The Morning Journal

Election Questionnaire

Date questionnaire completed: __10/15/13_____________

Office sought: First Ward City Council

Political party: Democratic_____________________________

Name: Brian J. Gates____________________________________________________________________________
Age: __35________
Date of birth: _12/11/77__________________
Place of birth: Cleveland,
Ohio_______________________
Home address: _3553 Sterling Rd. OH
Length of residence in that community: _25+______________
Twitter: _N/A_____________________
Facebook: __N/A__________________
Campaign Web site: _____N/A______________________________
Occupation: _Child Care Worker________________________________________
Employer:
Lorain County Juvenile Facilities
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Business address: ____________________________________
Elected office experience: __
Lorain City Council 2010-present
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Non-elected office experience (boards, etc.): ______________________________________________
Eagle Scout
Former Chairman Youth as Resources
Ordained Deacon, Heritage Presbyterian Church
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Education (Please only list schools youve graduated from and list degrees if applicable):
_Admiral King High School
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Marital status: __Single____________________
Name of spouse: _________________________________
Name and age of any children: __________________________________________________________
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Organizations: _______________________________________________________________________
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Should you be elected, what are three specific areas youd like to change, address, improve or further research,
and how specifically would you go about it?:
_Of the three areas I would like to see addressed if elected, I am pleased to say that two are already being
addressed. First, our infrastructure (roads and sewers) are very old and in need of repair. Unfortunately, for too
many years these infrastructure needs were neglected, further exacerbating the problem. Thankfully, we have
begun addressing these issues, as anyone trying to currently drive through our city can attest. We have
approximately $50,000,000 in repairs planned or underway, with much more planned for the next three to four
years. The second issue would be finding a way to address our deteriorating housing stock. This is a serious
problem that affects our citys appearance, as well as adversely affecting our home values. This is another area
where we have seen progress, which I plan to push to continue. Through the county land bank and other
measures, we have torn down 146 homes with more to come. We have stepped up our code enforcement with
close to 4000 inspections being completed by the nuisance task force. We have also implemented several
measures to address this issue in the long term, most notably point of sale inspections, which are designed to
eliminate the current shell game being played by large property owners with substandard properties. The third
issue I would like to address, if re-elected, would be to employ more of our own residents when spending
tax-payer dollars. The current guidelines of 25% local employees on projects of over $2,000,000 are woefully
inadequate. Studies have shown that when you employ locally, the money spent on wages cycles through the
community many times over, thus boosting local businesses such as restaurants and stores. With as many
construction projects as we have planned it should be a priority to keep these wages in the pockets of our own
residents.________________________________________________________________________________
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Whether for past accomplishments or future goals, why should voters elect you? _
I have shown during my first four years on city council the ability to make wise and difficult decisions that are
necessary to finally move our city in a positive direction. In every year I have been on city council we have had a
balanced budget, whereas, when I took office, we were struggling with deficits. In fact, we currently have a sur

plus in our budget, leading us to be on the verge of being removed from fiscal watch status for the first time since
2002. Before I took office, our infrastructure had been badly neglected, whereas now the visible signs are readily
apparent to anyone driving through our city. We are finally taking steps, which I have outlined above to address
our housing issues. We are also removing the high tension wires along our river and lakefront, which should
transform years of empty rhetoric about development into actual possibility. On top of the prospect of new
development along the water, we have seen actual progress on new jobs in our city at the steel mill, as well as
Emerson, Camaco, First Student, Century Link, and many other locations. In summary, I feel I should be re-elected
because I have a proven track record of decision-making and problem-solving which has set the city of Lorain on
an optimistic path forward.
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NOTE TO CANDIDATES: Please be aware that this questionnaire will be published.