Democratic Party candidate for Ward 2 touts city government knowledge
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Jason Sample said his knowledge of city government gleaned from two decades as a news reporter will help him hit the ground running if he is elected by Ward 2 residents to the City Council on Nov. 3.
Sample is the Democratic Party’s chosen representative and will oppose Republican candidate Bryan Bigelow, whom the City Council appointed and approved to represent Ward II for the remainder of Dolce's term.
"I think the most important qualification I have for a role on City Council is 20-plus years of closely following our city government, primarily as a reporter, where part of my responsibility was to cover city government, including countless city council meetings and spending countless hours talking to and interviewing past and present city officials – giving me a firm understanding of how city government functions and the challenges that come with our local budget. In addition, my current role with the CCIDA and Partnership for Economic Growth requires maintaining a collaborative partnership with our local municipalities, including those who work in city hall. These experiences allow me to firmly understand the challenges facing city government," said Sample.
Sample believes his educational background also helps him understand and navigate city government. He has a bachelor's degree in journalism from West Virginia University with a minor in political science.
Sample said that if he is elected, he would like to help the council become more proactive in addressing the various issues and challenges facing the city through increased communications with non-government partners and using those partnerships to help develop a more structured approach to appropriating the city’s limited finances. He would also like to help the council better follow the rules outlined in the city charter and, if necessary, identify ways to update and strengthen it. He would also like to see the council work more closely with the city administration to establish policies that better communicate with and respond to public concerns.
The seat left vacant by the late Dolce has both Sample and Bigelow committed to honoring his memory and working toward a better, more representative government.
"The best way either myself or Mr. Bigelow can honor Tony’s legacy is by continuing his strong approach to constituent service. Residents want a voice in City Hall and know that their concerns are being heard and if an issue comes up, they at least want someone to be immediately available to hear those concerns and work to get them resolved. Nobody did that better than Tony, and that’s reflected in his many years of being reelected by those of us who live in Ward II," said Sample.
Two hot-button topics that keep coming up, as areas of importance to voters, are the continued homeless population in Jamestown and the proposed tax-hike increase for 2027.
"I would like to see the City Council be more involved and proactive in addressing homelessness," Sample said. "In order for the council to truly understand the issue and what more the city should be doing, it needs to have direct contact with the county and our nonprofits that provide services. This can be accomplished through scheduled quarterly meetings or reports from those directly involved with homelessness and working within the city. Another way to address the issue is to establish an advisory commission made up of representatives from our human service organizations and agencies who can provide additional guidance to the city council on how the city can better address homelessness."
Regarding the proposed tax increase, Sample responded by saying, "I believe the City Council needs to work hard to bring down the tax increase and explore any and all options to do so. That can be challenging for a variety of reasons: state mandates, labor contracts, and the need to ensure appropriate public services for both our residents and businesses. But the budget process itself makes it challenging to quickly identify those options. I have suggested the city budget process should include an austerity budget – similar to what our local school districts provide. I want to be clear and say that I would not automatically support austerity measures, but I do think it provides the council with a better baseline of knowing just how much it can cut in any given year. Right now, the process is cumbersome: the council gets a budget on October 8 from the mayor, then must meet with each department head to decide what should or shouldn’t be cut as the clock ticks down to finalize it. This brings immense pressure to the council, especially when the city’s fiscal situation is so precarious. The council and public should have that information up front, the moment the mayor releases the proposed budget. The council should also be more involved with establishing budget priorities earlier in the year, so when it is time to review the budget and make cuts, it has already had the discussion on what should be left in and what should be cut.
A hallmark of Sample's platforms is greater transparency in government operations. A platform he appears ready to fight for.
"As a former reporter and member of the press, I think transparency and accountability is extremely important in local government. I want to be clear: I don’t believe there are any clandestine activities in our city government, or any direct attempt to obfuscate information from the public. But I do believe there are opportunities to be more transparent with the annual city budget and to better follow the rules in our city charter, especially during the annual budget process. While it may be more convenient to remove those rules through charter amendments, I think the council first needs to seriously consider why they were put there in the first place before making changes," he said.
For more information, visit Jason Sample for Jamestown City Council Ward 2 on Facebook.