On World Series cusp, they were ready to play ball

From left, mayoral candidate Fred Leonard, moderator Gerry Gilbert, Mayor T.J. Jean and mayoral candidate Dennis Hancock (Harrison Thorp photos)

ROCHESTER - For anyone attending Rochester’s candidates’ forum last night in the City Council chambers, or watching on live TV, they learned two things no doubt.
One, mayoral candidate Dennis Hancock thinks students and teachers in Rochester schools need to dress better.
The other is that the two remaining candidates, incumbent Mayor T.J. Jean and challenger Fred Leonard hold vastly different views on how the city’s doing and what it needs to do to improve.
Jean pointed to the civil and constructive decorum of council meetings since he’s been mayor and the fiscal strength the city has attained, pointing to buying a new fire truck with cash and the city’s new fleet of Dodge Charger police cars.
Leonard reminded the audience that it’s been done in large part by raising taxes, including an increase of 32 percent in the five years since he and a group of citizens spearheaded the tax cap.
On city services, Jean said the city was doing a great job and saw little that could be cut except maybe in the area of recreation, which he felt a vital cog in providing a healthy outlet for the city’s youth.

Rochester Mayor T.J. Jean listens with the other audience members during the City Council candidates portion of Wednesday night's forum.

Leonard said the city should be concentrating on making services more available for citizens like online paying of fines or online applications for building permits.
“This could save money and be more convenient for residents,” Leonard said.
On TIFs, a government funding mechanism that enables anticipated tax revenues to help pay for infrastructure expansion to attract business, both Leonard and Jean played it close to the vest, Leonard saying he didn’t feel strongly one way or the other and Jean saying the present TIF district at the Granite State Park was the first, and the city had to wait and see how it worked.
Earlier in the forum, City Councilor Sandra Keans said she supported the TIF concept, while her challenger, David Cope, said he would explore all other options before embracing any TIF development.
About 30 city residents attended the forum, which was broadcast live by Metrocast and will be replayed several times between now and Election Day. The forum is also available on the city’s website.
Viewers were encouraged to call or email questions, but only one email question was asked of the candidates. Candidates had strict limitations on time allotments to make their opening and closing remarks as well as answer questions from a media panel.
The Ward 1, Seat B City Council race between incumbent Ray Varney and challenger Thomas Kaczynski Jr. drew much the same rhetoric as did the mayoral race, with Varney lauding the city’s fiscal condition and Kaczynski saying it came at the price of a 32 percent tax hike since 2008.
“Are you 32 percent better off (since 2008)?” Kaczynski asked.
He also said city government, in general, was “too controlling,” pointing to the recent smoking ban on the Commons and the Council’s notion to entertain an ordinance on “grass length” after the election.
Varney countered that the smoking ban was enacted after a citizen petition and that it was there to protect the children who use the playground. He said the grass length discussion was to prevent abandoned and foreclosed houses from becoming eyesores.
The differences between Ward 2, Seat B incumbent Keans and her challenger David Cope, as well as between Ward 4, Seat B incumbent Chuck Grassie and his challenger, Donald Hamann, were less extreme, except on a neighborhood stabilization project that rehabilitated several Ward 4 properties a few years ago at a cost of about $300,000. The buildings later sold for only about $160,000.
Hamann said it was a waste of money and he would vote a similar project down in the future, while Grassie said it was good for the neighborhood and attracted good landlords and good tenants.
Keans differed with her opponent on the subject of TIFs, saying she was all for the program, while Cope said he would explore all other options to bring in industry before resorting to TIF-style funding.
At the end of the evening, the mayoral question and answer segment closed with the candidates being asked about Rochester’s reputation and whether the city should hire a public relations firm to bolster its image.
Jean said the city had made great strides in its reputation and those strides needed to continue.
Leonard countered it’s shouldn’t be government’s job to “brand the city. The city should.”
He added that if the schools are strong and the residents feel safe and prosperous, the “branding” will take care of itself.
Jean urged the hiring of a PR consultant, while Leonard and Hancock rejected the idea.
In the mayoral candidates’ closing statements, Hancock said he would seek to lower taxes and continued to harp on tightening the student dress code to improve education, a sentiment he brought up numerous times during the event.
Jean, meanwhile, urged residents to let him preserve the balance that had been struck on the City Council under his leadership. He said the city had gotten through the recession and was now strengthening its fiscal house.
Leonard finished by wondering how in the last five years during a bad recession the city had never laid anyone off.
“Is there anybody who doesn’t work for the city that can say their family hasn’t been touched by layoff?” he asked.
He added there had been no effort to adjust costs or services to minimize the burden to taxpayers. He also contended the downtown was no safer than it was 20 years ago and said if elected mayor he would lobby for more police foot patrols downtown.
The forum was hosted by the Rochester Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Eastern Propane.