Seven candidates seek New Albany City Council at-large seats

Oct. 3—NEW ALBANY — Seven candidates are vying for at-large seats on the New Albany City Council.

Three Republicans, three Democrats and one Libertarian are running in the at-large race in November's municipal election. Voters will select three candidates to serve in these seats.

JOSH "JT" TURNER

Libertarian Josh "JT" Turner currently serves in the District 5 seat of the New Albany City Council, but he is running for the at-large seat in the upcoming election. He is also an Air Force veteran and IT engineer at Samtec.

Turner said he has a "proven track record of putting people first."

"I believe in transparency," he said. "I stream every council meeting that I can... I've written ordinances to increase accountability and transparency for the people who live here, and I'm just their champion."

He described himself as "beholden to the people and not any political party."

"We are in a situation where the duopoly, the two-party system, really comes at a cost to the people who actually live here that matter."

He said he is "dedicated to public service," and he is focused on fiscal responsibility.

"I want to make sure that everybody's tax dollars are used wisely," he said.

If re-elected, he wants to increase transparency by making public documents more easily accessible and live-streaming all council and committee meetings. His priorities also include bringing the "power back to the elected council" instead of appointed boards.

"The appointed boards are not beholden to anybody but the person that put them on those boards," Turner said. "Redevelopment is a great example. Money spent without any oversight from the council or the elected body needs to come back to the council."

STEFANIE GRIFFITH

Republican incumbent Stefanie Griffith has served at-large on the New Albany City Council since she was selected in a January caucus to fill a vacancy. She is the co-owner of Strandz Salon & Threadz Boutique in New Albany, and she has served with organizations such as SoIN Tourism, Develop New Albany and One Southern Indiana.

Griffith said she felt that "it was time to take that next step to make sure our city's moving in the right direction."

She feels that she brings a "fresh perspective."

"Not that anything's horribly going wrong, but just since I've been on council, I can see a lot of overlapping where I feel like we have a lot of waste that I think could be addressed."

Transparency is one of her main priorities, including expanding live streams and archives of public meetings.

She also wants to see more engagement with the public, including reaching out to citizens to understand what they need in their neighborhoods.

"They know where the sinkholes are," Griffith said. "They know what sidewalks haven't been replaced for how long."

Griffith also wants to focus on ways to expand homeownership in New Albany.

"I don't have an issue with rental homes, but I think we need more homeownership in New Albany. So how do we make sure that people are investing in New Albany and making this their home and helping them do that?"

JAY PAPP

Republican Jay Papp has worked for Samtec for 22 years, where he works as an IT manager and liaison to accounting and purchasing. He has served as president and treasurer on multiple boards.

He wants to "create some more transparency and accountability" in the City of New Albany.

"There are some things in city government that I think could be improved, and I would like to be a part of that," Papp said.

He said he has a "passion to help and to work with people and make this a better place." He also noted his financial background.

"So anything that's going on financially, I'll be able to understand and give advice on," Papp said.

He wants to make sure the city is "financially sound" and has plenty of money left in reserves.

Papp said he also would like to bring back "neighborhood policing."

"I've been involved in NAPD through neighborhood watch and various other programs for years," he said. "I think that when we had officers that were assigned to different parts of the cities, it made the citizens feel like they were more connected to the officers that were patrolling there."

He said if elected, he would be "available to speak or listen to what everyone has to say."

SCOTT W. WHALEN

Republican Scott W. Whalen is a mechanical engineer who serves on the Floyd County Board of Zoning Appeals. He noted his experience as a New Albany resident pushing back against the Mount Tabor Road project as the city pursued changes to the intersection at Klerner Lane.

He wants to be "more of an advocate for the residents than a politician."

"One of the things I've heard from talking to everybody when I'm out meeting everybody and knocking on doors is that there's a desperate need for responsive representation," Whalen said.

He said his experience in mechanic engineering and project management gives him a unique skill set that would be helpful to the city council.

Whalen identified transparency as his No. 1 priority, particularly increased access to information. He said he wants it to be easy for people to go online and find the information they need.

"I want it to be very easy to find out who to contact," he said.

He also wants to focus on "predictive planning" in terms of street paving.

"We need to be able to predict what our costs are going to be moving forward, which is fairly easy. We know what street was paved last, what the traffic load is on it. You can predict when you're going to have to redo it."

Whalen also wants to plan ahead for funding to replace fire trucks, police, vehicles and other equipment.

MAURY GOLDBERG

Democrat Maury Goldberg previously served five terms on the New Albany City Council for District 3, and he was a Democratic precinct committeeman for 20 years.

He is focused on bringing a different attitude and new ideas, and he will be a "voice, not an echo," he said. He also touted his experience in city government.

He said he wants to focus on ways to expedite construction projects through better communication between the city administration and utilities.

"Something has to be done in thinking about how to do projects in the city better, more efficient, faster — we need to work with the people who do these things — electric, gas, telephone and that sort of thing," Goldberg said. "We need to work with the people who do these things."

He also wants to be a "job creator" looking at "ideas for the future" and better-paying jobs. His focus includes advocating for sustainable and green energy jobs. He also feels the city needs a program to encourage entrepreneurs to establish businesses in New Albany.

He also wants to focus on supporting city departments such as police and fire so that they have the necessary resources.

Goldberg said he would set a positive tone if elected to the city council, and he wants to be a "partner, not an adversary."

"We have too many critics but not enough people saying, how can we do better," he said. "That's why I'm running."

ELAINE GUNTERMAN-MURPHY

Democrat Elaine Gunterman-Murphy has experience as a retired school principal in New Albany-Floyd County Schools, and she served one term on the NAFCS board. She also serves with the New Albany Economic Development Commission and New Albany Building Corporation.

Gunterman-Murphy said she feels called to serve people in her community, and she is willing to work with people with different perspectives than her own to solve problems in the city.

"New Albany is a great community, and there are a lot of fantastic people," she said. "And when we come together, we can come up with great things for all of us."

If elected, Gunterman-Murphy would like to continue and expand projects by the current administration, including quality-of-life projects. She also plans to work with the Homeless Coalition of Southern Indiana.

"I want to work with the Homeless Coalition and help find that White Flag Shelter place....and work with what they do with eviction prevention and street outreach just build that partnership with the Homeless Coalition to help folks who are in need of shelter."

She would also like to help the city's police officers have facilities and training to work with people with mental illness. Affordable childcare is another of her top priorities.

"We just need to make sure that quality childcare is available to folks so that they can go out and get jobs and contribute to their own well-being, but if you can't afford the childcare, then what do you do?"

DON UNRUH

Democrat Don Unruh served for more than 20 years as athletic director at New Albany High School, and after retiring, he wanted to remain involved in the community.

"I've just always loved New Albany," he said. "It's my hometown, and I wanted to be able to do something to help give back to the community. I thought this would be a good way to try to be involved in decision-making that might benefit the community even more.

Unruh said his experience with working with people as a school teacher, coach and administrator would translate to serving on city council. If elected, he would like to continue the growth he has seen under the current administration in the City of New Albany.

"There are going to be nine people who are going to have to work together, and I think that I've got a lot of experience there," he said. "I think that is one of my strengths."

"It seems like the city is moving forward," he said. "I want to be a part of that. I like the infrastructure improvement, quality of life..."

Unruh would like to work with individual neighborhoods, improve sidewalks and enhance programming in local parks "just to make it the best it can be in terms of quality of life for all of the residents."