5 Hagerstown City Council candidates sit for in-person interviews. Here's what they said.

What do they see as a priority for Hagerstown? Are there city services that should be expanded or reduced? How should homelessness and drug addiction be addressed? What kind of growth would they like to see? What's the best way to improve neighborhood stability?

Those were among the questions asked of five candidates for an open seat on the Hagerstown City Council during a council work session Tuesday afternoon.

The seat opened last month when former Councilwoman Tekesha Martinez was named mayor. She replaced former Mayor Emily Keller, who left the job to become special secretary for opioid response in Gov. Wes Moore's cabinet.

Previously:And then there were 5: Hagerstown City Council narrows list of applicants for vacant seat

During a closed meeting last week, the council and Martinez reviewed applications from 18 people seeking the council seat and narrowed the field to five to interview in the open session Tuesday. Those individuals are Sean Flaherty, Jennifer Gardner, Stacy Lynn Michael, Matthew J. Schindler and Stephen Schutte.

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The council will convene again on the matter next Tuesday, at which time they can either conduct a second interview with the candidates or review previous interviews with them in a closed meeting. The council anticipates appointing a new member March 28.

Sean Flaherty

Flaherty, 37, is a product support analyst for Integrated Data Services, a California firm specializing in government defense contract work. A city resident of a little over a year, he is the coordinator of the Dewey Central Neighborhoods 1st group, part of a network of citizen groups that work with the city on issues in various neighborhoods.

Flaherty, who has held a number of military-related jobs, including being a legislative affairs representative for the federal Secretary of Defense, told the council he is torn between crime prevention and economic development as top priority for the city. He thinks Hagerstown is well positioned for growth, especially since newcomers will "not be paying D.C. and Baltimore prices."

He credited the city for progressive thinking, like the police department's purchase of a fleet of drones to fight crime.

"I think the city is making progress. I don't think it's being marketed enough," Flaherty said.

Flaherty said the city is blessed with natural beauty like Pangborn and City parks, believes the city could get a big economic boost if more high-paying jobs were created here and said the work of Neighborhood 1st groups to identify issues of importance to them is a good way to improve city stability.

Jennifer Gardner

Gardner, 44, owner of Platinum Paws Pet Services in Hagerstown, said her top priority as council member would be engaging with the public and local businesses to determine their needs.

She's concerned about crime too, but not necessarily at the expense of expanding the police department. Gardner believes the community needs to work on crime issues, and especially has to get at the root cause of why certain individuals are breaking the law.

In many cases, Gardner said, lawbreakers "don't feel heard and they are acting out."

If more isn't done to meet them where they are and work to make their lives better, "it's going to continue to be the same."

Gardner said she was inspired to seek the council seat because "I was blown away" over Martinez being selected the city's first Black mayor and is excited at the chance to work with the new administration.

She said she believes it's important for growing residential areas to get the services they need, that the city should try launching a business incubator downtown and that it's important to be there for people when they hit "rock bottom" due to drug addiction or homelessness.

Stacey Lynn Michael

Michael, 51, a senior project manager for EPAM, a technology support company, said her top priority if named a councilwoman would be tapping into the promise of the city's youth.

"Youth is where our future is," said Michael, who gave credit to the city for its ongoing work to build a multi-million dollar sports fieldhouse on Memorial Boulevard and praised Councilwoman Shelley McIntire's leadership with ENVY, a youth violence reduction organization.

Michael said it's important that the city has a good inventory of housing and ample services as the business sector grows and said it will be exciting to see how downtown revitalization efforts go forward. Although Michael said she looks at Frederick, Md., and asks "why don't we have more of that," she also acknowledged that Hagerstown's direction will be all its own.

Regarding drug addiction and homelessness, Michael noted the large number of nonprofit organizations that deal with those challenges but feels many don't take advantage of the help.

Matthew J. Schindler

Schindler, 39, an information technology manager for National Capital Bank in Washington, D.C., said his top priority as a council member would be tackling the number of vacant and blighted properties and generally "see things grow."

When asked if he believes there are any city services that should be expanded or reduced, Schindler said it's vital to ensure the city's first responders are adequately staffed and that they have the equipment they need.

Schindler said he was inspired to try for the open council seat because he's always been active in helping the community, whether its serving on various committees and boards or coaching youth sports. He lauded Martinez and the council for their dedication to public service.

Schindler said everyone at the council table has day jobs to support their families, but he said the job of council member is "not a job to turn off," explaining that there's always a phone call from a constituent to take, or some other matter that needs to be addressed.

"There's no off button, no off the clock," Schindler said.

Stephen Schutte

Schutte, 37, an account manager for Shentel Glo Fiber, said continued business incentives offered by the city are vital to help downtown succeed. Schutte, who has been active with the Washington County Chamber of Commerce and the Washington County Free Library, said it's important to support growth, no matter what form it comes in.

Seeing an operation move into a building that's been vacant for months is a win, but the council "can't overlook those small wins," he said.

Even the temporary pop-up shops downtown, which have been popular during the holidays, "still count as growth, in my opinion," Schutte said.

And on the issue of homelessness and drug addiction, Schutte said the city must meet the suffering "where they are." If the city treats the suffering as "out of sight, out of mind," there won't be progress, he said.

To build stability in neighborhoods, Schutte said it's important to engage with people in each segment of the city and build strategies for improvement from there.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Hagerstown City Council interviews for new member in vacancy