Roman announces her re-election campaign

Jan. 23—Mayor Michelle Roman has announced she will run for re-election in November. Entering her fifth year as mayor, she's touting a record of success addressing three things that are most visible to city residents — trees, streets and parks — as well as unseen infrastructure issues that lead to sinkholes and sewer backups.

Roman was elected mayor in 2018, in a special election called after the resignation of Anne McCaffrey, and was elected again to a full (four-year) term of office in 2019.

The city Democratic Committee is endorsing Roman's candidacy.

"She works incredibly well with all the unions and crews in the city," committee chair Doug Nicholson said. "And she has a good relationship with the people in the county when it comes time to needing material or needing equipment. I think the city has been run so much better in the last three or four years with her as mayor."

In a Monday interview with the Union-Sun & Journal, Roman said she's "trying" when it comes to infrastructure.

"The only way we can move forward is if we make things more efficient and functioning for the city. Those are the things that are about the quality of life for the people here and the businesses," she said.

Infrastructure work has involved replacing water lines, addressing combined sewer overflows and the big-ticket Gulf and Water Street sewer projects. In the latter cases, Roman said, she successfully advocated for state and federal entities to complete parts of the projects that the City of Lockport could not afford.

Regarding the Gulf sewer project, "The DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) put in all of the sewer line in from the town and industrial complex, by GM, all the way to Niagara Street. That was close to a $7 million project. They needed to do the cleanup of that area, and the sewer needed to be replaced, and they wanted to do it within a certain time frame," Roman said. "I said it was not happening without them doing it. They said, 'we need it done, so we'll do it.'"

Similarly, the Water Street sewer improvement project came about when Roman asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which was in the midst of work on the Eighteenmile Creek Corridor Superfund cleanup, to use pipeline that could interconnect with the city's sewer system while they cleaned the creek bed.

"That saves us a lot of money," Roman said. "They didn't need to do this. It is extra work for them and a little extra money."

Roman, 52, also is touting her administration's commitment to increasing transparency of local government. It's a topic that came up earlier this month when departing at-large alderman Gina Pasceri claimed in her resignation letter that "the lack of transparency is alarming" at city hall and Roman encouraged a "hostile" and "bullying" work environment.

Roman said she doesn't know where her critics on the issue are coming from. Since she has been the mayor, she said, the city website and social media accounts have been improved with addition of information on accessing city services, as well as documents relating to business before the city council.

"One of the things we are going to be adding onto the city's website a financial transparency page," Roman said. "Our financial department page is already chock full of things but it's going to include bills that we pay and what line item it matches in the budget."

Throughout Roman's tenure, the Common Council has been Republican-dominated. Roman says she will work with anyone and party politics has no place in local government.

"Even with a full Democratic council, you're still not going to agree, so it doesn't really matter what party you're with," she said.

Last year, Roman supported the return of ambulance service duty to Lockport Fire Department, undoing a controversial action of the McCaffrey administration. City-run ambulance service is starting again in March.

Twelve firefighters were laid off in 2014, when the city was experiencing "fiscal stress," and an arbitrator later ruled the jobs were cut unlawfully. Roman said her administration was able to hire 12 firefighters over a three-year period, without raising the city tax rate for two years and with only a 1.3% increase this year.

The youngest of nine siblings, Roman said she remembers picking apples and potatoes to buy school clothes. Her father had a good job at General Motors, she said, but with that many children, it was tough to make ends meet. She noted that her parents were involved in the community and said to this day she still shovels snow and gardens with residents in the city.

Roman characterized her mayoralty this way:

"I'm trying to take advantage of as many opportunities as possible, to get as much as much done that is possible with as little impact to the taxpayer as possible."