WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – We’re continuing our series of interviews with Watertown City Council candidates ahead of next Tuesday’s primary election.
We’re asking three questions to each of the dozen candidates running for council seats.
On Thursday, we sat down with Ben Shoen and Patrick Hickey.
1. What do you think of the job the current council is doing?
“I think that there’s a lot of things that have been kicked down the road from past councils, including our water problem. We knew that in 2006. It’s come to 2023 and we have found out maybe their decisions weren’t the best decisions for the city,” said Hickey.
“The current council majority is kind of misguided. Their priorities are not on course with what the city needs to have done. Infrastructure, obviously, you’re going hear the same answer over and over. Infrastructure stuff. Stuff people need and use every day,” said Shoen.
2. What would you do differently on council?
“The ability for the city council itself to work better together would certainly be high up on my list. We need to put on the face of the professional council and council members to show the city that we really do have what’s best in their interest in mind,” said Hickey.
“Set us on a path for financial stability in the future because I see what’s coming and I don’t want to become an Ogdensburg or another city that can’t control its finances and will actually have to become bankrupt because they spent too much money and drove out their tax base. I think we’re on that path right now,” said Shoen.
3. What do you think the city’s top priority should be?
“The design completion of taking care of our water issue. I think that’s probably going to be the priority #1. We have potential revenue sources for that, I think, between the DoD grants, which I’m praying we get. It’s certainly an improvement for the Fort Drum community,” said Hickey.
“Obviously for me, its infrastructure and financial stability, and I would love to see Watertown become single-family homeowners, a place like that again. We used to be so much more, now it’s 75% apartments. I have to think it was 60-65 ten years ago. If we want good people to be here, we want to make sure they’re safe, secure, and have a reason to live here,” said Shoen.
As a city council member, Hickey voted yes for both the Thompson Park Golf Course purchase and Flynn pool reconstruction.
Shoen says he would have voted no for the golf club purchase because the price was too high and he doesn’t believe the government buying private businesses is right.
As for the Flynn pool, he says it was a bad financial decision based on the city’s current situation.
On Wednesday, we asked the same questions of candidates Doug Osborne and Michael Wratchford.
On Friday, we’ll hear from Maryellen Blevins and Cliff Lashway.
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