Barberton: The city’s two Democratic candidates for mayor are Barberton natives.Both have experience on city council. Both oppose Senate Bill 5.Both have concerns about the city’s longtime flooding issues and street repairs and say more money is needed to address those concerns.Yet while Mayor Bob Genet and Councilman-at-large William B. Judge share many views, they differ slightly in their vision, how to solve current issues and who can better lift Barberton from what they both say has been the city’s worst recession since the 1930s.Their names will appear on Tuesday’s primary ballot. The winner will run against Republican Kevin G. Mitchell in November’s general election.Genet’s outlookGenet, running for a second term as mayor, said that despite the recession the city has received $9 million in grants, mostly federal, under his watch to assist with such projects as new water and sewer lines and the hiring of two additional police officers.He said more jobs have come to Barberton than have left. He said one of the first things he did when he took office was to visit every business in the community to talk about jobs and that keeping those jobs has remained a priority.Genet said he is running on his accomplishments. Among those he mentioned:• Successfully helping to pass a 6.2-mill school construction bond issue that saved taxpayers $42 million by leveraging state matching dollars.• A rental registration program.• A citywide housing inspection program.• Merging the city health department with thecounty’s — saving local taxpayers $400,000 annually — while preserving jobs and the Barberton health facility.• Helped bring Stark State College and University of Akron satellites to Barberton.• Helped Alcoa secure funding to keep the company in Barberton, helped keep Babcock & Wilcox in town, helped secure the Seiberling Tire and Rubber Co. facility for redevelopment and met with PPG last week to talk about a welding facility in Barberton as an apprenticeship program through Stark State. The city also recently received $500,000 to entice entrepreneurs to set up shop in Barberton.On street work, Genet said he sees his job as keeping operational costs at a minimum without raising taxes and spending any additional revenue on repairs. This year, the city is spending $700,000 on road repairs, and although Genet said it still isn’t enough, he is trying to repair the roads by addressing the problem from the bottom up, making sure the waterlines are in good shape so repaving is not in vain.The city just completed a $600,000 storm-water improvement project on Grand Boulevard and Glenn Avenue and the 15th Street viaduct was rebuilt, with the city paying $500,000.In June, the city received $250,000 to help deal with flooding problems. Genet said the grant will be used to help control water runoff and come up with possible solutions: moving homes and structures out of flooded areas or elevating the structures, or building levees.Genet said he has cut the budget every year and done so without reducing services.Judge’s outlookJudge, the son of William J. Judge, who served as Barberton’s mayor from 1980 to 1987, said he, too, has experience working with budgets in his present job and working with money markets.Judge said his campaign has focused on economic development, work force development, street repairs, flooding, technology improvements and marketing the city.He said he would like to market the city by fostering stronger relationships with existing businesses, in addition to courting new ones, and suggests more tax abatements to help attract business.Judge would like to form a “flood action committee” to deal with prevention and flood management. He said the city should go back to using ditches in certain areas and retention ponds, which are standard practices by private industries.On street maintenance, Judge said additional funds would have to be collected to improve street conditions in Barberton. He said it takes $1.5 million a year to get streets in good working condition, but the city can’t afford that amount in its budget.Judge said he has discussed three funding options with residents: a traditional bond issue on property owners; an income tax increase earmarked for streets; and assessing residents and businesses based on lineal frontage of their properties.He also has asked the Barberton Community Foundation about a $3 million grant to help jump-start a street improvement project.Judge wants to embrace technology, using the city’s website as a one-stop shop for residents’ needs and to use more social media, such as Twitter and Facebook. He suggests using the free sites to let people know about an Amber Alert, flooding, road closings or who Barberton’s football team is playing next.Debate issueAt the only debate between the two, held Aug. 24 at the O.C. Barber Piggery, residents asked whether city council should be reduced from nine to seven members.Genet answered yes and said a nonpartisan charter review commission made that suggestion to council, whose members shot it down without letting the voters decide. He said the reduction would save the city $100,000.Judge said council compared like-sized municipalities (Barberton’s population is about 26,000) and determined there was no need to reduce the number of council seats, but maybe do a better job in how council representation is divided.Both men agree there should be better representation on council, which currently is all men, all white and all Democrats.Marilyn Miller can be reached at 330-996-3098 or mmiller@thebeaconjournal.com.