By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Four candidates are running for the 2nd District seat on the St. Joseph City Council.
Two will move on from the February 8th primary to the April 5th General Election, unless one receives a majority of the votes in the primary.
Aaron Armstrong, who works at Walmart, wants to see the city invest in the police department.
“Our law enforcement is short-staffed, many of which left their community to go to a neighboring city for better pay and so, we need to work to raise their wages to align those wages with other neighboring cities,” Armstrong says during his time on the KFEQ Hotline.
Armstrong sees a disconnect between the St. Joseph City Council and city residents. He vows to listen to the people.
“Our people feel very much ignored,” Armstrong claims. “Our people feel like their voices ain’t heard. I’ve been out there on the streets with a lot of them, even during the flood of south St. Joe about a couple of years back. Many of those people are like, city hall doesn’t hear us. They don’t care about us.”
Armstrong says he wants to work beside the people on raising wages, cleaning up the city, and reducing crime.
Insurance agent Taylor Crouse says the city needs to concentrate on renovating the south end corridors.
“We have a great business down there at Alabama and King Hill, Darcee’s dance school,” Crouse tells the KFEQ Hotline. “A lot of people from all over town go there. It’s a bright shining star down there. But there are also blighted properties in that area.”
Crouse says the 2nd District council member must represent the district while pursuing the best interest of the city as a whole.
“First and foremost, I’m a south sider and I want to work for my district,” Crouse says. “I want to work to make my district cooperative with the rest of the city, because it’s only going to reap benefits for my district by doing that.”
Crouse says the city has piled up too much deferred maintenance. He would like to see federal American Rescue Funds used on long-term projects.
Every candidate expressed an interest in keeping the I-229 double decker bridge.
Former city council member and businessman Ben Burtnett wants the council to preserve the double decker bridge.
“To me, for the south end to get to the north end, that’s essential to have that bridge there like it is now,” Burtnett tells the KFEQ Hotline. “And it carries about 22,000 cars a day down through there and I cannot see tearing that bridge down.”
Burtnett has served two terms on the city council, representing the old south-end district from 1994 to 1998 and as an at-large council member from 2002 to 2006.
“I’d just like to serve the city of St. Joe again,” Burtnett says. “I think outside the box and I bring my own ideas, fresh ideas to the city.”
Burtnett says his experience sets him apart from the other candidates.
Electrician Mike Bodde wants to see the city tap into the potential south St. Joseph offers by generating more business in the area.
“So we can see our families working at businesses in the south end and promoting us and expanding on what our potential is down there,” Burtnett says during his KFEQ Hotline appearance. “And there’s great potential and there’s great energy, and there’s great passion.”
This is Bodde’s first time to run for political office.
“It’s been eye-opening. There’s a learning curve. It’s a grind,” according to Bodde. “You start off this with great fire and find things along the way to keep your fire going.”
Bodde wants to see the city use zoning and grants to spur economic development in south St. Joseph.