NORWICH – Running on a platform to “restore the Norwich community” to its glory days, Republican mayoral hopeful Christine Carnrike is campaigning in full force to bring new blood to City Hall.
Now with the September primary less than a week away, Carnrike said it’s time for voters to really consider who they want in the mayor’s seat for the next two-year term. Carnrike has hammered a number of issues since officially announcing her candidacy back in April, including ways she believes could attract more commerce to the downtown area, tighten the city’s budget, and address the growing drug epidemic.
“I feel that right now, we're just getting by,” said Carnrike. “Something needs to change in vision and leadership for Norwich to return to what it used to be.”
Carnrike is the first candidate to challenge present Mayor Joseph Maiurano since 2007. Maiurano has served four consecutive terms as mayor, running unopposed in 2009, 2011, and 2013. However, appearing only on the Republican line on this year’s ballot, Maiurano will be out of the running if losing to Carnrike in next week’s primary election.
“I worry about the future of the city if myself or someone else doesn’t step up for change,” Carnrike said. “When you have a new set of eyes, you may come up with a better solution. I may not have all the answers; but if given the opportunity, I will do everything I can.”
Carnrike said Norwich has a lot to offer, being centrally located between larger cities including Binghamton, Utica, Cortland and Oneonta. The challenge, she added, is giving a reason for folks to become attracted to the Norwich community and stay in the area.
“I think one of the major things we need to address is the drug issue by working closely with law enforcement and obviously the District Attorney’s Office,” she said. “It’s a pride in ownership issue. If we can get people to feel proud of the community again, I think it will have an effect.”
As for the business end of things, Carnrike claimed the city may be relying too heavily on grant funding to sustain community and economic development. In recent years, state and federal grant funds have helped private developers renovate commercial buildings downtown through the New York State Main Street Grant Program. And more recently, the Norwich Common Council accepted federal grant funds to pay salary and benefits for one full-time firefighter position for the course of two years.
Said Carnrike, “Grants like those are good, but I feel that we’re just constantly relying on that instead of taking a wider look at what we can do ... I just don’t see that as sustaining us longterm.”
Carnrike said that in addition to finding alternate ways of increasing revenue by means other than property taxes, the city needs to do a line-by-line review of its spending plan – and do it early on. Last year, the Common Council approved changes to the city’s budget just days before the end of the fiscal year which resulted in a 6 percent tax rate increase for city residents. With the state mandated costs of pension for city employees, city officials are already looking at a 2 percent increase again this year, even before budgeting other additional expenses.
Speaking as a former employee for Broome County, Carnrike said she believes there are ways to tighten the purse strings for city government.
“Whether you see it or not, there’s always waste,” she said. “To say there’s not, I find that a tough pill to swallow. I think if everybody is trying to live within their means, then we should do everything we can as a city government to live within our means while still providing services.”
More information about Carnrike can be found on her campaign website, carnrikeformayor.com.
Primary elections this year will be held Thursday, Sept. 10. Polls will open at noon and close at 9 p.m.