Council president being challenged

Editor’s note: This is the first in our series covering the November municipal elections, for which early voting begins Oct. 20. All coverage will be available at http://www.thecr.com through the Nov. 3 general election and can be found by clicking “Election” at the top of the website.

The lone head-to-head race for a seat on Portland city council pits a veteran against a newcomer.
Republican Bill Gibson, who currently serves as council president, is seeking his fifth term in office while Democratic challenger Dave Cramer is on the ballot for the first time. They are squaring off for the District 1 seat, which represents the northwest side of the city.
Gibson, 216 W. McNeil St., is retired and has served as council president for six years. In that capacity he has also been a member of the Portland Board of Works, the Jay County Solid Waste Management District Board and several other groups.
Cramer, who is retired from Portland Forge, is a U.S. Army veteran. He is president of Portland Breakfast Optimist club and has been involved in a variety of civic organizations.
The candidates were asked to respond to a questionnaire from The Commercial Review. Their answers follow.
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Flooding continued to be a major concern this summer with downtown Portland under water on three different occasions. As a council member, how would you approach finding a solution to this problem.
Cramer: Not being an expert, I would meet with the Army Corps of Engineers and any Indiana state engineers who would be involved in this type of project, listen to their advice and then make a judgment.
Gibson: We have been working with two engineers to shut off catch basins that run through downtown and remove them from Millers Branch. They need to be run south and a lift station put in to keep water from coming back into town. We need to divert some of the water north of Portland out of Millers Branch.
Ditches need roots cleaned out. On North and Race streets we have 24-inch tiles running into one 18-inch tile. We need to install a 30-to-36-inch tile to run the surface water out of the river. This should eliminate most of the flooding in the west end of town.
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The Portland Water Park project is nearing completion with a grand opening planned for 2016. What are your thoughts about the project? Is it good for Portland?
Cramer: This is going to be great for Portland. The one thing that is a disadvantage is school starting early in August, taking away from a lot of open days.
Gibson: Yes, it is good for Portland. I think it would have been better if it had been deeper for diving boards.
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What do you see as the other key issues facing Portland and how would you address them?
Cramer: Lack of good paying jobs. Meet and encourage businesses to discuss the advantages of being in Portland. Show them all of the assets that the city offers.
Gibson: The sewage plant needs considerable work. We need new water mains. Most in the city are over 100 years old. We also need to give downtown business owners more of an incentive to improve storefronts.
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What makes you the best candidate for the position?
Cramer: Proven leadership skills. I am past president of Friends of the Limberlost, president of Portland Breakfast Optimist Club (second term), a U.S. Army veteran, sergeant at arms of Portland American Legion’s honor guard, past boys’ club director for about 15 years and a small group leader at The Rock church. And I have coach youth sports for over 40 years.
Gibson: Experience.