The League of Women Voters of Athens County hosted a virtual forum Tuesday evening between City Council candidates Alan Swank and Chris Fahl.
The event was led by mediator Tanya Conrath and began with opening statements from both candidates vying for the Fourth Ward seat, followed by a section for the media to ask questions and the final section consisting of questions submitted by the public.
Councilwoman Fahl, a Democrat and the incumbent, opened with a focus on past accomplishments and plans that have been created moving forward. She also emphasized part of her motivation to continue working on City Council.
“It's not only the planning … It's the people. It's the people that I worked with each individual step,” Fahl said.
Swank’s opening statement, on the other hand, focused on his duty to the people of Athens and why he would be fit for the job of councilman.
“We are elected to listen and to represent you, and I hope by the end of the evening, you'll have a better idea of who I am and some of the things that I feel are important,” Swank said.
The first question focused on how each candidate plans to help the Athens community adapt in lieu of declining tax revenue as a result of Ohio University’s declining enrollment.
Swank said he plans to focus on possible uses of vacant rental properties and creating more business-friendly policies within the city.
Fahl then followed with a focus on taking action now, as changing city operations take time. She also emphasized finding partners both within and outside the city to help identify why Athens is not currently viewed as a business-friendly community.
The final media question was about if each candidate believes City Council lacks diversity.
Fahl pointed out the issue of compensation for being a council member. She reminded listeners that working on City Council is considered a quarter-time job. Therefore, council members receive only a stipend rather than full- or part-time pay.
Screencaps taken by Anna Millar.
“That right there keeps a certain number of people from being able to run because there's not enough time for them to be able to make enough money to do a half-time job or something,” Fahl said.
Swank was more direct, pointing out that in terms of racial diversity, Council is very much lacking. He also recognized his election would not change that fact. However, Swank went on to say City Council is also lacking diversity in terms of fiscal responsibility and conservatism, which he believes he could bring to the table.
Following the media questions, Conrath began asking the citizen-submitted questions with candidate responses following each. The first few of those questions focused on why each candidate wants to serve on City Council and their goals in doing so.
Swank focused on his desire to serve the people and solve issues that have been directly brought to his attention while campaigning.
“It's not so much about my priorities because I would be a representative of other people but what are the priorities of our citizens, our constituents. One of the things I've heard from many, many, many, many people is that we need to provide affordable, quality housing for all and, in particular, some of our senior citizens,” Swank said. “The second thing that I'm hearing from a lot of people is that we need to work very, very hard on the combined issues of racial equity and social justice.”
Fahl focused mainly on her experiences in planning and working with others as well as continuing plans City Council has already laid out.
“My experience with working with people as a planner and teaching people how to do planning … for me is really powerful,” Fahl said. “My number one plan right now is to go forward with our comprehensive plan that was adopted by City Council. The plan is only as good as what you do with it.”
As the forum continued, a theme of concern regarding all constituents being represented appeared in multiple questions.
Swank addressed that concern by emphasizing equal treatment of everyone, no matter what they look like or what they believe. He also mentioned plans to hold regular meetings with constituents within his ward in order to continually identify what issues are important to the public.
Fahl, on the other hand, emphasized current opportunities for citizens to be more involved as well as recognizing the differences that do exist between groups of constituents.
Candidates also addressed environmental issues within the community. Each candidate outlined their ideas to reduce Athens’ carbon footprint.
Rounding out the forum, each candidate gave closing statements in which both thanked the League of Women Voters of Athens County as well as each other and those watching.
“I want to get out and about. I'm going to meet you,” Swank said. “I'm going to listen to you, and I'm going to talk not to you but talk with you.”
