432.

Good evening and welcome to the University of Southern Indiana's Performance Center.

I'm John Gibson, news manager and Morning Edition host at WNIN.

Voters in the city of Evansville are electing a new mayor, city council members and other office holders in the November 7th election.

Early voting is already underway at Central Library in downtown Evansville and will expand to other libraries next week.

This evening, the candidates for Evansville mayor will answer questions submitted by WNIN listeners and viewers and gathered by the WNIN news team.

Each candidate will have up to 60 seconds to answer each question and up to 30 seconds three but his or her opponents.

This one hour debate will begin with one minute opening statements and conclude with one minute closing statements.

The order in which the candidates appear and will respond was determined by a drawing at WNIN.

We actually do your names from a has actually a fez to be to be perfectly honest.

And as I mentioned earlier, we do ask the audience to please refrain from interrupting the debate.

And if you haven't already, please silence your phones.

And now let's meet the candidates for Evansville Mayor, Democrat Stephanie Terry, Republican Natalie Rascher and libertarian Michael Daugherty.

Thanks to all three of you for attending this evening.

We certainly appreciate your time.

The first question again, based on that drawing that we had at WNIN goes to Stephanie Terry.

Several listeners and viewers asked about public safety.

Some suggested establishing homicide, missing persons and cold case divisions within the police department.

Specifically, do you like that idea?

And generally what will you do to reduce crime and improve safety in Evansville?

60 seconds was Terry.

Sure.

Public safety is government's first priority.

It impacts us all.

My priorities for having a safer Evansville include community policing, enhancing our community policing efforts and engaging the outreach in our community so that we are partners in addressing many of the issues in our community.

Root causes is also something that we need to put emphasis on poverty, lack of affordable housing, mental health and substance abuse, addiction.

So being sure that we partner with nonprofit organizations to ensure that we are providing the supports for people to get the treatment that they need that move them from a life of crime.

I am proud to have the support of our two chief law enforcement officials in Sheriff Noah Robinson and also Chief Billy Bolin.

They believe in my leadership, and I'm thankful that I will continue to place efforts to move our city closer to a crime free environment.

We've seen homicides go down in our community this year, and it's because of the current police.

Sorry.

That's right.

And you may have noticed we skipped the opening statements that was there on my part.

I'm so sorry.

If we could begin again, Stephanie, if you don't mind.

Democrat Stephanie, Terry, your opening statement for 60 seconds said we'll get back to crime and public safety.

Thank you very much.

Well, good evening.

I'm Stephanie Terry.

I'm a lifelong resident of Evansville and a committed community champion.

I've served on your Vanderburgh County Council for the last decade, also for the last 13 years.

Today.

I have served as the executive director of the Children's Museum of Evansville, where I've watched our youngest citizens play, learn and bond with their families.

It's been the highlight of my professional career, but I'm ready to take my leadership to another level as your next mayor.

This summer, I spent time listening to the residents of Evansville.

I heard concerns about crime, housing, education, rising costs and mental health.

It's clear we have some work to do.

And while I published my vision for Evansville called Forward Together Online, what I know is I won't change Evansville alone.

We will change Evansville together.

It's student campuses like these that inspired me to get involved with public service in the first place.

I want to be Evansville next mayor, because in my core, I care about the future of our community.

All of you.

And the next generation.

That's my passion.

That's my purpose.

And I look forward to building an even better Evansville with you.

Thank you.

It's time.

Thank you very much.

On to the opening statement now from Republican Natalie Rascher.

Thank you and good evening to everyone that's joining us here live.

And of course, to all of the viewers at home, a special thank you to USI and WNIN for hosting this debate and allowing us this opportunity to share our vision with all of you.

I'm excited that I have the opportunity to run as Evansville first female mayor.

There's a lot that we can do in our city if we do it together.

My vision has always centered around public safety, which I know we'll be getting to in a moment.

But outside of just public safety, I want to make sure that we have a strong economy, that we continue to grow and have development all throughout this city and all of our neighborhoods.

I want to make sure that we are retaining our talent, the wonderful students that are here joining us this evening.

I was a former adjunct faculty member and also an alumni of USI.

And I know that talent that's in this room would like to be able to stay here with a good paying job outside of just economic growth and development.

I would like to do much more, which I'm sure I'll have an opportunity to get to later on today.

That is in time.

Thank you very much.

All right.

And on to the opening statement now from libertarian Michael Dougherty.

Hello, I'm Michael Daugherty.

Born and raised here in Evansville.

I'm in North High School graduate.

I left Evansville to go to Purdue University, where I received my degree in electrical engineering.

After getting my degree in electrical engineering.

I worked for a company for seven years.

I rose to the level of vice president of a multimillion dollar corporation.

I went back to Purdue University, where I received my degree in a master's in business administration.

I later then took the after my four years of experience, took the professional licensing exam to become a professional licensed engineer in the state of Indiana.

I then went on to start my own technology company.

I ran that successfully.

I started it from scratch for 14 years and as CEO, I retired in 2022 to move back down.

It was a booming business, but I felt the need to come back and take care of family that was going through some health issues.

We got an error.

I don't know what.

Yes, we have an error.

Yeah, I think we have about 10 seconds.

Okay.

But what I returned was the skyrocketing crime, neglected, dangerous parks and crumbling streets.

And I realized this wasn't the Evansville that I grew up in, so I needed to do something about it.

