From McKinley HS classmates to opposing Canton mayoral candidates: Sherer, DePew debate

CANTON − They were known as Bill and Scott in the 1980s at McKinley High School. Two classmates who hung out with a larger friend group that didn’t care much about each other’s political views.

On Tuesday, Bill and Scott walked onto the stage of the Canton Cultural Center Theater as William V. Sherer II and Roy Scott DePew, opposing candidates for Canton City mayor.

The high school friends, who had lost touch after leaving McKinley, embraced on stage before fielding 17 questions from a panel of media representatives and Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce members as part of the Future of Canton: 2023 Mayoral Debate.

They also complimented each other while responding to the last question of the hourlong event that was posed by IdeaStream Public Media's Andrew Meyer who asked what they admired in their opponent.

DePew, a Republican who works as a notary and transportation specialist, said he has a lot of respect for Sherer and the job he had done as the business manager for Ironworkers Local 550. Sherer, a Democrat, described DePew as a class act and commended him for running for mayor. They both pledged they would still be friends after Election Day on Nov. 7.

“I think we both have the same goals with trying to move our city forward,” Sherer said.

Canton mayoral candidates: Crime is a priority

The candidates agreed on many of the larger challenges facing the city.

They both believe that addressing Canton’s high crime rate should be a priority for the new mayor. They agreed that bringing the Police Department to full staffing is crucial to giving the department the resources it needs to reconnect with residents through community policing, as well as restoring bike and foot patrols.

“We’ve got to get our numbers up with our safety forces because our city is not going to move forward without it being safe,” said Sherer, who has been endorsed by the Canton Police Patrolmen’s Association.

DePew, who said the city’s high crime rate prompted him to run for mayor, said poverty and the other underlying reasons for crime must also be addressed.

“If we focus on bringing good paying jobs to the city, (we can) lower our poverty rate and that’s going to help reduce crime,” he said.

Both candidates pledged to work with the Stark County NAACP on the police reforms the organization sought following the death of James Williams, who was firing an AR-556 rifle into the air inside a fenced area at his southwest Canton home on New Year’s Day when he was fatally shot by a Canton police officer.

They both also acknowledged that Canton, where residents of color comprise more than a third of the population, needs to improve the relationships between people of different races.

“I believe that we as a city, as a community, need to be very colorblind and start understanding that we are a hybrid community,” DePew said. “… There’s no reason to have any type of racial outlook toward anybody because we all have to live this together. This goes back to the Second Commandment, love thy neighbor. There’s only one way off this planet and when we all end up in heaven, race, sex, age, none of that matters because we’re all going to coexist together."

Sherer, who has served as Canton council president since December 2018, said Canton Police Chief John Gabbard’s focus on community engagement will be a key to restoring race relations.

“We need to teach the kids in our city that they can run to our safety forces and not run away from them,” he said. “I know we can do a better job than what we are doing. It has to be about all of us. It doesn’t matter what part of the city that someone lives in.”

Both candidates believe the city needs to invest more money into city neighborhoods — and not into the Hall of Fame Village.

DePew believes the Village’s recent growth and financing strategies should sustain it without the need for more city funding. Sherer said he would still be open to helping the Village through tax incentives, as long as the agreements benefit both sides.

“I believe we can help them get there, but the days of us cutting them a check are over,” he said.

Where the candidates differ: Annexation, Canton Memorial Civic Center repairs

One area of contrast between the candidates came in response to a question about how they would look to strengthen the city's relationship with Stark County leaders to drive economic development.

DePew said he’s “not a big annexation person.” He believes the city has enough vacant properties that it can grow within while helping surrounding communities by extending city water and streets and including the leaders of neighboring communities in the discussions about how to grow the city to be more attractive for businesses.

Sherer, however, believes the city should take a more aggressive approach to annexation and tax-sharing agreements with neighboring entities. He noted that Canton has created a joint economic development district with Jackson Township for the property where Stark County’s first Costco was built. Under the JEDD agreement, the city and township will split the employee income tax revenue.

The candidates also differed on how they would address the aging Canton Memorial Civic Center.

Sherer, who estimated the cost to build a new civic center at $75 million to $100 million, believes the city should use federal American Rescue Plan Act funding to address the immediate concerns at the civic center, which he called the anchor of the city. He said a long-term plan is needed to address other upgrades.

“The city cannot be without a civic center,” Sherer said. “We cannot be in a position to not have a place where people can go in the case of a catastrophic event.”

DePew said he would put the funding for the civic center's replacement or repairs up for a public vote.

“When you are talking this kind of money, you leave this up to your citizens and let them decide if this is something that they want,” he said.

The debate, which was attended by roughly 150 people, was hosted by the Canton Repository, Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce and IdeaStream Public Media. A replay will be broadcast on IdeaStream’s Sound of Ideas on 89.7-FM at 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Oct. 16.

Reach Repository staff writer Kelli Weir at 330-580-8339 or kelli.weir@cantonrep.com.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Canton mayoral debate features ex-McKinley classmates DePew, Sherer