Four candidates are seeking three open seats on Bradford City
Council in Tuesday’s election.

Republicans Tom Shay, Ross Neidich and Tom Riel and Democrat Bob
Onuffer are seeking positions on the council.

Shay was appointed to council and has served two full terms. He
currently oversees the fire, police and code enforcement
departments

Neidich was appointed in January 2004 to fill an unexpired term
on council. He currently oversees the parks department.

Riel and Onuffer are both seeking first terms on the board.

The men were asked to explain a major goal for a term on council
and if they felt council needed to do anything better. If so, how
could they help council better serve city residents?

Onuffer explained the voice of the people is what he believes is
important in city government, and he doesn’t think that is being
heard enough currently. Having that voice be heard is his goal, and
helping council hear it is an area where he believes he can
help.

“I go to all the (city council) meetings,” he explained.
Addressing what he observes, he said, “The mayor is very
influential. I would like to see more of a varied voice … a more
vocal council. I would like to see more participation in the
regular meeting.”

Frequently at meetings, only one or two council people will
speak up on an issue. Onuffer said he feels the public is better
represented when all the council people are involved in public
discussions.

“They are the lawmakers of the City of Bradford. They need to
communicate. And they need to be better listeners. We need to hear
more from the council. It makes for a better group, a better
blending, a better balance.”

Better communication between council and the public could help
clear up some controversial issues before they get to the heated
stages, he added.

“We’ve set back and allowed a small group of people to run our
government,” Onuffer said. “That’s not how it’s supposed to be.
Just because you are an elected official doesn’t mean you have all
the answers.

“A very essential part of the city government, with five elected
officials, is when you can function together as a group and take
the time to listen to everyone. You need to be held responsible to
every citizen. There should be no lines anywhere … whether you’ve
got two cents in your pocket or two million. I’ll represent anyone
who comes to me.”

Having been a union steward at Dresser Manufacturing for 28
years, he believes he can help with the communication problems he
sees on council.

Neidich also identified communications as an area needing
addressed, but he saw the problem lying in a different area.

“That hinges on the media,” he said. “One of the things I feel
is imperative is more factual information go out to the residents
about the issues at hand in the community.”

He said council members cannot always offer opinions on issues
because of legal concerns.

“A lot of times the public’s right to know gets caught up in the
legal system,” he said. “If there’s anything I would like to
change, it’s council’s communication with the rest of the
city.”

Riel agreed that council’s communication with Bradford’s
citizens needs to change, listing a better informed public as his
goal for council. He also has a plan for how he can bring about
some positive changes.

“In the spring (primary election), I proposed to communicate
better, they need to keep the public better informed by furnishing
the agendas to the media the night before a meeting and by
furnishing the monthly (departmental) reports to the media,” he
said.

“The public deserves to be better informed. Council has a moral
obligation to keep the public they serve better informed,” Riel
said.

“The public seldom knows what is going on until it is already a
done deal,” he said. By the time the public finds out what council
is voting on, the vote is completed and the measure has been
passed, Riel said.

“On the other hand, council must be more receptive to the
public,” he added. “If the public is better informed, they can hold
the council more accountable for their actions and for our
money.

“If elected, I will not vote in the best interest of city
government or city hall either, but I will vote for what’s in the
best interest of the people of the city of Bradford,” Riel
stressed. “They forget the people they actually represent.

“When I believe there are contentious issues to be decided, I’ll
let the public know and I’ll discuss them in an open city council
meeting,” Riel said.

Shay said he also “would really like to see the public get more
involved.”

“It’s their city. We’re just a representative of it,” Shay
explained. “I would like to hear what they have to say. More
communication would be great.”

He also addressed the fact that only a few council members tend
to speak up at meetings.

“We’re all elected officials,” he said. “We should sit there and
wait until somebody pulls our strings like puppets? If you’ve got
something to say, speak up.”

Shay, a vocal critic of the Old City Hall rehabilitation
project, explained that he frequently speaks up about his view that
there is no concrete plan for the building’s future.

“I’ve never been stopped on the street by anybody who said I was
wrong,” he added. “You’re spending all this money and you don’t
have any idea what it’s going to. We need to step back and look at
things.

“There are more projects that could be done with that money,” he
said. “They (city officials) all talk about history, I think we’d
better look out for our future.”

Keeping residents informed of what’s going on in city hall is
also a priority. Shay said that council could make use of a
resource already in place to keep city residents updated on current
business.

“We need to take advantage of the city’s Web site,” he said. “It
would be a good place to put information, projects that are being
worked on, progress reports.”

And keeping things going “on a positive note” in the city is a
goal of Shay’s. “I’d love to see some new businesses come in. And
let’s get the town cleaned up again. Make it a proud place for
people to come to.”

Neidich also felt that revitalization is an important goal,
saying he would like to see the Elm Street revitalization project
move ahead to a successful conclusion.

“We’ve spent quite a bit of time over the summer and the fall
with the people who are designing the Elm Street project,” Neidich
said. “It’s the beginning of the refurbishing of various sections
of the community.”

The project includes plans to renovate two neighborhoods within
the city – Elm Street west with a perimeter of Barbour, Bennett,
Mechanic and School streets and part of Pleasant Street and Elm
Street north with a perimeter of Bishop, Kennedy, Miller, Amm,
Forman, Boylston and Davis streets.

“Other residents, having heard of that particular project, have
asked if they could be next,” Neidich said. “This could bring about
a refurbishing of the community neighborhood by neighborhood.

“It’s not something that’s going to happen overnight,” he said.
“If we can get some headway going, hopefully we can rebuild a lot
of infrastructure, water and sewer, that will make the area better
for another 50 or 75 years.”