Stillwater City Council candidates speak on the issues
Feb. 8—Three candidates are in the running for one open seat on the Stillwater City Council as residents head to the ballot box for early voting from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day, Feb. 14.
A fourth candidate, Weston Caswell, will appear on the ballot but is ineligible to serve on council.
Nathan Brubaker, Yuki Clarke and Tim Hardin talked roads, water, crime and homelessness with the News Press.
Brubaker campaigned on his "Keep the Main Thing, the Main Thing" slogan. He said he believes the local government's priorities should be focused on public safety, streets, utility services and economic development.
He said his door-to-door campaign has given him the opportunity to learn what the "main thing" for residents is.
"It's being able to capture what (the) concerns are and bring (residents) some satisfaction," Brubaker said. "(To) see how that fits within the budget and within what the city really needs to be."
Brubaker noted, as a longtime Stillwater resident himself, he would think about laws and ordinances he would enact from that perspective because once his term ends, he'll have to live with those laws.
"I got involved through Leadership Stillwater, and it's led me to become more involved," Brubaker said. "'I'm not running to grind any axes or change any big thing that's going wrong. I like this city, I think it's going good."
Clarke is by far the youngest candidate on the ballot at 26-years-old.
Some of her top concerns include helping younger residents find career opportunities and provide activities for them in the community. She said she will also prioritize affordable housing for young families and working to mitigate the homelessness situation in Stillwater.
"We need to focus on inviting well-paying jobs and lifting the pay we have now," Clarke said. "Otherwise, why would someone stay in Stillwater when they could easily move to Tulsa or Oklahoma City and pay similar rent?"
Another of Clarke's key topics of discussion was transportation for those who do not or cannot drive, whether for physical or financial reasons. Approximately one-fourth of Stillwater is designed to be accessible via car, but Clarke said she wants to work at making sure that all of Stillwater's transportation is safe, accessible and easy to use.
"That's always a big thing in Stillwater. It's not just the roads, it's sidewalks," Clarke said. "It's not good for the disabled who might use those to get around, but they can't because the sidewalk disappears or isn't wide enough."
Hardin's top concerns include the city's water supply, city streets and quality of life. The city draws water from Kaw Lake, and plans have been in place to get an alternative source set up but it may take a while to get that completed due to lack of funds.
"The water supply could last another 10 years," Hardin said. "Or it could go out tomorrow."
Another concern for Hardin is the quality of life in Stillwater. He said he is thrilled about Kicker's donation to Block 34, noting that the project would never have gotten of the ground without the private investment.
"I had a young man tell me, 'I'm leaving because this is not the lifestyle I want to live here. It's a great place to go to college, but I don't want to stay,'" Hardin said. "It's hard to recruit young faculty to OSU."
