Candidate Q&As 2023: Randy Ervin for Mayor of Newton

Oct. 30—Name: Randy Ervin

Age: 62

Occupation: Retired

Elected offices held: Newton City Council

Office seeking: Mayor

1. Introduce/Reintroduce yourself to voters and explain why you are running.

My name is Randy Ervin and I am running for Mayor of Newton. Many people in Newton know me as a coach, a leader, a grandpa, a dad, an uncle, a friend, a brother, a church leader and a husband. Now I would like to add another title...YOUR MAYOR. I am a 1979 graduate of Newton High School and the proud father of three children (Chelsea, Jacob, Miranda) all graduates from NHS. I have been married to a wonderful spouse (Mary) for 35 years. I have sat on several boards in and around Jasper County including, United Way of Jasper County, Clearview Recovery of Prairie City, past congregational president for Our Savior Lutheran Church and currently sit on the Newton City Council. One of my roles on Newton City Council is to be mayor pro-tem. It has been an honor to represent all of Newton as an at-large representative. I have been blessed to coach Little League baseball, substitute teach in the Newton schools and help coach varsity football for the Cardinals. My main goal in retirement is to give back to this community that I grew up in.

I retired after 30 years with UPS. While at UPS I managed several operations, with strengths in setting goals, budgets and implementing actions for improvements. My last role at UPS was as the Central Plains Labor Relations Manager. In this position I handled labor disputes, negotiated union contracts and worked one-on-one to solve employee issues. Throughout my years at UPS I was referred to as "The Mayor of Newton." This was due to my pride of being from this great city. The only thing I ask of you, the voter, is to educate yourself on the people running for any public office in Newton. We have a great city in Newton and we need great leaders to support that. We need people that have demonstrated leadership, knowledge and are already working on a better future for Newton.

I appreciate this Q and A from Newton News and respectfully ask for your vote.

2. Housing continues to be a priority for Newton, a city whose population has remained relatively stagnant for several decades. How do you think the city should approach new housing?

As your mayor, housing will continue to be a priority for me and the City of Newton. This has become a serious threat to our city's growth. For example, Newton schools hired over 30 new teachers and employees for this school year. Over half of these new educators had to find residency in a different town other than Newton. This was due to the lack of essential housing opportunities in Newton. As a city council person, I have worked hand in hand with Newton Development Corp. and the City of Newton's economic development team to attract new builders to the city. We need affordable, not necessarily government assisted, housing in Newton. We need apartments, duplex-style, townhome-style and starter homes in the $150K to $200k range as a part of our portfolio going forward. If we are to entice new business and new families to come and invest in Newton, we must have adequate and affordable housing.

3. Street projects are frequent goals for the city council every year, but some people in town say more work is needed. How do you feel about the city's current processes when it comes to street repairs and replacements?

I believe the Newton city streets do need more repair. Newton has lagged behind in updating the streets. Growing up in the Aurora Heights neighborhood I am aware that most of those streets were put in place in the 1950s. These streets are at the end of their life expectancy. And that is just one section of town. As mayor I will continue to push for more street projects, such as Union Drive, as funds allow.

4. One of the goals of Newton's new comprehensive plan, Envision Newton 2042, is to make the city a compelling destination for residents and visitors. How do you think the city should go about accomplishing this goal?

Envision Newton 2042 is a very good, thought out, comprehensive plan. My concern is that it is missing action steps and action plans to support the 2042 plan. There are already plans to partner with other civic and public entities to do a study on Newton and Jasper County and a clear path to grow. Tourism as well as projects to give Newton residents more activities should be an ongoing effort by the mayor. As the leader of the group that brought PGI (Pyrotechnic Guild International) convention to Newton I was able to see first hand the obstacles and joys of putting together an international event. The PGI event was an economic boom for the city of Newton. As a result of that, I, along with others, have helped create Newton Community Events. NCE is an arm of the city that will help people bring more events to Newton.

5. Newton Police are attracting recruits and putting them through the academy, but many decide to leave for higher-paying jobs. How do you think the city gets out of its role as a pipeline? What are ways the city can retain officers?

The retention of police officers is an ongoing concern. The city is currently negotiating a new contract with the police and its union. Hopefully this contract will include retention and compensation packages to keep our NPD staffed.

6. Council goals from 2022-2024 and the $1.6 million park bond passed by voters show an increased focus on city parks. How do you think the council should handle its parks system and the amenities that come with them?

First of all, I would like to say thank you to the citizens of Newton that voted to pass the referendum. The golf course clubhouse is an embarrassment to the city. In the four years since I have been on the city council, I have watched the golf course go from being a cost to the city to being an asset to the budget. Some people don't think things like golf courses, libraries, dog parks, municipal pools and pickleball courts are important to the city. These are all amenities that our city has to offer that most cities our size do not. We want to bring new businesses and families to town; I believe these entities help that.

7. Property taxes continue to be a concern for residents, especially after another round of increased valuations means they may have to pay more. How do you think the city should maneuver its levies and its use of property taxes?

As a member of the city council I was able to sit in on a tax review. We had a retirement age couple from northeast Newton that asked for a review of their taxes. This hearing educated me on a lot of things that the general citizens of Newton are facing. I encourage people to look at their tax documents as they come in the mail. The formula for the city seems like a simple math problem from high school. X times Y equals Z (X*Y=Z) The Z is represented by our city budget. The Y represents the new state mandated tax table. That leaves X which represents what the value of your property is. The mayor, city council and the city staff is responsible for the budget. It is up to them to set and adhere to the budget. Please remember that the city budget has to provide the city services such as fire, ambulance, police, library, etc. The city has several workshops open to the public on the budget. I encourage you to attend some of these meetings. The Y, as I stated, is the tax rate. We are still working with the state to fully understand some of the limitations they are putting on cities the size of Newton. X is determined by the Jasper County Auditor's Office. So as you can see in this, way-over-simplified equation, the one thing the city needs to concentrate on is the actual budget. As the mayor I will be involved in all budget sessions.

8. How will you keep politics out of local government?

Over my years in Newton I have been blessed to know and work with people who are Republican and Democrat but I would prefer to be called a Newtonian. Newton deserves a mayor and city council that maintains a clear focus of what is best for the citizens of Newton. The people of Newton do not want national politics in their city government. We need our citizen led government to concentrate on the things they can control to make Newton a safe and enjoyable city. We need to concentrate on things like budgets, streets, tourism and the growth of Newton.