LIMA — Lima mayoral candidate Keith Cheney took his message of the need for change in Lima to the Allen County Patriots, pointing to issues of dilapidated housing, crime and lack of safety service staffing as reasons why Mayor David Berger should no longer remain in his position.
“We’re suffering a decline in population and a decline in home ownership,” he said. “That’s the real record of this administration. Let’s not kid ourselves.”
Cheney pointed to his business acumen with Certified Oil, citing his handling multi-million dollar budgets, negotiating contracts with some of the largest companies in the country and being responsible for over 600 employees. During his speech, he pledged to make Lima a business-centric community where “government moves at the speed of business” and not the other way around.
Cheney also criticized the staffing levels at the Lima Police Department, saying that the detective bureau is staffed at 1950s levels.
“Do you think we’re holding the criminals accountable? Do you think we’re solving the caseload?” he said. “I feel for the few detectives that are there. Lima doesn’t even have a SWAT team. We’ve got to be the only city our size with the crime problems we have and not have a SWAT team. Where’s the support for the police department?”
Cheney also criticized what he described as “selective code enforcement” for property maintenance and promised that out-of-city and out-of-state delinquent landlords would be held accountable under his administration.
“We will have a registration system where a landlord has to register to conduct business in my city,” he said. “We will also have rules and regulations attached to that as to the way your property is going to be maintained. Currently, there’s nothing there, and what rules are there are obviously not enforced, or we wouldn’t have over 100 properties that have become so horrible that we are now relying on the county’s land bank, because of the city’s failed land bank, to tear down.”
Cheney also pledged to be more involved with voters, having an “on the street” mentality when it comes to engaging with the city.
“On Dec. 1, 2017, when I take the oath of office, I will be accountable, I will be accessible and I will pay attention to detail,” he said. “I want to provide a city that is a better Lima for all, one where our kids don’t leave this city and go to school and not come back because there are no opportunities for them here.”
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