Two in race for mayor of Dunkirk

Dunkirk has not re-elected a mayor in more than three decades.

The incumbent would like to break that trend. His challenger is hoping to keep it going.

Incumbent Democrat Jack Robbins is seeking a second term as mayor of Dunkirk while Republican Jay Miller is trying to oust him from that seat.

Robbins is a retired union laborer who served two terms on Dunkirk City Council before defeating incumbent Republican Gene Ritter in the 2019 general election. He previously served as health and safety officer for six years and zoning administrator for four years.

Miller grew up in Dunkirk before serving 20 years in the U.S. Air Force. He then lived in St. Louis before moving back to his hometown. He worked as a call center manager and is now retired. He defeated Alden Glessner in the GOP primary in May.

Dunkirk has had six consecutive one-term mayors. The last to win a bid for re-election was Grant Fager in 1991, when he was unopposed.

Miller indicated his feeling is that attracting new industry is the most important issue facing Dunkirk. He said he would be active in trying to attract industry by working with the governor and state officials in order to put the city on their radar and would utilize incentives such as tax breaks.

He said bringing more industry to Dunkirk is the key to making progress across a wide range of areas.

“My biggest thing is about bringing jobs back so our kids and grandkids have a place to go to work,” he said. “After that, I think a lot of the other issues will start to fix themselves. We’ll get businesses downtown because people will have money to spend.”

Robbins focused his attention on serving the residents of Dunkirk and making them happy. That includes improving the city’s infrastructure, downtown area, parks and trails, he said.

“And the biggest thing for Dunkirk, and I can’t push it enough, is your community center,” he said. “You’ve got to have that community center doing activities and doing different things and you’ve got to be behind them. That community center, a 36-acre park and that swimming pool is a big draw for Dunkirk.”

Discussing downtown revitalization, Robbins said the process is already underway. He pointed to various investments being made including the Weaver Building and former pet store being renovated, MJS Mortuaries constructing a new facility, AgBest Country Mart building a new store and Glass Capital Chrysler expanding.

Miller said the downtown all comes back to bringing in industry. He said he feels making downtown look pretty isn’t going to building Dunkirk back up if no one has money to spend.

Addressing other issues, Miller said he would like to improve the city’s streets.

He added that any water, gas or sewer line replacements should be done before or in conjunction with paving. He added that he would like to replace sidewalks at the same time streets are being paved.

When asking for the voters of Dunkirk to choose him, Miller noted his experience in the U.S. Air Force and business world and a desire to make his city better.

“I’m a hometown boy. I grew up here,” he said, promising to be a one-term mayor if he can’t deliver on his promises. “I went off to the military for 30 years. I’ve served in the military. I’ve worked for Fortune 500 companies. I have the knowledge. And I’m not a politician. I’m somebody that wants to see my town survive. And I’m going to be there to work for them. My life has been spent in service. This is just another way for me to serve my community.”

In addition to the growth in the downtown area, Robbins said he is working on a potential housing project on the south side of the city where utilities are already available. As part of the city’s five-year utility plan, he said fire hydrants will be replaced and water lines that are currently dead ends need to be looped. He added that the fire hydrant system needs to be extended from Highland Avenue south to the industrial park property so that the city will have the infrastructure in place in order to be able to attract new industry.

Robbins focused his attention on his record as mayor, saying he plans to continue to build on what has been accomplished in his first term.

“Don’t look at me telling you what I’m going to do, look at what I already did,” said Robbins. “Our streets are all paved — 17 in the last three years. We’ve gotten six community crossings in a row to fix our streets. Railroad crossings are new. All new LED streetlights in town. All that stuff takes time. And I’m not going to tell you I’m going to do that, it’s already done. Our downtown businesses are lit up, they’re thriving. Our small business are coming back. I’m not telling you what I’m going to do. Look at what I did.”