the words of Kraynanski: “I’m opposed to monopolies.”
Kostes and McGee were both in support of Issue 3 because of the revenue Athens County stands to gain from the legalization of marijuana.
“I’m for it,” Kostes said. “I think we need to start collecting money on it.”
McGee shared that he is not in favor of monopolies, but the court should be able to work it out.
“It’s very frustrating when I look out on the College Green, and I see people who are known dealers who are making their living, making a fortune selling pot to the college students,” McGee said. “We should have ended this years ago.”
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