All right, that is time.

Our time here down here is, in fact, frozen up.

A few folks come.

The folks up in the area there, if you can fix that up for us, we certainly appreciate it.

All right.

Now, this question may sound familiar.

Once again, my apologies to Stephanie.

Terry, I know you've already answered this question, so we will move on now to Natalie Rascher.

Again, the question about public safety.

Some have suggested establishing homicide, missing persons and cold case divisions within the police department.

Do you like that idea?

And generally, what would you do to reduce crime and improve safety in Evansville?

Sure.

So as I mentioned previously, public safety is going to be a top priority for my administration.

We've had an increase in our crime rates across the board, and that's happened over the last couple of years.

What we really would like to do is make sure that all of our officers have the tools and the resources that they need in order to complete their jobs.

It's not from a lack of trying that we've had these increases in crime rates.

What I believe is that mental health plays a big issue or a big part of these issues.

I believe that the fentanyl problem that we were seeing in our community is also a challenge that we all have to tackle head on.

There are a lot of opportunities to help with public safety.

I've been endorsed by the FOP and by the firefighters and I'm excited again to have this opportunity to lead our community forward because we need someone that has experience in all sectors of our community in order to move us forward.

All right.

And that is time we are having still some problems with our clock here.

I will try to monitor here and there as well and keep us all in line.

All right.

And so that would be on.

To Michael Daugherty now, your answer on the public safety question.

I love this question because it was one of the things that I've talked about for several months.

We need a homicide department.

Evansville is the 40th ranked city in the United States for violent crimes.

There are homicides that happen all the time, and we don't have a dedicated department.

So I brought this out, like I said, several months ago.

And we need to focus on our public safety.

The last I was told by the FOP, we are 22 positions short.

That's unacceptable.

Our current administration had a vote of no confidence in 2019 of our chief.

I have been the only candidate up here that stayed firm that I would make a change there.

We need a change to bring back the hard working men and women back to our police force that have left the area because they're the lowest paid.

I believe I was told now that we're like 44th lowest paid in the state and we're the third largest city.

So we have to do better.

And it starts at the top by leading by example.

And that's what I will do as your next mayor.

All right.

Thank you very much again.

We're going to look at the clock working here again.

I do believe so.

We'll be hopefully in better shape along along those lines.

All right.

Does anyone want to.

Well, we'll.

Any rebuttals that anyone has on that particular question?

I would like to look at 30 seconds.

Okay.

In terms of looking at our police department and where we rank nationally, we definitely have room to improve.

But one thing that I would like to clear up is that misnomer of that homicide department.

We have detectives that are dedicated to investigate homicide and violent crime specifically, and they all have their individual different areas that they are focusing in on.

So I want to again, just kind of clarify that piece right there.

We definitely have room for improvement.

Every organization does.

But we want to make sure that we are providing all of our individuals here in the audience and at home with accurate information.

Yes.

Stephanie.

30 seconds.

I would agree.

I mean, we are our law enforcement officials are doing a good job and there's always room for improvement.

But we know that they're faced with so many, many challenges on the streets.

And and as I said, you know, it's important that we address the root causes in our community of crime.

And until we put the necessary wraparound supports and programs around the people, they will not they will continue to go on that vicious cycle and continue to commit crime in our community.

And so we have to take care of not only the root causes, but we have to remove, you know, blighted homes and other things in our community that are magnets for crime.

Again, to help move the needle on addressing this very important issue in our community.

And that is time.

Michael Daugherty, do you have a 30 second response?

Yes, I believe the question was about a homicide department, not detectives, that investigate homicides.

Of course, we have to have our detectives investigate homicides that happen all the time in Evansville.

What those detectives do is they're split among many other duties.

They're detectives.

So we need a dedicated homicide department.

And while they you can say that.

Oh, well, they already do that.

We have no dedicated homicide department, no dedicated leads, and we have to focus on that for a better Evansville.

And that is time.

All right.

We will move on to our next question here.

And the first responder will be Natalie Rascher, at least one listener, a viewer asked about economic development and jobs, always a major issue.

As mayor, how would you generate and retain good paying jobs in the city of Evansville?

You have one minute.

So whenever we're talking about economic growth and development, first, what I like to focus on is the businesses currently here in Evansville making sure that we are being conducive to an environment and creating a conducive environment for these businesses to grow and to attract new talent.

We also want to make sure that we have good quality of life and we have proper infrastructure to attract others to come and invest in our community.

I know that we have the talent here in southern Indiana, and I know that we can provide these larger employers with the individuals that they are looking for and wanting.

But what we'll have to do from the mayor's office is make sure that we are addressing across the board the ideas of quality of life, quality of place, infrastructure and, of course, public safety.

All right.

Moving on to Michael Daugherty, Your your plan for generating and retaining good paying jobs in the city.

One of the things that I focused on is Evansville has leant itself to trying to catch the big whale.

We work with e rep to try to get those large manufacturing businesses there a thing of the past.

Evansville needs to pivot and shift and focus on small to medium businesses that are the backbone of our economy while we go out and we try to grab those large businesses.

We're allowing all these small businesses to fail within our community.

The mayor needs to support the small businesses instead of the large businesses and all the focus going there.

Any time a large corporation comes in, wants to start, they get wined and dined by our E rep and our mayor's office.

All the while, a lot of small businesses are failing, which could just need a little help with zoning, a little bump or nod to help them.

