In their words: Jerry Wade

By Pierce Courchaine

Published Feb. 16, 2010

This is the second installment of "In their words," a six-part series of interviews with Columbia's mayoral candidates leading up to the April 6 election. This week, candidate and Fourth Ward Councilman Jerry Wade speaks about his campaign.

The Maneater: For the students that don't know too much about you, why don't you talk a little bit about yourself?

Jerry Wade: I came to Columbia in 1963 as a senior (in high school). I was raised on a small farm in northwest Iowa. I finished my bachelor's here and found the profession I wanted to devote my life to, community development. From 1979 to when I retired in 2000, I was on the faculty of the department of rural sociology and a state community and economic development specialist for university extension.

M: Now, moving on to some general issues, do you feel that Columbia has a problem with crime?

JW: I think that every community that has crime has a problem that needs to be addressed. However, I think that we have created a perception of crime that is not reflective of the reality. Yes, Columbia has crime, but there has not been a huge explosion.

M: As mayor, how would you reduce that crime, even though you don't consider it a huge problem?

JW: I'm impressed with the quality of leadership with our chief, Ken Burton, and our (deputy) chief, Dresner. They need to have the ability to devote their resources to where the actual incidents of crime are taking place. We need to do a much better job of helping neighborhoods through things like neighborhood watches. We are moving toward a more proactive as opposed to reactive law enforcement.

M: You voted against a measure that came before the council that would give Police Chief Kenneth Burton the power to install cameras downtown. Why did you vote against that?

JW: I think we need to look very carefully whether they are a good investment of city resources. The issue is do they do much good? I voted against it because it is one of the kinds of issues that the public needs to have a right to have a say about. Even though I do not support them, I do support that kind of democratic process.

M: Statistics show that Columbia's population is growing, how are you going to handle that growth?

JW: We have to keep focus on what's called the economic base. Those economic activities that bring new resources into the community, not the kind of economic activities that result from having new retail. The retail and so forth will take care of themselves if you've got a good, dynamic economic pie.

M: The 2010 budget cut spending by 3 percent. Do you feel the city is doing enough to restrict spending?

JW: Yes, we operate on a balanced budget. We are not a deficit spending entity. We by law cannot be. What we did was we were able to make adjustments in the city's budget that kept our level of service consistent. We did not have the dramatic impact of large layoffs.

M: On your Web site, you say Columbians have told you they are interested in seeing a more transparent government. How would you do this?

JW: You just make sure that information is available on the issues that are being addressed by the city and that decisions are in the open. You've got to constantly, actively work to make sure that there are honest open streams of information.

M: During the mayoral forum at Paquin Tower on Feb. 3, you talked about breaking the cycle of poverty. How would you try to do this as mayor?

JW: I don't have a nice neat answer for that. What we've got to do is get the question on the table. It has not been on the table. We have not as a community or as a society given much attention to the question of poverty or economic wellbeing. I don't have the answers, but what I do have is the ability and the commitment to bring people together that do have answers.

M: What issues do you think are important to students?

JW: One of the things that I will do as mayor, I would want to put together a small working team with two or three student leaders from each campus, bring that group together and start talking. Start talking about how can Columbia be a more livable place for students and how can students help Columbia be a more livable place for all of us.