*Editor’s Note: Each of the mayoral candidates on Tuesday’s ballot, with the exception of Alex Kochanowski, has sat down for an in-depth interview with City Times staff. The conversation below is a verbatim transcript of Patton’s interview. Additional candidates’ interviews will be published separately.

Tony Patton, 53, is one of six candidates with their name on the Feb. 17 mayoral primary election. Patton is a 1983 graduate of Pacelli High School and is married. He’s been on the City Council for just over three years and the Portage Co. Board of Supervisors for a total of 11 years. He serves on the Police & Fire Commission and currently chairs the city’s Finance Committee.

Facebook: Tony Patton for Mayor

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Questions by Brandi Makuski

BM: Why are you running for mayor?

TP: I just think that it’s an exciting time in the city, and we have a strong infrastructure, with East Park Commerce Center, and downtown is revitalized, and we’re expecting more growth. I think I’m set up to work with the department heads and the Council to keep moving us forward in the future. I was to continue to build on and improve what the City Council has already approved.

BM: How has downtown been revitalized?

TP: We redesigned it, it’s opened up, you can drive through it now, you’re not cut off on Main Street. Centerpoint Drive seems more open and airy. It feels more inviting.

BM: What are some of your strengths as they relate to your public service?

TP: Well, obviously I’ve got years of experience. When I first started, I was a citizen member on Telecommunications Committee and did that for a while. It was a learning experience and I got to do a seminar in Madison, which was very interesting. So I cut my teeth there, then got on the Portage County Public Service Board and did some time there.

BM: How do you think the city can improve the south side?

TP: Well, surprisingly Kwik Trip announced they would build there and that’s exactly what the south side needs. The south side, after Shopko left and Copps left, it’s like, ‘OK, we have to start paying attention to the south side’. The concrete is a mess down there, but you have to look at the construction that the DOT is going to do on Post Road, that’s really the starting point. As soon as we get our plan set up on what we’re going to do with that corridor there, then we can encourage development. Maybe Kwik Trip saw the potential there. If we set the city up for success, developers will see that.

BM: Currently the quick-fix for Business 51 is to mill it down and repave it at a cost of over $3 million.

TP: Yeah, and here’s the thing. I said, ‘Well, what can we do that doesn’t constitute a rebuilt but as a repair?’, and they said a two-inch cap would hold you 10 or 15 years. But then you’re in the same spot you are now, you have to maybe redo it. We didn’t really look into how it would affect us, Plover’s reconstruction of that road and where it meets up with our end after you cross at McDill (Pond). What basically happened is we took a buy-out for that road because we wanted more local control. But I’m not sure what all Plover did at their meetings.

BM: So where did Stevens Point go wrong in communicating it’s plans to the public for the Business 51 remodel?

TP: Hindsight is 20/20, and I think the idea of having it at a larger venue was a good idea because you had a lot of people attend. I think it was a total shock to me that people were so vocal and swearing, but the rest of the people were very interested in what happened. It was unfortunate we couldn’t stop that meeting and maybe arrange a different, smaller meeting with the people that were upset. I don’t know why the officials at AECOM were getting yelled at. But probably 90 percent of the people there were very interested. I think that’s what happened; the people that were concerned just really wanted to know what was going on.

BM: What’s your stance on the city’s debt capacity? Considering our current debt service, what should our next priority be?

TP: We can borrow more. We can change our ordinance to exceed that, but just like your personal finance how are you going to pay that back?

BM: That’s my point. How do we address it? You talk about the possibility of raising our debt limit, shouldn’t that make people awfully nervous?

TP: It should only if the city doesn’t have the means to pay it back. If we were n a situation where we had more development and we’re getting tax money, it shouldn’t be an issue. That would be an issue for the comptroller (treasurer) to let us know, but right now, if we would do something like that an increase our debt, it all depends. You have to talk to the professionals and see what their honest opinion is, whether we can handle that. It’s really not an issue of having debt, it’s an issue of being able to pay it back.

BM: But you still didn’t answer my question; how would you address our high city debt?

TP: We need to be focused on these subdivisions. We need to get land set aside set up for subdivisions and get them set up for single family homes. I think the city has a lot to offer, and if we have the capacity for people to move in we’d have some growth there, and more tax dollars to work with. We need to grow the city so people who’ve lived in the city a long time don’t have to bear the burden of all the taxes. When projects come in, we need to scale back on our incentives and stand on our foundation and say we have a good city. We need to be a little firmer and not offer an incentive every time.

BM: What are you feelings on some of the regular complaints surrounding student rental neighborhoods? OMNA (Old Main Neighborhood Association) has consistently brought up some of the rental properties, some of which are blighted, others have over-occupancy, and the inspection department is understaffed.

TP: We have to take a look at what our priorities are in the inspection department. I would analyze what we have, what their job duties are and then see if we can utilize them in a better way.

BM: But you’re on the Council; don’t you already know?

TP: Well, I’ve been told they need two more people if they want to do their job effectively. But I’ve also heard the 13th amendment, they don’t have a right to just walk in a home.

BM: The 13th amendment abolished slavery. I think you mean the 4th amendment, which prohibits unwarranted search, right?

TP: Oh, ha, yeah. I think what they have to do is get occupancy permits for X number of people in each house. The trick is, we can say, ‘Hey, you have your license for this many people and you have too many’, and to not make that license transferable. You basically are going to have to change the whole culture. I’ve been working with college students for 30 years, and it seems like in the last five years you see students wanting better apartments.

BM: Some residents lately have come before the Council and said the city needs better paying jobs. How is that the mayor’s responsibility? Should the mayor have any oversight as to what a company pays its employees?

TP: They really don’t. But I think we also have to look at what you’re going to get from a business that comes here. If we put a bunch of infrastructure into a new development, we have to look at what kind of jobs come with it. You can offer an incentive maybe if you tell them they have to bring a certain number of jobs. But what is a livable wage? I mean, I’ve always been able to make a living on whatever I earned.

BM: How would you deal with the city’s police department space problems? You sit on the Police & Fire Commission- how often have you brought this problem before the Commission, and what have you asked be done to fix it?

TP: It was always a kind of topic of discussion. We heard problems, but it was always some kind of update. There was some talk of maybe putting it in the old Mid-State building, and then maybe doing it in the library. I took a tour of the department about year ago, and I saw some of the problems, but it was always linked to, ‘Well, what’s the county doing for space needs?’, and the county hasn’t really decided what our plans are going to be. We have to start moving on it. THe city and county need ot have a serious conversation.

BM: You’re on the Police & Fire Commission, the County Board and the City Council- why haven’t you initiated something? You said you toured the department a year ago, so why didn’t you come to the City Council at that time and say there was a problem?

TP: Well, I thought, at that time, it was well known. The chief was always talking about his concerns, and I was surprised when I heard one alderman mention he didn’t know anything about it. And we’ve always been looking at space needs, so I was assuming the mayor’s office and department heads were formulating some kind of solution. Now we’ve got to have the conversation about whether the space is event worth fixing up.

BM: Anything else you’d like to talk about?

TP: Everybody is going to give their standard line about why they’re the best. To me, it’s fairly simple: spread out the tax burden. It sounds really simple, but with my business experience and personality, I can work with the City Council, the county and the department heads to foster an environment where issues can be handled quickly.