So if I'm elected your next mayor, I will focus on all businesses and give the small and medium businesses the time and effort they deserve.

All right.

And we'll move on to the economic development question to Stephanie Terry.

Your plan for generating and retaining.

Sure.

We must make it easier to start, grow and maintain a business in our community, streamline our processes.

I like to establish a blue ribbon commission to help us understand the challenges new and existing businesses have in doing business in our city.

Our goal would be simplifying processes and practices, providing incentives when possible.

We need to continue to utilize the economic, regional Partnership as known as E REP in our economic development arm of the city to help us plan and attract industries we don't have in place.

But we also have to invest in quality of place our parks, our trails and our roads.

We also need to look at expanded air service, which we know has been a challenge for some time.

When the Ohio River Crossing bridge opens, we want to be ready and in a position to garner more business and residents.

All right.

Thank you very much.

An opportunity to respond.

Natalie Rascher, would you like to respond?

Sure.

Thank you.

Whenever we're talking again about economic growth and development, something to say in terms of small businesses.

We have a small business incubator here in Evansville, and we have seen so many businesses go through this and become successful to the point that they've been either able to expand or actually invest in other similar businesses in different ways.

I think it's something that Evansville does well, is support its small businesses and we are creating an environment where they can continue to grow.

We can always do a better job with red tape.

And I just ran out of time.

All right.

Thank you very much.

We appreciate that.

Michael Daugherty, do you have a 30 second response?

Yes, I have visited the small business incubator.

I've talked to small business owners.

I've talked to people wanting to start a new business.

And a lot of the red tape that's there.

I talked to a business owner that needed to have their their parking lot paved.

They can't come up with $10,000 after they've already put all their money into starting and opening the business.

We have to streamline that process so that they have clear expectations before they start their business.

They get all the way to the end and then they're given another.

The goalpost gets extended every single time.

All right.

And that is time.

And Stephanie, Terry, do you have something you'd like to respond to?

I think we need to continue to utilize e rep and as well as the small business incubator, but also look at other nonprofit organizations and community development corporations that are investing in providing incentives in micro loans for individuals to start their businesses and also incentives for developing housing.

All right.

Thank you very much.

We'll move on to our next question, and this one will go to Michael Daugherty.

For starters, downtown Evansville still has a large vacant lot where the 420 main building was imploded nearly two years ago.

Now, there are proposals also for a new riverfront development.

Can you tell us your plans for downtown Evansville?

You know, one of the things that I really feel about is that's all the last administration has done is focused on downtown, why they have left the rest of the Evansville city go.

And while I understand that it needs to be done, we don't need to build anything new until we can afford to maintain what we have.

I've said it in every single debate.

Why are we building all these new structures?

If you've been around to our parks, you've been to our roads, you've been everywhere around the city, it's falling apart.

So while I believe something needs to be put there, I don't think government needs to have their hand in it.

Any time the government does something, it always turns out to be a problem and three times is more expensive.

So the riverfront we're working with Susaki and looking at a vision there in partnership with a lot of federal dollars.

But again, we need to look at the entire city of Evansville, not just the pet project of downtown that's been happening, that's been focused on for the last 12 years.

There's more to Evansville than downtown.

I mean, we do seem to have our clock working again.

So that will help us keep on on time here.

We appreciate that.

Onto us, Stephanie.

Terry, your response to a downtown development?

What would you like to see or not see?

Well, downtown is our economic engine, and 20% of the jobs in our city are downtown.

I think we need to continue growing the area, using self-funded benefit district ready dollars and other tools that lead to investments, that bring jobs, that bring people and that ensure we have a vibrant downtown space for entertainment and leisure activity.

We also need to acknowledge that you're right, Daughtery.

We we need to expand beyond downtown and invest in our neighborhoods.

And that's been something that's been important to me.

I would love to see neighborhood corridors all over this city that, again, are bringing commerce into our neighborhood levels, grocery stores and other small businesses on the south, east, west side of towns and towns and neighborhoods that have been underinvested in for years.

In addition to the work that we're going to continue to do downtown.

All right.

And on to Natalie Rascher now.

Your thoughts about downtown development?

Sure.

I think we've seen a lot of tremendous growth over the last 12 years or so in downtown Evansville.

This has brought a lot of economic growth and opportunity to the citizens here in our region.

But looking outside of downtown is something that I can speak to link on within my plan for Evansville.

We need to make sure that we are looking out into other neighborhoods.

I think we've done a good job with a start and Jacobsville removing blight in that area.

We've made a complete street through North Main and we're also working on a corridor on Walnut Street which heads east and west.

There's opportunities out there.

But I think reaching out to our citizens and finding out what they would like to see downtown, what they would like to see within their neighborhoods, and allowing them to be champions of these projects is going to be important for anyone that sits in this seat.

All right.

And Mr. Daugherty, would you like to respond?

30 seconds.

Yes.

I've reached out to those neighbors to ask what they want.

They want roads that they don't lose their car in when they're driving down the road.

They want parks they can take their kids to and be safe.

They want parks that don't have holes in the roof, doors rusted through that, say, high voltage.

Those are the things that the mayor needs to focus on before we live in this dream world where we can build whatever we want.

The current administration has never said no to a project that will stop with me.

All right.

And Stephanie, Terry, would you like to respond?

Quality infrastructure is critical for our growth.

