By Matt Fredmonsky
Record-Courier staff writer
Two Kent City Council seats and who will fill them will be decided Nov. 6.
The council seats representing Wards 1 and 2, currently held by Republican Garret Ferrara and independent Carrie Gavriloff, are sought by Lake Street resident Lloyd Atkinson and Theodore Roosevelt High School teacher Jack Amhrein.
Ferrara defeated Atkinson in 1999 to win the Ward 1 race after Atkinson unseated incumbent Jerry Fiala during that year's primary election. This is Atkinson's third campaign for a council seat. Ferrara is seeking his third four-year term.
In Ward 2, Amhrein is seeking Gavriloff's seat, while she is looking for her second term.
Amhrein said, as a civics teacher, he is greatly disturbed when local government positions go uncontested.
"I tell the kids you've got to get involved," he said. "And when you don't give people a choice ... democracy is not really working."
He is hopeful that, if elected, he can play a part in returning downtown Kent to its more vibrant days during his college career at Kent State University. He credits Main Street Kent's recent efforts toward a canoe and kayak livery, the art and wine festival and a visit from the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales as steps in the right direction.
"That's stuff that should be going on and that's stuff that needs to be going on and it hasn't been going on for years," Amhrein said. "It's taken the main street program to really bring life to downtown Kent."
Conversely, Gavriloff said she would focus on more neighborhood-specific issues raised by residents. Council recently approved amending city codes to adopt the International Property Maintenance Code, which she voted for. Rental properties, not specifically college or low-income, are increasing in her neighborhoods.
"You can have a low income or a high income, it's still about taking care of your property and having pride in the neighborhood where you live," Gavriloff said.
Gavriloff, who regularly holds neighborhood meetings, said she receives complaints primarily about people who don't maintain their property and speeders on neighborhood streets, particularly in the Middlebury Road area.
Atkinson, a lifetime Kent resident, said city administrators need to focus on retaining commercial business and increasing owner-occupied housing.
"That will enhance our tax base to boot," Atkinson said. "It's a win-win to stimulate owner-occupied housing." He would also like to implement tax abatements for seniors who own the property where they live.
Ferrara, who also is vice chairman of the Portage County Republican Party, told the R-C during a March interview he is confident City Manager Dave Ruller can help direct the city out of its looming financial deficit and shrinking commercial tax base.
"I think we've got a really good city manager," Ferrara said. "If we get a council more accommodating to him in terms of letting him move his agenda across, I think we can make some progress. I'd like to be around to be a part of that."
Council's three at-large seats are not up for election this term. Council's four other seats in Wards three through six have already been decided.
Newcomers Heidi Shaffer and Tracy Wallach defeated Michael Pfahl and incumbent Ward 6 Councilwoman Beth Oswitch, respectively, during the May primary. Ward 3 Councilman Wayne Wilson and Ward 4 Councilman John Kuhar are running unopposed.
Kent City Council
Salary: $6,200
Two to be elected
Ward 2
Name: Jack Amrhein
Occupation: Teacher, U.S. History and American Popular Culture, Theodore Roosevelt High School.
Question: What issue in the hands of Kent City Council is most important to residents of the city?
Answer: "I think that has to be economic and community development. What we're looking at is a town that is in desperate need of development. People don't want to pay more taxes, so obviously the way you get around that is by develolping the city and having more business to offset the tax base so the taxpayers don't have to pay the burden."
Name: Carrie Gavriloff
Occupation: Registered nurse, education coordinator of nursing products at Akron Children's Hospital.
Prior elected office: seeking second four-year term on council.
Question: What issue in the hands of Kent City Council is most important to residents of the city?
Answer: "The neighborhood iniatives. Because we have a high level of rentals, we have a lot of problems with speeding, illegal boarders, noise, trash and the integrity of neighborhoods, the residents are feeling neighborhoods are being compromised because of all these multi-faceted issues. I think neighborhood integrity has got to be the top one."
Ward 1
Name: Lloyd Atkinson
Occupation: Retired
Prior elected office: None
Question: What issue in the hands of Kent City Council is most important to residents of the city?
Response: "Streets and budget."
Name: Garret Ferrara
Occupation: A financial consultant with Merrill Lynch
Prior elected office: Seeking third four-year term
Question: What issue in the hands of Kent City Council is most important to residents of the city?
Response: "I think it's the property acquisition for development. The economic development of the downtown area is the most important. I think council's already made the big decision, now it's going to be the follow through. That's what's always tripped up council, our follow through on plans for economic development. It's not going to be cheap, but in the long-term the cost of not doing it is going to outwiegh the cost of doing it today."