Three vying to be Marion’s mayor

MARION - Three candidates are vying to be mayor after incumbent Snooks Bouska said he won't seek re-election after his four-year term.

With Bouska and another council member often serving as dissenting voices on city spending, the next mayor could change the dynamics of the seven-member City Council.

Thursday was the deadline for candidates to file to run in the Nov. 3 city election.

Council members Joe Spinks, Ward 2, and Nicolas AbouAssaly, Ward 4, as well as former Mayor John Nieland, who served from 2007 to 2011, are seeking to be mayor.

One of the biggest issues for voters this election cycle is how candidates feel about a proposed library expansion.

The initiative by the Marion Library Board of Trustees would tear down the library and build a new one with retail and residential components, a plan that has elicited questions some council members and the public.

Spinks, who has served on the council eight years, has expressed support for the project and says public concerns probably result from misunderstanding.

'I'm for economic development, which is what that project really is,” he said.

Nieland said he would address the city's debt, which is currently at about $56.6 million.

'The biggest issue is money,” he said.

He believes the public doesn't have enough input in city purchases.

'The biggest problem I have is when the city decides to spend multimillions of dollars on a project - they ought to own that project enough to go to the (public) and say, take a look at it,' ” he said. 'The city should have a bigger voice.”

AbouAssaly said the city needs 'real leadership” to keep it moving in the right direction.

'One thing that concerns me, there seems to be some division or friction in the community over the direction the city is going in,” he said. 'I think we need leadership to bring people together, to work together, to promote cohesion in the community.”

Both AbouAssaly and Spinks said they would remain in their council seats if they lose the mayoral election.

Also running:

' At-large incumbent Paul Draper is unopposed.

' Incumbent Kim Etzel is running against Dwight Hogan in Ward 1.

' In Ward 3, incumbent Cody Crawford isn't seeking re-election. Kay Lammers and Will Brandt will compete for the seat.