If we expect immense pride in our city, attraction of new business, we have to have quality amenities, everything from world class, neighborhood parks to the smoothest streets and the best connected neighborhoods by sidewalks and bike lanes.

This will continue to be a part of what downtown is.

And I think as as the economic engine for our community, we have to continue to invest in it to bring people together and to connect our city as a whole.

All right.

And Natalie Rascher, would you like to respond?

30 seconds.

Investing in downtown is going to be imperative for our continued success.

Whenever we have businesses downtown, we bring in visitors, we bring in tourism dollars, and we bring life to the center city.

This is something that I continue to do as mayor, but I also will make a strong commitment to maintaining what we have and looking into all of the other neighborhoods.

All right.

Thank you very much.

Well, let's move on to our next question here that we received from some listeners and viewers.

Evansville population has dropped by more than 2000 people since 2020 to just below 115,000.

That's according to a world population review.

What would you do to reverse this trend and keep people here in Evansville?

And our first respondent will be Stephanie Terry.

Again, it goes back to how we invest in our place.

We know that will attract residents if we do a better job with just the basics our parks, our roads and our streets.

I think we're going to continue to see have an opportunity for growth if we are providing opportunities for developers to do to build housing and a smoother manner.

We've got to continue to again, remove the red tape again so that development can happen adequately in our in our community.

We know housing is a crisis in our in this city.

And until we address that, we won't we won't see people come back.

We've got to move restrictions around infill development and other things already as a community.

Our city is investing in community development block grants with a number of nonprofit organizations that are doing great work in this space, and we want to continue to support those efforts.

All right.

On the Natalie Rascher, what would you do as a mayor to reverse that trend and keep people in Evansville?

Sure.

So first and foremost, we want to make sure that we have a pipeline to good careers, and that starts at the high school level.

We want to make sure that individuals that are going to our ESVC schools have an opportunity to go on to university like here at USI or UE or Ivy Tech or go into the trades.

We want to make sure that we have those jobs here so that we can retain individuals then after they've received their education.

But engineering, different kinds of internship opportunities.

Looking at what we can do to impact and engage these individuals, I believe is going to be very important to keep people here.

We were ranked third by USA Today in top of remote I'm sorry, on remote work places to live.

So we have a great community that can support remote employees.

We need to figure out ways that government can partner with other industries and help support their growth as well.

In our community.

All right.

And Mr. Michael Daugherty, could you tell us what you would do to keep people from leaving Evansville?

First and foremost, it's got to be public safety.

Everything we've talked about already, public safety, Who wants to move inside the city limits?

I've talked to so many voters going door to door.

They live in the county.

They live in Warrick County.

They live in Posey County.

They don't want to come here and be listened to.

Shots fired.

Just grab a scanner, follow evidence, or watch.

Evansville is a dangerous city.

Secondly, if they're a family, look at the parks.

Why would anybody want to stay here with the the current status of our parks?

I shared a picture of Wesselman Park just the other day, and that was shared on Facebook.

They are not maintained.

Not at all.

So on top of that, once we get Evansville safe, we have a good quality of place.

We need to look at partnering with education, with EVSC, supporting that and really bringing in housing and not just driving down the road and seeing all these buildings that are torn down.

It's time for the mayor's office to push to have those buildings cleaned up and new buildings built.

An opportunity to rebut here.

Stephanie Terry, would you like to respond for 30 seconds?

Okay, Natalie Rascher, would you have anything to add?

Well, in terms of looking at of course, I would love to.

Always.

Right.

Right.

Whatever.

We're talking about all of the great things that we have in our city, I tell people first and foremost, it is the people that make Evansville so unique and so special.

If you want to start a business, you can do it here in Evansville.

If you want to start a nonprofit or join a nonprofit and make an impact on your community, you can do it here in Evansville.

Yes, we have areas of improvement.

And there are things that I believe in the mayor's office I will be able to do to help with that.

That is done getting people up to go on.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Do you have a 30 second response, Mr. Daughetry?

Talk to any of the police officers.

The firefighters?

I would say at least half of them live outside the city limits.

There's a reason for that.

The the infrastructure we have here is crumbling and we're focused on all the wrong things for quality of place in Evansville.

We're focused on legacy items, building big, shiny things downtown.

We're rebuilding downtown on top of rebuilding downtown.

We have to focus on what's going to bring people and make them feel safe living in the city.

All right.

Thank you very much.

Well, let's move on to our next question here.

Residents have seen utility utility bills soar in recent years with the Evansville area seeing the highest electricity bills in the state.

Of course, we're also seeing frequent water and sewer bill hikes.

As mayor, what will you do to ease water and sewer bills?

And will you take on CenterPoint Energy to hold the line on electricity and natural gas bills?

And first responded here would be Natalie Rascher.

Thank you.

Whenever we're looking at our water and sewer bills, there is something that the mayor can do and that starts with the consent decree that came down in 2017.

So for those of you that don't know, in 1972, the Clean Water Act was passed.

We are still not compliant with that Clean Water Act.

In 2017, we were asked to fix our water system, our sewer system, and we have done that.

We have started that work but those price increases have hit hard.

We have an opportunity to renegotiate that those terms next year.

I'm the only one on this stage that is a certified mediator and can go into that conference room and renegotiate those terms in order to help ease the impacts of all of our residents here in Evansville with utilities on the energy side.

