Inside the Robert H. Jackson Center, attorney Eddie Sundquist, Chautauqua County Legislator Dave Wilfong and City Councilman Andy Liuzzo used the “Mayoral Candidate Forum” on Thursday as a platform to promote their campaigns.

Each candidate was given 15 minutes to speak before answering audience questions.

While having their own takes, each candidate seemed to be in agreement that the focus of the next administration should be bringing business back to Jamestown.

The event was organized by the Jamestown Renaissance Corp. The order of which candidates spoke was selected at random.

P-J photo by Jordan W. Patterson

One of the three candidates will replace current Mayor Sam Teresi who announced in February he would not seek a sixth term after almost 20 years in office.

Wilfong, a Republican, was given the opportunity to speak first. Wilfong won the Republican primary in June over Liuzzo, 480 to 271 votes.

“We need to change the direction of the city of Jamestown,” he began his speech which was tailored mostly toward business, specifically manufacturing.

Wilfong referenced the departure of the Naco Trucking from Jamestown, believing that more could have been done to keep the business in the city. He compared a business leaving Jamestown to a knife being stabbed in the back of the community.

“Jamestown was a place to work,” he said of how he remembered the city.

Wilfong often cited his experience as a code enforcer and as a county legislator as reasons he would be an effective mayor. While the trio of candidates addressed a wide variety of topics, Wilfong believed “money is the key” to reverse current economic trends.

“We are not ready to do business in Jamestown and that has to stop,” he said. “We’ve got to have shovel-ready sites for people to come into because the economy now is a world-wide economy.”

Sundquist, a Democrat, highlighted his return to the area and focused on his belief that Jamestown can be a “city for the future.”

“My greatest opportunity was that I got to come back to the city of Jamestown and work for the law firm Lewis and Lewis,” he told the crowd Thursday.

The mayoral candidate most recently was defeated in the race for the Democratic nomination for the 23rd Congressional District in 2018. Following the election, Sundquist told The Post-Journal running for office would “always be on the back burner.” And in February, Sundquist received the Democratic nomination from the Jamestown Democratic Committee.

Sundquist said he believes the city needs individuals, like himself, who are willing to invest in Jamestown.

“I see those abandoned factories and I think ‘we can develop a city for the future,'” he said. “Jamestown is primed to become both a manufacturing and information technology hub.”

He discussed “retooling” and “reorganizing” city hall and the next administration to fit a more modern atmosphere. He often spoke about introducing new departments and advisory committees working in conjunction with the community to address its needs.

“Above all else, we need to market the incredible assets that this city has,” he said.

Liuzzo, who was recently nominated as the official Libertarian candidate, focused on the Jamestown time period from 1938 to 1964 when he said a third-party mayor was in office.

“I ran for city councilman two years ago because I was tired of complaining about what I saw of what is the continued decline of our city, and I wanted to see if I could make a difference,” Liuzzo said.

He noted that his campaign then was focused on listening to the concerns and needs of the community. And for his current campaign, his efforts remain the same as he will continue to listen to the community if he is elected.

“The current administration and many members of the council were not pleased that I would dare question the way that they have been running the city,” he said to the audience.

Like his counterparts, he focused on wanting to bring business back to Jamestown. He cited his experience over the last two years as councilman as reasons to vote for him on Nov. 5.

“I’m running for mayor to represent the residents and the neighborhoods that have been ignored and dismissed,” he said.