Salisbury mayoral candidates talk downtown development, crime and economics in SU forum

At the final forum of the 2023 campaign, Salisbury mayoral candidates sparred over pressing issues like housing, crime and the economics of running a growing city.

The event, held at Salisbury University, was more a forum with candidates addressing specific questions rather than clashing with their opponents — even though there were some contentious moments concerning specific endorsements.

Candidates Randy Taylor, Megan Outten and Jermichael Mitchell took to the stage at SU's Institute for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement.

Mayoral candidates share their priorities for future of Salisbury

"The Salisbury of my youth was facing challenges like struggling businesses and a lack of community pride," Outten said. "Yet what I see today is a Salisbury transformed where businesses aren't just surviving, but thriving. Families are moving here to call this city their home. I know that progress didn't happen by accident, but it came on the backs of leaders with vision. That's exactly what we need to do and keep moving forward."

Among the priorities she cited are affordable housing, opportunities for local businesses, and support for community issues.

Taylor noted that as a longtime resident of Salisbury, he was unknowingly preparing for this campaign most of his life in his dealings with members of the public and listening to their concerns.

"I'm a student of the neighborhoods of the city and I was a commercial banker for 25 years," Taylor said. "I got involved in this race because I saw things happen that didn't have broad community buy-in. It concerns me to this day even to the last session last week. I bring a special set of skills to guide Salisbury at this time."

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Mitchell highlighted involving everyone in the growth and prosperity of the city instead of specific areas only, like downtown.

"Many of our communities have been forgotten while downtown was the focus and I started running because of that," Mitchell said. "I don't have large endorsements, but they are people in our city who have worries they have been forgotten. There are people in power in the city that don't go to our schools and neighborhoods. If you ask the residents of those places who has been working with them for 20 years, they will talk about my work."

What about the first 30 days in office as Salisbury mayor?

While all candidates agreed there was a need for affordable housing and a realistic approach to mental health issues and crime, they differed greatly on what the first 30 days of their administration would entail, namely in terms of how to manage the list of developments in the construction pipeline.

"We keep the city moving forward by prioritizing the infrastructure programs we have at hand. We're going to be in the middle of our Capital Improvement Program, and I want to get to know if it's really reflecting the needs of our city," Outten said.

Amid her extensive block walking, Outten noted, she's encountered a number of residents asking for the same attention seen to downtown.

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"I would start off with a needs assessment to see what is needed. I would also take a look at the budget to see where we're wasting money. People in our communities are talking about wasting money on projects that aren't competent. That includes all the deal and tax abatements that are going to developers coming into Salisbury," Mitchell said.

Mitchell decried the development of downtown bike lanes and even cited Unity Square as a project that was pushed on the public behind closed doors.

Taylor echoed those sentiments, calling for an affordability study to avoid any more tax increases on residents.

"None of the projects being touted for downtown are affordable, and in the meantime, we've had a number of tax increases. The average person is paying 40% more than they were eight years ago. That reflects in rents and people's living costs. It all comes back to (good) financial management to get on the right path," Taylor said.

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When asked about issues related to the city budget, like its employees, all three candidates supported the right to unionize if the opportunity was to arise during their respective administrations.

All three candidates echoed each other that crime, housing and the economy were their top three priorities, and that dealing with that meant looking at current programs like the Housing First initiative to ensure they are actually affordable.

Contentious endorsements and political mudslinging

The only contentious point in the otherwise cordial forum came when Taylor and Outten addressed her endorsement by the Lower Shore Progressive Caucus.

According to Taylor, the organization sent out information calling him a "MAGA extremist," a "slumlord" and a "2020 presidential election denier." Taylor responded that he was unaware of the any social media posts that indicated his position on the presidential election but denied ever pushing "conspiracy theories."

"Both (Mr. Mitchell) and I have run a very positive campaign and have not said anything about (Ms. Outten)," Taylor said. "But I've been receiving emails from the LSPC saying things about me that are untrue. I would like to ask the (Outten) campaign to stop sending that out and offer an apology in the same manner."

Outten responded by saying she "isn't the LSPC" and has no authority over the organization.

"Nothing of the sort has come from my campaign and I have run my campaign with respect and decorum," Outten said.

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The candidates added party affiliation was not a concern in their approach to governing as they would be mayor for all of Salisbury.

Staving off rising crime in Salisbury

The increasingly important role of police amid a perceived uptick in crime had the candidates addressing how they would strengthen the relationship with the new chief of Salisbury Police, David Meienschein, as well as with other area law enforcement agencies.

"I truly think a great deal of the juvenile crime is coming from mental health issues," said Mitchell. "I think officers should take some more training on mental health and hire some social workers that need to accessible. They're trained to be aggressive to deal with someone being aggressive. We need to work with our youth and our mental health agencies."

Outten added she has already been working with the new chief in her role on the Salisbury City Council.

"It's going to take a multifaceted approach to deal with this issue. They need the resources to properly handle these situations. If this is a mental health issue, they need to arrive with the care required. There also needs to be a collaboration between the Salisbury Police Department and the Wicomico County Sheriff's office," Outten said.

Finally, Taylor added he has been working with former chief Barbara Duncan in discussing juvenile crime.

"We need to identify the problems leading them to crime and we need community policing with a social services component. It's targeting crime in a new way to free up officers for more serious calls," Taylor said.

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This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Salisbury mayoral race: Development, crime dominate candidate forum