Recordpub.com - Ravenna to select council members: Incumbents face newcomers in at-large contest; Ward 1 incumbent sees challenger

By Diane Smith

Record-Courier staff writer

The city of Ravenna will elect three council members in its first non-partisan election Tuesday.

In the at-large race, city voters will choose among Councilmen Joe Bica and Gene Brown and newcomers Amy Michael and Kenneth Roach.

And, in Ward 1, voters in the city’s northwest end will decide between incumbent Steven Bailey and challenger Sharon Spencer.

Joe Bica

Bica has served eight years on council.

“I think my biggest accompishment has been basically rooting out the corruption within the city over the years,” he said. “I stood up to the Jones administration and pursued things that I thought were inappropriate actions by his administration.”

He said he still believes there is work to be done in that area, and also said the city needs to “think outside the box” when it comes to economic development, adding that he doesn’t think council has given the position of economic development “a fair shake.”

“We need to be out there selling the city, and we’re not,” he said.

Gene Brown

Brown, a 20-year veteran of council, is seeking his sixth term. When he came to council, he said, it was his goal to establish a community center, and the purchase of the Ravenna Athletic Center was “a dream fulfilled.”

He said the city needs to concentrate on all of its parks, including Chestnut Hills Park, Havre’s Woods and Tontimonia Park, and should retain somebody to handle the city’s economic development efforts.

“Ravenna is centrally located as the county seat,” he said. “We have a variety of resources I think the city can tap freely. Ravenna needs to find its niche in the global market. The new school, the hospital and the library are our assets.”

Amy Michael

Michael is president of Friends of the Parks/Smart Community Development, which was behind the creation of Chestnut Hills Park. She also is a member of the city’s parks and recreation board. Those experiences, she said, taught her how local government works.

She said she’d like to see the city increase its tax base and create a master plan for the city. The city also should build on its strengths, such as Robinson Memorial Hospital and the Portage County Courthouse, to draw business to Ravenna. She also believes it is important to network with other cities.

“From going door to door and talking to people, we all want the same things,” she said. “There’s nobody out there to go and get it for Ravenna. ... We can’t expect things to just come here. We have to go after it.”

Kenneth Roach

Roach is a computer consultant who is studying for a master’s degree in technology. He said his volunteer positions with the Boys and Girls Club of Ravenna and the Ravenna Jaycees, plus his experience owning a business, would help him be a better councilman.

He said he believes the city needs an individual or agency to help promote economic development.

“The city needs to keep (its) priorities straight and concentrate on job growth in Ravenna,” he said. “With the economic times like they are, my biggest goal would be enticing various types of new businesses into Ravenna. Service industry, high tech and white collar jobs are what the city should be focusing on. This would increase the city’s economic development base. I also feel our citizens are way overtaxed. If my first goal is realized, city taxes should not go up. So keeping taxes down is my second goal.”

Ward 1

Steve Bailey

In Ward 1, Bailey has served four years on council, and is seeking his second term. He said he hasn’t missed a meeting in four years and helped work to bring Valu King to the city.

He said his goal is “to work to bring business into the town, bring in tax dollars, and watch how you spend it.”

“We’d have to see who would want to come here,” he said. “Anything that has come to town mostly came on its own.”

Sharon Spencer

Spencer spent 37 years working at the Portage County Board of Elections, and said her time there taught her to handle problems for residents, something she said she would do as a council member.

She said she would work to keep business in town, and also to be a representative that people could put their trust in.

“I will work hard to make Ward 1, my home as well as theirs, a place to be proud of,” she said.