Current Ward 4 representative, Republican Joe Paterniti, will be facing Democrat Doug Scotchmer, who also happens to be the husband of former Ward 4 representative, Marie Carrubba.

Paterniti said he is looking to be reelected to his council position this year to continue the work he has been doing.

“I believe that we have some unfinished business, obviously with the city budget being a priority, but there’s also some public safety issues that I’d like to continue to work on,” Paterniti said. “But also, as a point, as a newcomer to the game two years ago, a two year term is too short for a newby. For a seasoned politician or council person they clearly understand the process; it was a good six or seven months before I felt comfortable with some of the processes.”

Additionally, Paterniti said he felt he had a lot to bring to the table from a private sector perspective and his connections there.

Joe Paterniti, current Ward 4 representative, is looking to be reelected to city council. Submitted photo

For Scotchmer, the decision to run came after working as an election inspector for the last few years, and because he feels voting is very important. He said he wanted to make sure people in Ward 4 had a choice.

“I’ve been very fortunate because when I worked with the County Mental Health Department from 1996 on we were located on the fifth floor of city hall,” Scotchmer said. “And then being married to Marie Carrubba, I’ve kind of been on the periphery of city government. I’ve helped her campaign and for the last three elections I’ve walked all over Ward 4 as I’ve done again this year, so physically I know the ward, and I’ve gotten to know people in the ward.”

Scotchmer said he wanted to bring in his experience of being around city government and his experience in working with many different groups of people such as people with disabilities through working with the Resource Center and people with mental health issues, along with the Seneca Nation of Indians, along with a Black organization in the Deep South and a farmworker organization. This, he said, he hopes will allow him to bring in a different perspective when looking at problems and provide different types of input.

Paterniti has been a lifelong city resident, and Scotchmer has lived in the city for the past 42 years. Scotchmer worked for 30 years as a Mental Health counselor, and on his retirement he said his supervisor said he approached everything with kindness and was one of the most flexible people to work with, and he said that is what he hopes to bring to city council if elected. He also plans to be responsive and work hard to get back to people and to be the link between residents and the city government, along with doing his best to use an informed approach to problems.

Paterniti said he has participated in multiple city events, including the Italian American Charity Golf Association, also being the longest serving member and past chairman, helping to raise money for cancer care. Paterniti has also coached youth sports and has been a union member for over 40 years. He has worked two concurrent jobs and added that he has a large commitment to the community, and would like to attract more good-paying jobs to the city to help get the city back on its feet.

Looking at some of the city’s issues such as housing, Paterniti said he has some personal experience with these issues. While not living in one of the more degrading neighborhoods, he had a neighboring house that went dormant and was demolished, along with two other houses on the street that went up for tax auction, and one home on the street has been vacant for two years due to the owner passing away.

“I would definitely advocate for a more expeditious process to get these houses filled and obviously we have to find a way to get public safety more involved,” Paterniti said. “I know that’s hard with the police force being understaffed and consequentially getting calls all over the city, so I would advocate for more neighborhood watch programs if you could have that and possibly if it was cost effective maybe become a pilot city for cameras in stressed neighborhoods, which could curb some of the events that go on.”

In attending work sessions, Scotchmer said he has heard many people who live in some of these areas come to the city council to talk about the issues, and he said from what he heard some of the issues were just neighbors not getting along, adding that from his experience with Carrubba as a council person that he believes sometimes a council person’s job is to go to these neighborhoods and try to help ease some of the friction between neighbors. He added that there are good people in these areas, and that the condemned houses are the biggest things attracting the ongoing issues, but that he knows there are a lot of steps to tearing down houses, agreeing with Paterniti that it would be beneficial to try and find a way to speed up the process somehow. Scotchmer added that investing in neighborhoods is also important to get people to keep their houses fixed up and take pride in their neighborhoods.

Financially, while Scotchmer said he was unable to say certain areas of the budget should be cut, he said one of the most difficult parts of being a council person is balancing the needs of city employees, what the city can afford, and trying to keep taxes as low as possible.

“I think the current administration saw this was coming because earlier in the year city council voted to override the two percent tax increase, so the fact that it was higher than that was not unexpected,” Scotchmer said. “I think this is going to begin the process now that the mayor has presented the budget, the city council is going to review the budget, talk with the department heads, the employees of the city to see exactly what they need, where any further cuts could be made to bring that tax increase down some. I do know it’s probably not good to go in and use $3 million from the fund balance in order to keep the budget as balanced as possible.”

Paterniti said there are some ways that maybe some departments could enter into shared services, similar to what he has seen in the private sector to how companies approach “trimming the fat”, to make a more lean budget without cutting jobs. Like Scotchmer, he expressed he did not like seeing the fund dipped into, but that it was necessary. Additionally, he said the county has a $35 million overload and that he thought it was time for the county to help out the smaller cities to help attract jobs and younger people. Paterniti said there are ways to cut but whether or not that was the best decision for the city was the question.

Safety wise, both candidates agreed that the city is safer than others, acknowledging that the city is a hub for things like the hospital and Ice Arena, but that some of the businesses downtown are also seeing a decline in different ways. Paterniti said there are ways for people to make sure they stay safe on their own as well, but that there are some things that also need to be controlled like E-Bikes. Scotchmer said he feels safe in the city doing things like walking the dog, but that due to things like the increase in homelessness people do not feel as safe as they used to. Anything that can be done to reduce the drug issue and working in combination with the county on drug and mental health treatment and probation with the state are all things the city should be doing to help, he said.

“I just want people to have faith in this city,” Paterniti said. “I have faith in it and for that very reason I have stayed a resident in the city when I had opportunities to relocate. But, I’ve been confident in what the city has to offer, not only within the confines of the city but what we have within this county, lakes, the Reg Lenna I believe is a diamond in the rough as far as a venue … We have some hidden gems and some gems that need to be revisited, but I am confident that the city can head in the right direction. Obviously a lot of the stuff from the state is mandated and that is a trickle down effect on local small communities like us. But, I would encourage people to have faith in the people that they elect.”

Paterniti added that he hopes people see what he has done and that what he brings to the table is positive, and he encouraged everyone to go out and vote and to always call or email their council person with questions.

Overall, for Scotchmer, a main goal is to work very hard to be a responsive council person and that Carrubba also did that when she was on council, adding that this is something he also did during his working career.

“I spent most of my career working with people and helping them to improve the quality of their life and I see city council as being a continuation of that,” Scotchmer said. “Semi-jokingly I say I am retired now, so my job will be representing the people of Jamestown. After my family, that’s going to be my priority if I’m elected.”