MADISON, Ind. (WDRB) -- Two candidates are vying to become the next mayor of Madison after the sudden and untimely death of former Mayor Damon Welch.
Welch died while in office but was not seeking reelection. Republican mayoral candidate Bob Courtney was chosen by the Republican caucus just after the death. The caucus is responsible for choosing a temporary mayor in the event of a death. His opponent is democrat Julie Berry, a former Jefferson County commissioner who now works for a engineering firm.
Both candidates expressed similar priorities citing economic development and growth, a commitment to combating drug use and homelessness and continuing Welch's legacy.
On economic priorities and retaining jobs:
Berry:
We have a median household income that lags behind the state of Indiana. We need to get busy attracting people and also good jobs that pay enough to raise a family. The economic deals that I will work on will be with working people in mind. We particularly need to attract data analytical and IT jobs, professional jobs, to Madison.
Courtney:
It goes back to economic development and investing in our community and particularly quality of place. First and foremost we have to make sure this is a city people want to live in. A lot of millennials, I believe, go to a place they want to live and value a high quality of a life and high quality of place. We need to make sure that the jobs are following them to our community.
On substance abuse and homelessness:
Berry:
Substance abuse is probably our No. 1 concern. We're working a few things to address that including an airtight common nuisance ordinance that will be for repeat offenders and the people who own the buildings. I think a lot of our homeless problem is direct result of our federal and state policy of closing mental health hospital beds. What we can do is help invest in like our Salvation Army and groups that are working on it.
Courtney:
Assertively combating our substance abuse issue on the criminal front first and then also dealing with it relative to education prevention and treatment options. We need to have an effective outreach to that population and I restructure economic development and economic opportunity, what we'll be doing is creating an outreach coordinator position.
On Welch and his legacy:
Berry:
Our former mayor was a very good man, a very kind man and also a good mayor. He moved Madison forward. My role will be similar to what his ways. Politics doesn't matter. Our friends and our neighbors and our community do matter.
Courtney:
Mayor Welch was a great man. A great leader for our community. He and I had a lot of things in common. We talked frequently because of the role that I played as chair of our zoning board and chair of our Republican party...I've pledged that the initiatives that Mayor Welch and his team already had in place, we would make sure that those are ongoing.
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