It's a different story.

We don't have a direct impact with CenterPoint and the rates that they have, but what we can do is partner with them and make sure they understand the challenges that our residents are facing and offer weatherization programs for all of them.

Okay.

Thank you very much.

We appreciate that.

On to Michael Daugherty.

As mayor, what would you do to ease water and sewer bills?

And when you take on CenterPoint Energy to hold the line on bills?

First, their response A consent decree is not going to be discussed in a in a conference room.

It's going to be done in court with certified engineers and specialized attorneys.

So a certified mediator is not going to do anything with this consent decree.

I'm the only candidate that stood up at the IRUSC for public input against and opposed CenterPoint.

The only one, the only elected official.

The only candidate I have stood up against CenterPoint.

My opponents won't stand up against CenterPoint because Centerpoint's donated to their campaign at the SWIRCA account conference.

They were like, Oh, we need to be nice to them.

Of course we need to be nice to if they're donating to your campaign.

I have not taken any money from corporations, PACs, or lobbyists, so absolutely, I will stand up against CenterPoint and I will stand up against any corporation that just blatantly increases our rates.

Evansville pays Southern Indiana pays the highest rates in the state for utility bills.

You go over to Henderson, they pay half the kilowatt hour.

All right.

This time on do Stephanie Terry, as mayor, what would you do to ease water and sewer bills and would you take on CenterPoint Energy?

What could you do to take on CenterPoint Energy to hold the line on electricity and natural gas bills?

We know that there's 6.1 billion in assets to manage in our water and sewer utility and investments in this aging infrastructure are essential to enhance our water quality and to support public health.

We can expand our bill relief program, but we also can renegotiate the terms of our agreement through the consent decree.

And so we will do that.

But we will also seek out other federal dollars to support the aging infrastructure improvements that need to occur.

As it relates to CenterPoint.

I have said, yes, we're going to work in partnership, but I, as the mayor, will also be a voice for residents and share our concerns because I pay the same utility bills as the next resident.

And so I want to be a voice to ensure that we that, you know, CenterPoint is in a position to justify that means conversation and a dialog around why these rate these rates need to go up and be able to convey that message to the residents of this community.

But I'll also prioritize energy efficiency measures within our municipality as well as out seek out additional funds to help support those most in need.

All right.

A 30 second rebuttal.

Natalie Rascher, what are your thoughts on what you've heard here?

Yes, thank you.

I think it's clear that we need someone that is going to be level headed whenever they're walking into a conference room and they're discussing all of these issues that we have here in Evansville.

Whenever we're looking at these rates with CenterPoint or with Evansville water and Sewer, we need to make sure that rather than stomping our foot and making demands, we come to them with reasonable solutions.

It's not about a talking point.

It's about getting the job done.

All right.

Thank you very much.

And on to Michael Daugherty a 30 second rebuttal, if you like, with the EWSU.

We don't have a taxation problem.

We have a spending problem with our local government.

Whoever's idea was to make a cascading water of sewage going down the river, absolutely ridiculous.

How many millions of dollars did that cost swings there?

We don't need a pretty sewage plant for people to sit around on swings and watch the the sewage go down into the river.

We need to do better and make sure that we are spending our tax dollars wisely.

That's where your increases are coming from.

All right.

And an opportunity for Stephanie Terry to respond.

people need a people need an advocate.

And that's what I will be as your mayor on many different issues that are important to you and that will improve and enhance your quality of life.

So you can count on me to do just that.

All right.

Well, let's move on to next.

Our next question here.

One listener slash viewer asked about public transportation.

Can you tell us about your plans for the Mets bus system?

And do you have any other transportation ideas for the city of Evansville?

And this question begins with Michael Daugherty.

Yes, our Mets system is kind of in disarray.

We need to plan.

We need a vision to make sure that we have the resources to go around to our city.

I've talked to so many individuals that say we have busses that are breaking down.

We don't have the maintenance in our budget.

We sit at a bus stop because it's running behind.

One of the others is the the one for people with disabilities and elderly.

We have to make sure that we have a mayor that is fiscally responsible to make sure they plan the maintenance in the budget.

We've seen maintenance now get planned for our parks.

We've seen maintenance now get planned for the Ford Center.

We have to ensure that we have a great transportation system here in Evansville.

If we need to go look at St. Louis, Indianapolis, Louisville, and see what they're doing with their transportation, we need to find the professionals and see how to make it better.

All right.

Thank you very much.

And then the same question to Stephanie Terry.

What about public transportation in terms of metro bus system and any other transportation ideas?

Yes, we need a reliable, safe transit system in our community.

And I think one of the things that we will to do, number one, is do a better job of recruiting.

We know right now where our bus drivers are shortage.

We have a bus driver shortage and that's we don't have as the number of bus routes that we need to provide safe transportation in our community.

I think one of the things I won't do, number one, is seek out federal dollars in support to support local transportation, as well as continue to maintain partnership SWIRCA.

They're offering free rides for our seniors through the METS mobility program.

And I think it's that level of collaboration that we must continue to ensure, again, that we're able to offer the best service through our Met's met system.

All right.

Thank you very much.

On to a Natalie Rascher.

What are your plans for the Mets bus system and do you have any other transportation ideas to share?

Sure.

So partnership is going to be very important whenever we're looking at all of the different opportunities out there for our bus system or a METS system.

