STEENS – Mary Beth Jeter, who is running for Ward 5 Columbus councilwoman as a Republican, says she’s afraid to walk to the Frank P. Phillips Memorial YMCA by herself.
“When I first came here I lived on College Street down by The W and I could go out and walk or jog around, … I felt very safe,” Jeter said Tuesday during a Lowndes County Republican Party town hall meeting for city council candidates that was streamed on Facebook Live. “Now, I really won’t go to the YMCA, walk over there by myself because I hear people coming by yelling at me, profanities. … I walk early in the morning and I see a lot of homeless people out.”
Jeter was joined by fellow candidates Robert Johnson IV, who is running for Ward 4 councilman, Jason Spears, who is running in Ward 6 and Rusty Greene, who is running unopposed in Ward 3.
The forum, moderated by David Chism, was held in the Greenaway Pool and Spa boardroom in Steens. Chism owns Greenaway and chairs the county’s Republican Party.
During the forum, candidates discussed their plans to make Columbus safer, cleaner and a more appealing place to live and do business.
Jeter said she believes crime has increased substantially over the years and believes more cameras and increased police presence may be the answer. City and county crime statistics, as well as national trends, actually point to a decrease in violent crime.
“If they know cameras are watching them, then they are less likely to do anything,” Jeter said. “So I think the cameras would help, and I think also, we need to have more police presence out and have more cops on the beat all the time, going up and down streets and just patrolling.”
Jeter said police presence should be raised in anticipation of larger events, referencing the gunshots fired during an after-prom party in April at Columbus Fairgrounds.
“Why didn’t we anticipate that at prom, there may have been some type of crime going on, or at least have a police presence where people will know they shouldn’t bring the gun or shouldn’t start trouble?” Jeter said. “… Maybe that (would) deter some of the crime before it starts.”
Johnson emphasized the importance of beautifying and investing into areas of the city, namely in Ward 4, that Chism described as “dark,” “ugly” and a “warzone.”
“We need to upgrade our city,” Johnson said. “… These houses were built in the 40s and 50s, and when these houses were built, a lot of these trees weren’t there. These trees damage the house … these houses become unlivable.
“One bad apple spoils the bunch. Well that’s exactly how it’s referred to in the housing situation. One lack of investment across the street is going to lead to another house next door not wanting to fix their house up,” he added.
Johnson said one way to combat this is to get people interested in investing in their homes and communities.
Spears said that having a comprehensive city plan is necessary to address issues such as this.
“When we talk about cleaning the city and better lighting and different things, I think that goes to the point of having a planner who can really overlay the city and see where problem areas exist,” Spears said. “… All these different things I think go back to, maybe they’ve been unaddressed because they haven’t been identified before. … Patrolling the streets, how you make things with respect to people feeling safer about getting out early before the sun comes up, walking around Propst (Park), those are the different things that I think you start stitching together in a comprehensive plan.”
Greene agreed that having a strong plan for the city was necessary and expressed the need for a city planner.
“I don’t think anybody could be organized or any business could be organized if you don’t have a plan of where you’re wanting to go and how you’re going to get there,” Greene said. “And right now, we’re putting out fires here and there, and we’re handling situations as they come up, but we don’t have any long range plans. … I think a city planner would go a long way.”
Municipal elections will be held June 3. On the ballot, Johnson is running against Democrat Lavonne Harris and independent incumbent Pierre Beard. Jeter faces Democrat Gregory “Gary” Jefferson and Spears runs against independent candidate Donald Pope.
Editor’s note: David Chism, who moderated the forum, is also a co-host for The Dispatch’s podcast Between the Headlines.
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