Safety, money issues face Iowa City at-large victors

With no incumbents running, the at-large Iowa City Council race promises to bring two new faces to City Hall.

Whichever two candidates are elected on Nov. 3, they will have their work cut out for them.

Public safety needs - a big issue in every election - are getting even more attention than usual with concerns about violent crime on the southeast side and downtown.

Also, the city, like many organizations and households, has serious money problems. Painful budget cuts are likely to be enacted.

Vying for the two open at-large seats is a diverse slate of four candidates. They are:

Susan Mims, 52, a financial planner with Heartland Investment Associates.

Terry Dickens, 54, co-owner of Herteen & Stocker Jewelers.

Jeff Shipley, 21, a University of Iowa student and the UI Student Government's liaison to the council.

Dan Tallon, 20, a UI student and a member of the Iowa Army National Guard.

The four advanced from the primary election earlier this month. Those results suggest Shipley and Tallon have an uphill battle to win a spot on the council.

Mims and Dickens collected 1,401 and 1,321 votes, respectively. Far back were Shipley, 275 votes, and Tallon, 202.

Yet the front-runners said they wouldn't take anything for granted and the other two said they weren't giving up.

As the campaign has progressed, questions about public safety and finances have received top billing. The two issues are in many ways intertwined, with candidates saying public safety must be given priority in the tight city budget.

Tallon has said budget cuts will be necessary but the council should look at services other than police and fire to find the savings needed in the tough economy.

“What I want to see is the budget take care of public safety first,” he said.

He and Shipley have said the police have put too much of an emphasis on underage drinking at a time when fights in the downtown area have become a bigger concern.

“Cops should be there not necessarily to write tickets but to encourage good behavior,” Shipley said.

Shipley has suggested the council look for savings by selling the city-owned parking ramps and charging for space on downtown pillars that are covered with event promotions.

Dickens said savings could come by deferring non-essential maintenance and not filling some positions as they come open. Layoffs would be a last resort, he said.

He also said the city needs to do more to attract businesses. That includes providing tax incentives.

“Eventually the taxes will be paid, but you have to have incentives for bringing them here,” he said

Mims also has stressed the need for the city to improve its image in the business community. One way to do that would be to have properties shovel-ready with infrastructure in place, she said.

Having that increased tax revenue from businesses would help save some services people hold dear, she said. Mims has said, not having served on council, she can't say exactly what should be cut, but has called for developing a strategic plan once a new city manager is hired to help guide those decisions.

“I think that it's time for some hard decisions to be made that haven't been made in the past,” she said.