Mayoral candidate Sal Nuccio speaks about campaign

By Pierce Courchaine and Will Guldin

Published Feb. 9, 2010

This is the first 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 bar owner Sal Nuccio speaks about his campaign.

The Maneater: Why don't you start by telling us a little bit about yourself?

Sal Nuccio: My name is Sal Nuccio. I'm the owner of East Side Tavern here in Columbia, Mo. I've been running my bar here for the last 12 1/2 years. I'm originally from a place called Bayonne, N.J., Hudson County.

M: We're going to start off with some general topics that are important to students. The first one is crime. Do you feel that Columbia has a crime problem?

S: Yeah, I would definitely say that it has had a crime problem. There were a lot of acts of violence, assault and vandalism that go unchecked and victims would get no justice. I personally have been a victim of assault more than once, and my property at my bar was also destroyed on multiple occasions. Columbia's turning into a city and it's a little bit in denial about the tactics it's going to have to apply. You have to have police presence. You can't wait for something to go wrong when you know it probably will.

M: On the ballot there is an initiative that would give the police chief the authority to put more cameras downtown, how do you feel about that proposal?

S: They're really not that necessary. There's still a victim, there's still a crime. It would be better off to have the police presence to prevent the crime from ever even happening in the first place. Anybody who ends up becoming mayor should make it a priority to work closely with the police force.

M: All of the candidates have admitted that Columbia is a growing city. Do you believe Columbia is a growing city and how are you going to handle that growth?

S: It's definitely growing. We need to attract more young professionals to come here and certain types of industry. A campaign could be devised, you advertise in a larger city area like St. Louis, Kansas City or Chicago and you try to get people from those communities to move here.

M: Do you feel the city is fiscally responsible?

S: I don't know. You have to look at it. It can be an opinion. Some people might say spending is going in the right areas, some might say it's going in the wrong areas. I would have to look to see what's going on to have an opinion of that. I'm basing a lot of my stuff on being a man of the people, I can relate to the average Joe.

M: In 2007, you ran for the First Ward council seat. You withdrew and said the move began as a publicity stunt. What are you going to do to make voters believe that your mayoral campaign is a serious one?

S: That's going to be hard to prove to a lot of people considering my occupation and what I look like. Being a business owner for so many years and just understanding how to deal with people, that's my strong points. I know for some people that's not enough.

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

S: I can't say. I was never a student here. If somebody was to be mayor that should be open dialogue. You can't tell them (students) what's for their own good. They have to come to you and tell you about their concerns and use your better judgment to help the community.

M: The nuisance party ordinance says that a fine can be issued to a gathering of 10 or more people that are breaking rules for noise, underage drinking or parking violations. Do you support this ordinance?

S: Not really, but then again, if you want to throw a wild house party, there is always a chance that you get busted. That's just the way it goes.

M: The university is the largest employer in Columbia. How do you feel the university and the city can work together in the future?

S: The town has been growing in different ways. The citizen population outweighs the student population. I think you'll see the economy and the politics of the town will change over time. As the rest of the town grows, the university won't be the center of everything at all time. The town's got to get ready for that.