Often times, political debates can be rather repetitive as candidates reiterate the issues and say their piece about improving the community….well, that wasn’t the case last night at the Lawrence Mayor’s Forum, held at the Sterrett Center and sponsored by the Greater Lawrence Chamber of Commerce.

While all four (yes, four) candidates for Lawrence mayor agreed the city needs its own identity apart from Indianapolis and more local control, there were some striking – and entertaining – differences in ideas.

Ron Ryker, a Vietnam War veteran who’s lived in Lawrence since 1979 and is running as an Independent, provided the comic relief, starting his “opening statement” by adamantly stating his opposition to the debate format. He claimed Moderator Abdul Hakim Shabazz (of WXNT-AM’s “Abdul in the Morning”) was a personal friend of Republican candidate Paul Ricketts and that Ricketts alone had been supplied a list of questions prior to the debate. Although Ryker asked for questions to be heralded from the standing-room-only crowd instead, the debate went on as planned. Ryker’s recurring theme throughout the debate was his desire to “keep Lawrence Lawrence.”

Perhaps the area of widest diversity was on how to resolve the ongoing fiasco with the water utility company and, ultimately, how to get lower water rates for the citizens of Lawrence. Deborah Cantwell, a Democrat elected in 2004 as Lawrence’s first female mayor, said she has worked hard on this issue for the last four years. While the city awaits rulings in two court cases related to the water utility, Cantwell says she is still open to talking with Lawrence Utilities officials to come to an acceptable agreement (although she says they have illegally taken $10 million).

“We have to stop the back-room deals,” she said.

Republican Ricketts, a former Lawrence township assessor, countered that it is Cantwell’s “lack of leadership” that has allowed this situation to fester for so long. “We’re here four years later with the same issue,” he said. “Talking is not going to solve the problem.”

Ricketts listed resolving the water issue as his top priority and declared that, if elected, he would have a resolution to bring the utility back under city control within his first 90 days in office.

Libertarian candidate Chris Ward offered a strikingly different viewpoint, asserting that running a water utility is “not a function of government.” He’d like to see the utility privatized.

By contrast, Ryker called the utility the “greatest asset the city has” and says he’s ready to “cut bait” with the water company and get it back under city control. How, exactly, does he plan to resolve this issue? “That will go away with common sense,” Ryker said.

Public safety was another hot topic among the candidates, all of whom listed crime prevention as a top priority. Cantwell, who was a firefighter in Lawrence for 13 ½ years before becoming mayor, vowed to hire two to five additional public safety officers within the first 100 days in office, as well as three to six emergency medical technicians and two dispatchers – paid for from the city’s share of the County Option Income Tax (COIT), which will be $1.5 million next year.

Ricketts said for the size of the city, Lawrence’s take of the COIT money should be more like $4 million, and he’s determined to lobby the state for our fair share. “We are about 25 officers short compared to other communities of our size,” said Ricketts, who is endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police.

Ward also said he would lobby for more COIT money, and he promised to cut the city budget by 5 percent in order to fund critical areas like public safety. Ward, who’s currently a manager at Cheeseburger in Paradise, said he’s even willing to take a pay cut himself to lower the bloated budget.

“The government needs to stop pillaging taxpayers in the name of bigger and better,” he said.

And here’s Ryker’s answer to improving public safety: “I will give guns to my animal control officers.” He also had a unique perspective on consolidation, which for the most part, all candidates oppose. However, Ryker is open to the prospect of annexing the new East and West Geist, if they so desire!

All candidates vowed to bring local control back to Lawrence and away from Indianapolis, which still has the final say on road improvements and zoning issues here. Cantwell said the current Village Center project in the Fort Harrison area is a great example of where we should be headed. Lawrence has much more control of that redevelopment effort, she said.

Ricketts said Cantwell’s administration cannot take credit for all of the positive development that is going on in Lawrence and that someone needs to provide leadership to bring in desirable businesses along Pendleton Pike.

“Sitting back and letting something happen is not leadership,” Ricketts said.

Libertarian Ward left potential voters with this befuddling vision for our city: “We are going to grow it and still shrink it at the same time,” (clarifying that he plans to grow the city in quality and shrink spending).

If you missed this debate, you missed some good entertainment. As Steve King of Geist Radio fame said: “This is the most fun I’ve had all month!”

Don’t forget to cast your vote on Nov. 6!

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