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By LOU WILIN STAFF WRITER Findlay City Council president candidate Tom Ross said Friday he would change things at city hall: making people feel welcome there. His opponent for the Republican nomination on May 2, R. Ronald Monday, said Ross lacks the required experience.

Monday

Ross

A person who wants to be the president of council should have some prior experience as a council representative to fully understand the job, Monday said. Ross ran for the 4th Ward seat on council in 2013, losing to Tom Klein in the Republican primary election. While neither candidate directly attacked his opponent at the Hancock County Republican Partys First Friday luncheon, each outlined some themes which are likely to recur over the coming weeks. Monday portrayed himself as a knowledgeable 50-year veteran of city government. He spent over 30 years as an employee, retiring as a division commander and lieutenant for the Police Department. Monday has spent the past 19 years as a councilman, and is now chairman of councils Appropriations Committee. Ross touts himself as an outsider who is more sympathetic to citizens. He said that in conversations with over 500 Republicans so far, one theme has emerged. Most folks I talk to dont feel that the administration and council are doing everything possible to welcome their involvement in the legislative process, he said. Ive come up with a few ways to address this issue and I intend to represent our party and our community as a result of my conversations on the campaign trail, Ross said. One of Ross proposals is to stream council meetings through Facebook Live, Twitter Live and/or YouTube. This allows you the ability to not only watch councils meetings, but also participate and interact with your friends and neighbors on platforms you are already using on a daily basis, Ross said on his Facebook page. Fridays candidate forum was not a debate in the sense that it did not allow rebuttals or exchanges between candidates. Ross said a council president should have leadership skills and experience. Ross, a Realtor for American Realty Partners and a property manager, said he has both leadership skills and experience, having been elected president of the Heartland Board of Realtors. That board has over 200 members. Honestly folks, whether its a 200-member board or a 10-member (city) council, its really all about effective leadership and loyalty to the legislative process thats effective, Ross said. Monday said that as council president he would conduct meetings in an impartial manner and would be a liaison between the administration and council. The president should not enter the office with an agenda or attempt to change things that are the responsibility of the elected council members, Monday said. The current council president, Republican Jim Slough, is running for Findlays 4th Ward seat on council. Fourth Ward incumbent Tom Klein is not seeking re-election. Slough, who is unopposed in seeking the 4th Ward seat, said he gets asked a lot why he is running for what might be considered a demotion. He said his answer is simple. I see a disturbing pattern that is quite concerning to me. Over the past six months weve had two homicides, two home invasions, 35 drug overdoses and eight deaths associated with that, Slough said. I find the trend to be unacceptable for this county. Slough proposes forming a team of city, Hancock County and community representatives to fight those problems and keep citizens safe. Third Ward council candidate Dina Ostrander, a Republican, also wants to improve citizen safety by reducing the citys drug problem. She also vowed to work for Blanchard River flood reduction. Ostrander and her husband, Chris, co-chaired United Way of Hancock Countys 2016 campaign. She also is a former board member for Findlay Family YMCA. Ostrander said that as a councilwoman, she would work to bring government and the private and nonprofit sectors together to improve the community. Her opponent for the GOP nomination for the 3rd Ward seat, Michael Tanner, did not attend the forum because of a schedule conflict. Monday is the current 3rd Ward councilman. Other Republican candidates for city posts will be unopposed in the May primary. Wilin: 419-427-8413 Send an E-mail to Lou Wilin

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Republican council candidates spar at forum - The Courier