OUR VIEW: Ward 3 has a choice to make

Residents of Fremont’s Ward 3 have a decision to make: Elect someone with experience on the city council - and the benefits that brings - or someone with no experience, but with new ideas.

Patti Emanuel-Vaughan, Sean Gitt and Chris Maki are seeking the Republican nomination for the Ward 3 seat. The winner of the primary will be unopposed in the Nov. 4 general election.

Emanuel-Vaughan served on the city council 15 years before leaving to lead this newspaper’s sesquicentennial coverage. (As a matter of full disclosure, she also has worked for the Tribune in various capacities, including a reporter.) That experience could prove valuable on a council where half of its members will have two years or less of experience come January.

Gitt and Maki both sought the office two years ago when Scott Getzschman was elected for the seat Emanuel-Vaughan held. They both have one campaign under their belts and used that experienced to sharpen their focus on the issues facing Ward 3.

Here’s a look at the candidates:

Patti Emanuel-Vaughan

As a former council member, Emanuel-Vaughan has the most knowledge about how city government works. Obviously, she has the experience of dealing with city departments, the budget and the demands of a city council member.

Emanuel-Vaughan isn’t afraid to push an issue. She would like to see the city adopt the 2000 International Property Maintenance Code, which would give the city some power to make landlords take proper care of their properties. That’s a smart place to start in addressing the condition of rental housing in Fremont.

While she favors a southeast bypass for U.S. Highway 77, Emanuel-Vaughan said that isn’t the biggest road issue facing Ward 3. She wants to see West Military Avenue’s drainage problems addressed and the road widened.

Critics will question whether she will stick with the job if elected, considering her resignation for the board earlier and her leaving the Fremont and Dodge County Convention and Tourism Bureau after about six months. While she has never fully explained leaving the bureau - she has said it wasn’t the job she expected - but there is little doubt Emanuel-Vaughan is passionate about Fremont and its future.

The question will be: How quickly can she adjust to the multiple changes on the council and in city hall? By January there will be five people on the council and a city administrator who weren’t there when she last served.

Sean Gitt

The owner of a local electric business, Gitt does have experience in dealing with city building officials. That gives him some knowledge on how city hall operates.

Gitt sees economic development as one of Fremont’s key issues, but he understand it will take more than one city council member to improve the situation.

Fremont needs affordable housing, Gitt said. He wants to work with local developers - or invite developers in from outside the area - to build homes a working family can afford. It’s an issue, he said, that can keep businesses from locating here.

Downtown Fremont could benefit from the recent trend from indoor malls to outdoor malls, Gitt said. The problem, he said, is fixing the infrastructure and buildings downtown is a huge investment. He’s on target when he suggests downtown needs to become more vibrant.

Gitt would like to see the creation of green space in the downtown area. He also would like to see a better trail system, especially to and through Fremont Lakes State Recreation Area.

As a business owner, Gitt would need to balance his work responsibilities with those of Ward 3. However, his job does put him in contact with residents on a regular basis.

Still, he would have to learn the inner workings of city government. He quickly will have to learn the realities of dealing with others on the council and in city hall.

Chris Maki

As someone who moved to Fremont only a few years ago, Maki has made it a point to pick the brains of city leaders, including a current council member and the head of the area’s economic development group.

During the past two years, he has learned more about the community’s past and has gotten a better feel about the issues it faces. Increases in crime are a concern, he said.

Maki also would like to see improvements in the downtown. Stores, he said, need to be more "hour friendly" for those who work throughout the day. He also would support eliminating the one-way streets in the area.

Fremont needs to do better in attracting business and industry. He correct when he said the community as a whole needs a higher level of educational attainment. With that, we could bring in more industry. The vicious cycle, however, is it is hard to land those businesses without having a workforce with the necessary skills.

Maki supports efforts to put teeth into ordinances that will make landlords fix and maintain their properties properly.

Much like Gitt, Maki would need to balance his work responsibilities with those of Ward 3. But he understands that issue and will work to give city business his full attention.

And, like Gitt, he would have to learn quickly while on the job. He’s taken a step in the right direction by getting to know at least one council member.