Two are vying to replace Boggs

Portland will have a new mayor in January.

A former mayor and a Portland police dispatcher are hoping to take over that role.

The race for mayor of Portland highlights the city’s ballot as Democrat Randy Geesaman wants to reclaim the role while Jeff Westlake is seeking success in his first run for office.

They are vying to replace incumbent Republican John Boggs, who Westlake defeated in a four-way primary in May.

Westlake has worked as a Portland Police Department Dispatcher for 17 years, first as a reserve before stepping into a full-time role. He attended Jay County High School and earned his general education diploma (GED) in 1994. He is making his first run for office.

Geesaman served two terms as mayor of Portland from 2012 through 2019, losing to Boggs in his bid for a third term. He had also served as the city’s clerk-treasurer following a 33-year career in sales. The graduate of Pennville High School and Indiana University is now a teacher at Jay County Christian Academy.

In talking about the issue he feels is most important for the city, Westlake addressed issues of indecision that seem to stop things from happening. He pointed to the Bailey Building, which is now scheduled for demolition as something that has been a problem for years and has taken too long to come to a resolution.

He emphasized the need for decisiveness and making things happen.

“I want to try to go ahead and solidify answers where they have no answers that are solidified,” Westlake said. “I think there’s a lot of laws in town that have been built over the years and because the laws have been built, that’s why we do not continue on with decisions that need to be made.”

Geesaman said the city’s financial situation is the key issue moving forward. He noted that recent projects, including street paving, sidewalks and the nearly complete Meridian Street storm sewer project, have all had cost overruns.

He added that the city will need to be prepared for any potential tax changes, such as eliminating the income tax, that may be made at the state level.

“Our cash reserves, over the next couple three years, are going to dramatically go down,” said Geesaman. “These latest projects that we’ve done, look at the cost overruns we’ve had on each of those projects. It’s ate up our cash reserves. So we probably will have to pull in the reins … and be more selective on projects we are doing until we build upon those reserves …”

Addressing downtown revitalization, Geesaman said the key is for all stakeholders to come together behind a plan such as the economic development plan currently being put together by Portland Redevelopment Commission.

He noted that during his previous terms, he felt addressing flooding issues needed to be the priority before property owners would be willing to invest in downtown structures. He said more still needs to be done in that area and that he’d like to revisit expanding an existing detention pond or adding another north of the city.

For downtown revitalization, Westlake said it’s key to get building owners involved. Rather than the city taking buildings down, he suggested imposing fines, when allowed by law, on those who are not taking care of their buildings and using incentives like facade programs to help with improvements.

The candidates offered similar approaches to handling the trash and golf cart ordinances that have come up frequently in front of Portland City Council over the last couple of years.

Both said they would like to bring back city-wide clean-up days twice a year, eliminate permit fees for large items and pick up any trash that is brought to the curb. Westlake discussed the possibility of making dumpsters available at city parks on a rotating basis while Geesaman said he would like to bring back previous initiatives such as working with service groups to help clean up properties and utilizing Jay County Jail inmates to help with large-item pick-up.

“If I walk away and there’s extra trash there, I’m kind of guilty of making your property look just as bad,” said Westlake. “We can’t get down on property owners if we’re not taking away the extra trash ourselves.”

On golf carts, both said they would ask council to eliminate the $10 registration fee. (Geesaman said he’s not opposed to keeping the registration process while Westlake said he would get rid of it altogether as drivers are already required to follow the rules of the road like everyone else.)

Addressing other issues, Geesaman pointed to housing, blight elimination, his hands-on approach and having an open-door policy. He said he’d like to resume blight elimination to tear down dilapidated homes and work toward housing projects.

Westlake noted his desire to be in constant communication with the residents of Portland following the election to continue to talk with them about their concerns for the city.

“If you can listen to one person a day or a few people a day I think it’s going to be important,” he said. “It’s going to make them feel like they’ve been heard. And they might be able to start trusting the city government again. …

“I think I’m gonna give them a real answer. I think that I’m willing to sit down and listen, probably better than the last few mayors have. I’m not going to try to pull the wool over their eyes. My hope is to, if they ask me any certain question, maybe we can find the solutions together. And that’s what I want to try to do.”

Geesaman emphasized his two previous terms when asking for residents of Portland to vote for him.

“Experience counts,” he said, adding that he feels lucky to have had three years as clerk-treasurer before he stepped into the role of mayor in 2012. “Leadership and management counts. It’s just not a job for anybody to take on. …

“Somebody walking in that has zero experience, it’s going to be overwhelming. You’ve got to multi-task. You’ve got all kinds of responsibilities. …

“From day one, I can just take the reins over and run. There is no learning curve.”