Duties: Council's nine members pass ordinances, resolutions, orders and motions. They also control city property, approves the budget and can award economic development incentives.

Annual salary: $22,279

Term: Four years, beginning Jan. 1.

Ensley, Richardson challenge Smith in council's 1st District

No Democrat seeking the job May 5

There are no Democrats on the May 5 ballot for 1st District City Council representative, but two Republicans -- Ken Richardson and Paul Ensley -- are challenging longtime incumbent Tom Smith.

Ensley’s top priority is the protection of the Legacy fund, created through the sale of the city’s former electric utility. “I want to make sure it isn’t squandered, but spent on things that will benefit everyone,” he said – things like infrastructure, including sewer improvements that could help keep monthly bills lower. Ensley favors spending the fund’s annual growth, preserving its core assets to ensure long-term income. Mayor Tom Henry had requested $2.2 million for snow removal, but Smith and others worked to reduce the final amount.

“I’ve knocked on a lot of doors, and people don’t like how we’ve picked (recipients),“ Ensley said, singling out the $3 million Legacy grant for the University of Saint Francis’ downtown campus. Ensley said he enjoys downtown improvements, including Parkview Field, but wants to make sure the area does not consume an excessive amount of resources.

He wants to improve public safety and believes the city’s police and firefighters may be underpaid. He would promote economic development by improving the overall business climate instead of by picking “winners and losers.” Good jobs and low taxes could help keep and attract college graduates, he said.

“Things can happen organically if we just get out of the way,” he said. “I will be as careful with tax dollars as I would be if it was my money.”

Richardson, meanwhile, remembers how his grandfather would hang rubber bands on the doorknobs of his home to remind himself that, while reusing them would save only a few pennies, he should never take prosperity for granted. He wants Fort Wayne to govern itself that way.

“Already it appears we have either spent or committed to spend the full inheritance (of the Legacy fund and, like kids in a candy store our shopping list keeps growing,” Richardson said. He would spend the interest from the fund created by the sale of the city’s electric utility on “transformation” projects, placing the rest in an endowment for future generations.

“We need to continue our forward strive but I worry that the excitement over the Legacy fund may be enticing some in our community to overestimate its buying power,” he added.

He believes the city has managed its finances relatively well, but said jobs are best created not by offering tax breaks (“just another way of picking winners and losers”) but by developing infrastructure, improving public safety, a moderate and sustainable tax rate and an educated work force. Some neighborhoods have been neglected, he said, and council should work with neighborhood associations to change that.

Richardson supports council’s decision to end collective bargaining for non-public safety workers and said he would work to ensure improvements to Maplecrest Road benefit the district. “It could be a godsend or a disaster,” he said.

As for incumbent Tom Smith, he said: “He hasn’t done a bad or remarkable job but he’s been there a long time. It’s time for fresh ideas.”

Smith, however, considers himself the council’s “idea man,” and can back up the claim. In addition to supporting the Pontiac-Wayne Trace roundabouts, he was an early champion of maintaining a strong presence at Parkview Hospital’s Randallia Drive campus and was advocating riverfront development and even a deck at Hall’s Gas House as early as 2002. He also worked to consolidate the comprehensive development plans for the city and Allen County.

“I’m so proud of Parkview,” he says.

Smith said he’s also worked to improve and protect neighborhoods and has been especially vocal in attempts to conserve the Legacy fund, questioning its proposed use for a high-speed rail study and attraction of East Coast air service. He also advocated that a supermajority of council votes be necessary to tap the fund.

Even though he voted against the original Harrison Square project, Smith said he is pleased with how Parkview Field has spurred other growth downtown. He stands by his support of efforts to end collect bargaining for most city employees but also pledged to treat workers fairly. He would like to see sidewalks in neighborhoods affected by proposed cutbacks in school busing.

There have been frustrations, however, such as the lingering presence of at least three empty “big box” stores in the district. Smith said he’s worked to find tenants without success, and it’s “the toughest challenge I’ve had . . . (but) I can run on my record.”