GROVES — The race for the Ward 2 seat on Groves City Council has incumbent Karen Theis pitted against opponent Cory Perry.

Here’s a look at the candidates:

• Karen Theis, 54, is self employed and is currently serving as the Ward 2 councilperson

 

• Question — Why are you running for reelection?

I am running for reelection because I want to see our city succeed.  Over the past several months there have been some items brought to the council’s attention

that I would like to see addressed, and a plan of action put in place.  For example: the council being more informed on our financial position, a plan that can be implemented to help improve our drainage situation and to work together to possibly help speed up our street repairs.

• Question — Has the city recovered from Tropical Storm Harvey? If not, what needs to be done and how can it be achieved?

The city is recovering from Harvey slowly but surely.  At this point the city is evaluating some of the streets, which could have possibly been damaged by Harvey, to qualify them for grant money that is available to help with those repairs.  I think utilizing the grant money will further the recovery in our city even more.

Question — What are some specific issues that need to be addressed in Groves and how would you address them?

Specific issues are what I mentioned before; council should be kept informed of our financial position by receiving monthly reports and disbursements.  I have actually asked for these reports to start being presented with our new budget.

Drainage, I think we need to work as a team (council, citizens and public works) and hand in hand with DD7 to come up with solutions that are feasible for all parties involved.  Streets, again to work together to help the street program that is in place be executed in the most efficient way possible.

• Cory Perry, 42, is a water plant operator for the city of Port Arthur. He has no political experience.

• Question — Why are you running for city council?

I am running for city council because I want the best for our city. I want try to make change for our city. Be someone that our citizens can come to with any question or issue and me working with our other leaders to get the issue solved. I want to be a voice for everyone that lives in Groves.

• Question — Has the city recovered from Tropical Storm Harvey? If not, what needs to be done and how can it be achieved?

I do not believe the city has still fully recovered from Harvey. Even though we have come a long way, there are still homes that are being rebuilt after the storm. The storm affected our city in many ways. It showed us what needs to be improved on and a better understanding of what our city needs to focus on more clearly.

• Question — What are some specific issues that need to be addressed in Groves and how would you address them?

Drainage – One of the biggest issues our city has is our drainage problems. Ditches need to be graded out and dug correctly. Culverts need to be blown out for water robbery able to flow more freely. Leaders of our city need to work more closely with our Drainage department to create a better preventative maintenance program to keep these issues from getting worse. Though these repairs will not be fixed overnight, it will lead to better progress for our city.

Streets – Our streets in our city is another big issue. Most of the streets get a patch job done and it does not fix the problem. We have to work better with the Street department to implement a better program. Keep citizens informed so they will know the progress that is going on.

Finance – I want to work with our leaders to discuss budget programs so we can improve all aspects of it. I believe every citizen should have the right to know how the money is being used in every way in our city. We need to communicate any positive or negative progress the city has. When budgets are approved, we need to monitor every process of the programs to make sure the money is being spend wisely.

If elected, I want to be a voice for every citizen out there. I will do my best to answer any question a citizen has. To always communicate with every citizen and worker we have in our city. I want to see out city prosper and grow. Any issue brought forth should be a priority and should be handled as quickly as possible. Our city leaders need to work together, not against each other, to do what is best for our city and our citizens.