Essentially, we have a few busses, some are hybrid, which is very exciting.

We just added those to the fleet.

But we have hour long bus routes.

That's a long time, especially if you miss your bus.

What I would like to see is more micro transit systems put into place.

MPO is getting ready to start a pilot program with micro transit, essentially like an Uber, where you would be able to call someone would pick you up and take you somewhere within a certain geographical area.

If we're able to do that and also leverage federal dollars that are out there in partnerships with other organizations like Toyota, who is looking at investing in these micro transit programs, I believe we'll be able to help the need that is there.

All right.

Thank you very much.

30 second response, Mr. Daughetry.

There is a bus driver shortage for our EVSC school bus drivers, as well as our Mets.

One of the things you just heard from both of these candidates is I will ask for federal dollars.

I will ask for federal dollars.

That's a typical political puff in the sky.

We have to do something within our own city.

We can't just keep relying on the federal government to bail us out.

The ARPA dollars are gone.

We're not going to have inflation reduction Act money anymore.

We have to fix it internally.

We can't just beg the federal government to keep bailing us out because there's always strings attached with federal money.

All right.

And Stephanie, Terry, you like to respond, 30 seconds.

There are stipulations on federal dollars, but we should that shouldn't stop us from seeking seeking them out.

I think but in addition to that, we've got to definitely get an understanding of any of us as we step into this seat where we are as a city financially going top to bottom.

I'm doing an assessment I've seen where there's opportunity for adjustments within our budget to make sure that we are able to meet the obligations and continue to provide the best service to the residents of this community.

Thank you very much.

And Natalie Rascher, would you like to respond again, please?

So making sure that, again, we're we're looking at all of the different avenues out there is going to be important.

I believe that my experience in the private sector and then also my experience in the nonprofit sector gives me a unique perspective where I'm able to blend the idea of looking for grants, but then also partnering with other businesses and ensuring that we have dollars in the budget currently.

It's something that has to happen in government, and that's why I believe I would be able to help with these decisions.

All right.

Thank you very much.

All right.

We shall move on to our next question here.

Amidst climate change around the globe.

Listeners and viewers have asked about trees and green space, pointing to the planned Roberts Park as a place where acres of trees could be growing if more action had been taken.

The head of the Evansville Tree Advisory Board says a city's healthy tree canopy is about 40%.

And as of now, we're at about 26%.

What would you do to reduce the so-called heat island effect?

When you plant more trees, create more green space?

How would you go about that?

And we begin this round with Stephanie.

Terry and I have been supported by Green voters, Indiana.

And in Indiana, Conservation, Indiana as well, because I have an opponent as part of my plan sustainability.

I think it's important that we continue to expand and enhance our green space in our community.

That means adding on as a member of council, we're actually in conversations now about adding trees and we've done that for a number of years as a member of the Vanderburgh County Council, and I will continue to support the need for adding trees and beautifying our community.

I will also continue to support the efforts to keep Evansville beautiful, to ensure again, that we have the best environment and friendly space that goes also and leads into energy efficiency and and other means to make sure that we are decarbonizing our facilities as well.

All right.

And same question to Natalie Rascher.

What would you do to reduce the heat island effect?

Trees, green space, that type of thing.

Yes.

Our current system, the sustainability plan through the city is a good start, but we always have areas where we can improve.

One thing that we recently did as a city where we took the Old Wesselmans par three golf course and we gifted that actually to Wesselman's Nature Center and they're going to be reforesting all of that area.

So we are doing our part and we are planting those trees, but it doesn't end there.

We have to do more to make sure that we are cognizant of our environmental impact across the board.

All right.

Thank you very much.

And also, Michael Daugherty, your thoughts about the green space trees and and climate change?

Yes, I am.

And a National Arbor Day purchaser.

I purchased bundles of trees and plant them.

I had about five acres and planted about 100 trees.

Robert's park has sat vacant for ten years.

We've we've had plans to do something there.

All the while, we have this great green space and have done nothing about it.

We have a plan.

We need trees, we've got a park plan that we're going to build, a park that we can't afford to maintain.

But why on earth would we cut down trees in one of the most treasures we have here in Wesselman Woods?

Wesselman Park and put in pickleball courts?

Why are we taking away that great green spray space and those trees?

That's what the next mayor needs to look at.

What kind of plans are put in place?

Why?

Why are all these park projects getting pushed through and why are we leasing our best parks for 50 years to private organizations?

The soccer complex, tennis courts.

We need more green space and we need to quit putting in tennis courts and pickleball courts.

I thank you very much, Stephanie.

Terry, an opportunity to respond better.

A good environment is good for everyone.

And so I think it's important, you know, while we do have a plan that we maintain our climate officer that was recently appointed to the through the mayor's office and so that she would be able to pull together a coalition, a strong people that are invested in this and this topic and that it doesn't just sit on the shelf and that we really move the needle and begin to be intentional about how, again, we are going to be a more viable, environmentally friendly city.

And Natalie Rascher, an opportunity to respond.

Sure.

Again, just to clarify where the pickleball courts are going is in an open field.

So there was no destruction of trees and there's actually more trees that are being planted after that project.

But that aside, really, I think what we want to talk about is Evansville in general and sustainability and how we can do better for our environment.

Something that I've started more is electric vehicles.

And if Evansville would be able to support an electric vehicle fleet for the cars that we own, of course we don't have that fleshed out yet, nor do I have the time to explain it.

