Former mayors seeking seat on council

One former mayor is hoping to be re-elected to Dunkirk City Council.

Another former mayor is trying to unseat him.

Dunkirk Democrats will have two experienced government officials to choose from as Tom Johnson and Ron Hunt vie for their party’s nomination for the at-large seat on Dunkirk City Council.

Johnson has served on Dunkirk City Council since 2005 after spending one term as mayor from 2000 through 2003. He is a retiree and a graduate of Dunkirk High School.

Hunt was mayor of Dunkirk from 2008 through 2011. He is retired.

The candidates were asked to fill out a questionnaire about election issues. Their responses follow.



Why did you decide to run for office?

Hunt: The city is spending too much money. For one, if you go by the wastewater plant at night, every light is on. They can’t turn off a light switch.

Johnson: I wanted to do things for the city. My dad always told me to be involved. This is my 19th year of city involvement.



Dunkirk recently updated its downtown revitalization plan. Based on what the city learned through that plan, what should it focus on in terms of revitalization?

Hunt: The city needs to check on someone before giving funds to them. We were to get new street lights. Never did. The conduit was put in place when I was mayor.

Johnson: Make downtown more attractive by new lighting, trees, trails. Some good will probably be done in the future, as it takes money, grants, time to get attractions in place.



As a former mayor, what did you learn from your time in office that can help you be an effective member of city council?

Hunt: Stop the unnecessary spending. When I was mayor, I couldn’t spend money on things we needed. Now they spend and spend.

Johnson: First of all, is to put politics behind and work to keep the city operating.

This is what voters expect. Some decisions are hard to make, but must be done.



What is the most important issue facing Dunkirk and how would you handle it?

Hunt: The spending and the drugs. We need to stop wasting money.

Johnson: Keeping what business we have and trying to attract more, and with less revenue coming in, working to keep budgets in line to keep departments operating.