Fiscal responsibility, transparency, the community's workforce and housing were all topics discussed at a Candidate Forum on Monday evening.
Co-sponsored by the Wayne Area Economic Development Office and the Wayne Education Association, the first part of the evening focused on the candidates in the three contested City Council races.
Nick Muir (Ward I), Mark Bloomfield (Ward IV), Jennifer Sievers (Ward II), Doug Sturm (Ward I), Reed Allen (Ward II) and Jon Haase (Ward IV).
Council member Cale Giese (Ward III) is running un-opposed.
Each of the candidates was given an opportunity to introduce themselves and talk about the strengths and needs of the community.
Following that, questions from the audiences were answered by each of the candidates.
Topics addressed in ways to make Wayne a destination, creating jobs, the need for housing, especially funding housing rehab and fiscal responsibility in city government.
Candidates taking part in the Wayne Community School Board candidate forum included Casey Hurner, Wendy Consoli, Jaime Manz and Mark Putnam. Lynn Junck, who is also a candidate for the Board of Education, was not present at the forum.
Each of these candidates also had the opportunity to introduce themselves and explain their reasons for running for the positions open.
Areas of questioning during the forum included the needs of the district, including IT and ag programs, working with businesses within the community and transparency between the board, school and community in determining what are the actual needs of the district.
All candidates for both the council seats and school board positions stressed the need for communication between them and the people they serve.
The forum was moderated by Wayne Area Economic Development Director Wes Blecke.
A complete story can be found in this week's edition of the Wayne Herald.
