By LANCE MIHM
lmihm@dailystandard.com
NEW BREMEN — Two people are vying to be the new mayor
of New Bremen, and five others are going after two open seats
on the village council in the Nov. 4 election.
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Hoffman |
Ashman |
Ewing |
Schwartz |
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Councilor Jeffrey Pape and resident Craig Hoffman are both
hoping to replace Mayor Robert Klein, who said he is stepping
down to spend more time with his family.
Pape, 46, 704 N. Main St., is married, has three children and
works at Crown Equipment Corp. He has served on the council
since 1995 and is giving up his council seat to make a run for
mayor.
“I had thought about running before,” Pape said.
“I decided to do it after Bob decided not to run.”
Pape said one of his first items of business would be to work
to replace the companies that have left the village. Stamco
and Riggs Express both recently announced they are closing shop
in New Bremen. He also expressed interest in recreational improvements
to the tennis courts and Bremenfest Park.
Hoffman, 46, 22 Knoxville Ave., owns a painting business that
has been passed down in his family for five generations. He
is married and has two children.
“I had no problems with what the current mayor was doing,”
Hoffman said. “That is why I had an interest when he said
he wouldn’t seek re-election. I wanted to continue the
village down the same path without a breakoff.”
Hoffman said if elected, he would address employment problems
in the village created by the shutdowns of Stamco and Riggs
Express.
Running for the two open council seats are Clarence Art, James
Ashman, Austin Ewing, John Schwartz and incumbent Edward Rump.
The other seat open is the seat being vacated by Pape.
Art, 66, 311 Lane St., is married and has four children. He
is retired and served as the village administrator for 23 years.
“We’ve been spending money on things that I don’t
agree with. There are a lot of things that don’t make
the paper that I think the public should have a better understanding
of,” Art said, refusing to reveal what those items were.
Art said he also would like to attract new business to the village.
“If you look out at Bunker Hill Industrial Park, most
of the businesses that have moved out there were already here,”
Art said. “We need to attract more new businesses.”
Ashman, 303 E. Monroe St., 49, is retired from General Motors
in Dayton. He is married with two children.
“I think this is just part of being a citizen,”
Ashman said of running for council. “I think everyone
should take part, and that is what I feel would be my best part.”
Ewing, 38, 313 S. Walnut St., is married and has three children.
He is employed as a manager at Crown Equipment Corp.
“There have been a lot of improvements in the village,”
Ewing said. “I want to help that work continue. I don’t
want to see people get on here (council) that would take a step
backwards in the name of saving money. Improvements make the
town attractive, and it helps continue progress.”
Rump, 45, 23 Rummel Creek Drive, has two children and operates
Pak-A-Sak in New Bremen. Rump formerly owned the service station,
and said his experience would make him an ideal candidate.
“I always wanted to serve the village, but not as a business
owner,” he said. “We sold the station and now I
could put time into it. Running a village is like running a
multi-million dollar business, and I have experience in that.”
Schwartz, 45, 8 Circle Drive, is married with three children
and a stepdaughter. He is a safety technician at Crown Equipment
Corp. and previously served on the Osgood village council from
1989 to 1992.
“I like the direction the town is going, and I want to
help it continue,” Schwartz said. “I decided to
run because I wanted to be part of the community and volunteer
my time.”
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