England promotes ‘business management’ during campaign visit to New Albany's Mark Elrod Towers

By ERIC SCOTT CAMPBELL
Eric.Campbell@newsandtribune.com

New Albany’s public safety departments are strong, but the city needs to improve its business acumen, Democratic mayoral candidate Doug England told residents of Mark Elrod Tower in a campaign appearance Wednesday evening.

The former two-term mayor joined City Clerk Marcey Wisman and City Council candidates Bob Caesar and John Gonder in briefly addressing a crowd of about 50, mostly senior citizens. The public-housing building sits on Wolfe Trace just north of downtown.

“We need business management — someone who can create jobs,” said England, who is opposing Randy Hubbard, the Republican former sheriff, to replace Democratic incumbent Mayor James Garner. Less than six weeks remains before the Nov. 6 election.

England shared anecdotes about his youth, military service and past mayoral terms, and as he frequently has since his campaign began, England referred to the eventually instructive effect of his loss to Regina Overton in the 1999 election.

“I’m big enough to get up and keep on walking with the scratches on my knees,” England said.
One resident told England she and her neighbors have difficulty finding transportation downtown on short notice. England said he’d lobby U.S. Rep. Baron Hill to explore whether bus service to federal housing can be improved.

Before England spoke, Wisman highlighted her efforts to improve Internet accessibility to public documents as well as simplify code-enforcement procedures. She emphasized the variety of tasks encompassed in the city clerk job.

To learn more on the Democrats "Meet the Candidates," read more on the News Albany Tribune.