All right.

Onto Michael Daugherty, a 30 second response.

The pickleball courts may be on a green space, but the large parking lot to house these promised national pickleball Court tournaments is what's going to tear the trees down.

So, yes, there are trees that were knocked down for that project.

One of the things that I want to look at is net metering with solar panels.

That was the second that was taken away.

Center point was the very first utility in the United States to or in the state of Indiana to jump on board and reduce that and not offer that.

All right.

Thank you very much.

Let's move on to another question now.

One listener, a viewer asked about homelessness and food deserts in the city.

Latest data shows the number of homeless people slowly decreasing in the city.

We did have a DG market recently opened in Jacobsville, which was a food desert.

What will you do to continue these trends?

And this first response will be from Natalie Rascher.

So four years ago, I ran for city council in the Second Ward.

At that time, we had no grocery stores within the Second Ward.

We had one that was adjacent and one that just outside of that border.

Now with it, redistricting, technically, there's a supermarket there.

However, we do have an issue with food insecurity.

It has been highlighted by the pandemic, and it's gotten even worse with inflation.

I'm proud to say that I'm a member of the Junior League here in Evansville and the current president.

And one of our biggest projects that we've had over the last couple of years was to make sure that we were helping individuals that were suffering with food insecurity.

We've had other individuals in the community that have started nonprofits to help feed others.

We've had individuals that have started nonprofits to support homelessness.

Again, the collaboration between nonprofit, government entities and partnerships from that private and corporate setting is going to be imperative to move the needle.

All right.

And on to Michael Daugherty, your thoughts about how to decrease homelessness and food deserts in the city.

Yes, we've actually have an upcoming food insecurity candidate forum that I'm looking forward to speaking at.

We have to work with those organizations that are professionals in this space with rescue missions that is building a new facility to house women that are homeless.

And we have to look at ways to help our homeless, and that is job training, additional food pantries, affordable housing, because we can't just continue to have them staying in homeless shelters.

We have to have a plan to build them up and not leave them behind.

We don't want to be like the other cities, the larger cities that just, okay, let them live under the underpass.

We need to find out ways to build them up, to train them to help them with education and find jobs for them within our city.

We always talk about we don't have workers, we don't have workers.

If we have the ability to help them get educated and learn on the job training, we have a solution.

All right.

Well, let's move on to Stephanie.

Terry, your thoughts on homelessness and food insecurity, how you would address those issues?

Sure.

Housing is a must for everyone in our community.

And we have some great community nonprofit organizations that are already working in this space.

Number one, we need to continue to support and to ensure that they are able to expand what they are offering and providing wraparound and support for individuals that have been struggling.

There are many others that may be a paycheck away from becoming homeless.

And so we again, we want to address and be sure that we do what we can to continue to fight rising cost in our community in terms of food equity and disparities in our community.

Again, it goes back to neighborhood development and how we can expand and develop these neighborhood commons and nodes that will have bustling small grocery stores and other things, fresh fruits and vegetables that people have access to feed Evansville birthed out of the pandemic.

And that program has continued to expand even now, and so much so that we're looking at in the C K Newsom Center being able to provide a storage space for food.

There.

All right.

We'll move on now.

Natalie Rascher, would you like to respond to 30 seconds again on homelessness and food insecurity?

Well, and to expand on the insecurity and where you're headed with that, the community kitchen is going to be housed there in the c k Newsom Center.

And that wouldn't be possible unless the city provided funds to make sure that we are doing our part to help the residents again, along with contributions and interest from nonprofits and other corporate partnerships when it comes to homelessness and looking at the opportunity for individuals to receive relief.

And I'm out of time.

Again, My goodness.

The clock on the clock is merciless, isn't it?

Onto Michael Daugherty, what would you like to respond to on this issue?

Yes.

With the homelessness and affordable housing for those people that comes in multi development uses, and that's where the mayor needs to help remove red tape and the zoning laws.

It's called pro pathway to remove obstacles, zoning, landfill land use, inefficient procedures.

We create that competition which drives the cost of housing down and we can also remove the red tape for to use accessory dwelling units to where we can put additional units and not follow the setbacks to make it cost efficient for people to stay those areas.

All right.

Thank you very much.

And an opportunity.

Stephanie.

Terry, would you like to add on?

I think we have a huge opportunity with Promise Neighborhoods, which is a huge federal grant that our community was was gifted just recently.

And I think there's going to be an opportunity for us to, again, to address some of these needed issues around housing at the neighborhood level, but then also food insecurities and, you know, disparity.

And then in addition to that, I think us continuing to invest our community development block grants and really mapping out a plan again, how we can continue to support local nonprofit organizations that are doing great work already in our community and that we want to see continue.

All right.

Thank you very much.

Well, let's move on to another story, I think another question, rather.

And I think a lot of folks are familiar with the city of Evansville’s E is for everyone slogan.

It's supposed to increase diversity and inclusion in the city.

In your opinion, has it worked?

And what will you do to boost diversity and inclusion in the city of Evansville, beginning with Michael Daugherty?

Yes, I've said this multiple times.

You can walk down city hall and that's one place you will not find diversity that they've they've had this for everyone, but they have have not practiced what they preached.

We need to continue to bring in a diversity officer to help with these, to make sure that people are getting the ability to apply for these jobs.

