Press release from the Liz Brown for Mayor campaign:
Liz Brown: Debates and Town Hall Forums Necessary for Informed Electorate
Planning for debates and town hall forums should begin now.Liz Brown, candidate for the Republican nomination for Mayor of the City of Fort Wayne released the following statement concerning the upcoming Republican primary election and the need to begin planning and preparing for candidate debates and town hall forums:
As we enter this 2011 municipal election year, it is important that Fort Wayne voters have all the facts about the Republican candidates seeking to lead this City. The best opportunity for the Republican voters to determine which of the mayoral candidates best understands the issues and represents their interests is for us to share our views in multiple candidate forums, together. Although the exact number and identity of the candidates seeking the Republican nomination for Mayor may be unknown today, it is likely in the coming days and weeks the field of candidates will increase. However, planning and preparation for multiple debates and town hall forums should not begin after the official February filing deadline – it should begin now. I am ready and willing to begin discussing and sharing my specific plans and ideas with the voters of Fort Wayne.
Economic development is a term all politicians throw around, without ever really defining what it means to them. We need to make it as easy as possible for business to start here, expand here, and stay here. Government should not be in the business of creating jobs, but it should eliminate all obstacles that prevent businesses from doing so. We should be working with our businesses on a daily basis, not just in times of crisis.
We can eliminate the red tape encountered in the numerous permitting processes and requirements businesses encounter when opening or expanding. Government can be proactive in anticipating where the logjams are and eliminate them before we discourage business owners. Every business owner I have talked to has a horror story about doing business in the city or county. It may have been last week, or 10 years ago, but the point is, their perceptions have not changed. We must change that, so they share their good impression of how easy it is to do business in the City of Fort Wayne.
Every state and major city is concerned about their economic future and Fort Wayne, the 2nd largest city in the State of Indiana and the 72nd largest city in the United States, is no different. We need to ensure that we can maintain the level of services our citizens have come to expect while making sure that we can afford the promises we make to our employees. This requires a budgeting approach in which we scrutinize not just the cost of running city departments but whether they are providing services that are necessary and appropriate.
In order to allow the voters of Fort Wayne the chance to hear all the interested candidates articulate their ideas, plans and strategies for the City of Fort Wayne for the next four years, I ask all the candidates to join me not just in the usual debates but also in multiple town hall forums and neighborhood meetings to explore these issues and plans in depth. To the candidates who have publically made their intention of seeking the Republican nomination for Mayor known and to the candidates who will announce their candidacy in the coming days and weeks, I am ready to debate. I have been known for asking probing questions when it comes to spending taxpayers’ money, now it is time to allow the citizens of Fort Wayne the chance to also ask probing questions of all the candidates, so they are well-informed when they head to the polls in May.
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