A lot of the jobs that are coming open in the city hall and in Civic Center are internally posted.

They're not put out to the public.

So that is a divisive area that we need to make sure that we're including everyone.

The diversity officer also needs to make sure that we are interviewing all people and include everyone as an opportunity.

The the city has done good things in the private nonprofit sector, but they have not done a good representation of this in their own home in the civic center.

All right.

Thank you very much.

And on to Stephanie.

Terry, your thoughts on the E Is for Everyone campaign and how would you increase diversity and inclusion in the city?

Sure.

Join my listening sessions this summer.

Residents told me they didn't believe that E really was for them.

And so it is my commitment because I believe that diversity is a part of who I am, that I will promote an inclusive environment throughout Evansville.

I will ensure that our voices have an equitable role in planning and decision making, and I will also expand the efforts of our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council that was just established and consider hiring a diversity officer.

That will be make sure that we're intentional and about the goals and direction and that we're in.

doing simple things like having an interpreter at the Civic Center so that when our Latino community comes in, they feel welcome and they feel like they can conduct the business in a in a in a smooth manner.

So I'm going to be really committed to diversity.

Again, it is something that's very important to me, some work that I've done at the Children's Museum and ensuring that again, from top to bottom that there is equitable representation and that people feel that they have a voice and that they belong.

Thank you very much.

On to Natalie Rascher now.

Your thoughts on increasing diversity and inclusion in the city of Evansville?

Sure.

No matter your color, your creed, or your ability level, we want to make sure that you can call Evansville home and that you have a place that you belong.

This can be an opportunity for jobs.

This can mean finding a group or a tribe to surround yourself with that's like minded.

This could be having accessibility and our parks for individuals maybe see it as a barrier.

I am dedicated to the idea of diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging.

It's something that do in my day to day job.

Whenever I'm recruiting new talent to CLA, oftentimes these discussions come up.

They're questions that are presented by the candidates.

They want to know what the company is doing to be inclusive.

Those are the same ideas that I would like to bring to the city of Evansville, making sure that we are seen an inclusive city.

All right.

And 30 second rebuttal or response.

Michael Daugherty, would you like to add on?

Yes, One of the advantages I have is a third party is I get to choose the best person for appointed commissioners and boards.

When you see the the bipartisan when a Republican gets in, they really focus on all the Republicans Democrats focus on stacking with all their Democrat appointed friends.

That's going to stop with my administration.

The old good old boy country club system of let me just put you on this nice cushy board is going to stop with me.

I will be looking for the best citizens that live in the city, not in the county, and that will fill these positions.

All right, Stephanie Terry, an opportunity to respond.

I'm going to ensure that there is equitable and diverse voices at the table in my administration.

And I don't know anybody any favors.

And because I've served with integrity for the last 12 years as a member of the Vanderburgh County Council, I've worked in a professional and bipartisan manner for every for all 12 years, and that will be no different as your mayor.

All right.

Thank you very much.

And on to Natalie.

Rascher, your response or adding on to a the E is for Everyone campaign?

Sure.

So I'm a political outsider.

I haven't held elected office again.

I come from the private sector.

So those favors and those country club friends that we're going to be brought in or all of the Democrats and all of the Republicans.

That's not who I am as a leader.

I believe in an equal opportunity, especially for employment.

Whenever we're looking at city jobs and I look forward to really garnering a new Evansville where the idea everyone has a place and we can do everything.

All right.

We mentioned that merciless clock.

We've now run out of time for questions, but we will move on now to our closing statements.

We're going the same order as as we did at the at the beginning.

So a closing statement from Stephanie.

Terry, you have 60 seconds.

Sure.

Thank you again for this opportunity tonight.

There is no doubt that our city has made progress under our last two mayors.

But as we look toward the future, we will need someone who can combine wisdom and experience with creativity to take a fresh approach.

We will need someone with both leadership and management skills, and we will need someone who has taken the time to build relationships and earn the respect of the community.

As we look toward the future, regardless of party affiliation.

We will all need to work together to build a vibrant, strong community.

I appreciate your vote.

I have served and represented you well for the last 12 years, so I enjoy.

I invite you to join me in helping to move Evansville forward.

All right.

Thank you very much.

And a closing statement from Natalie Rascher.

My name is Natalie Rascher.

I'm a mom.

I'm a wife.

I'm a business person.

But I want to be your mayor.

And the reason why I want to be your mayor is because I believe I have a vision for Evansville that aligns with many of your ideas.

I believe that I have the skills necessary to lead our community forward.

It's time that the next generation steps up and takes over these leadership positions.

It's time that this generation has a voice at the table and that we continue to push Evansville forward no matter what.

I'm excited for this opportunity.

As I've mentioned earlier.

And I'm looking forward to being your next mayor.

Thank you.

All right.

Thank you.

And on to Michael Daugherty, your closing remarks.

You are both 60 seconds.

right.

Thank you very much.

And that concludes this evening's debate.

I'd like to thank all three of our candidates, Democrat Stephanie Terry, Republican Natalie Rascher and libertarian Michael Daugherty.

As we mentioned, Election Day is November 7th.

Early voting is already underway at Central Library in downtown Evansville.

It will expand to other libraries next week.

I'd like to thank everyone who has joined us here tonight at the USI Performance Center.

Thanks to everyone listening and watchingon WNIN.

I'm John Gibson.

Thank you very much.

And have a good evening.