Campaign Phone
9064403459
Age
61
The problems this city faces are similar to the problems of a lot of other governmental entities. Our citizens need and demand certain basic services: better streets, public safety and all the things that good government is expected to provide. However, equipment breaks down, infrastructure ages and so does the equipment our first responders need. It gets more and more expensive, yet our tax base never seems to grow and the amount of revenue sharing dollars the city has available certainly continues to shrink. That's a problem! Managing things day to day can be tricky if decisions are made irresponsibly, or if the money isn't spent right. "Get a grant for this, get a grant for that," sounds easy, but it usually isn't. Funding the Carbide Dock project was one of the most difficult projects the city has ever pulled off. Fortunately, come budget time, the City Department Heads have understood this. I would say day-to-day decision making is how we deal with best running the city best.
Having a walkable city is important to me, but it's also very easy for me. I live right in a central location, so I actually can walk to work and so can my wife. I can walk to my church, the grocery store, medical appointments and the like. I've lived in that house for over thirty years, so I have enjoyed that level of convenience. While I have been on commission, I have taken steps and voted on certain issues, such as the purchase of sidewalk snow removal equipment, that has helped make the city more walkable for a lot of people over the years. I vow that I will continue to prioritize that, as well as supporting accessible public transportation.
What people need to understand is that the problem with snow is that it falls all at once, but it's impossible to remove all at once. There is a correct amount of snow removal equipment to have on hand, a correct amount of people to man those and best routes to take and priorities to have in those situations. Our DPW has been dealing with that and been perfecting those methods since there has been a Street Department. Would another plow make the job go faster and make snow removal quicker? Certainly, it would, but where are we going to find the money to buy that plow? And once you have that large capital outlay for a piece of equipment you need during major snow events like we had last year, what happens in the off years when you don't really need it, but you could've used that money for something else? With snow, we're dealing with something that is inconsistent and unpredictable from year-to-year. Can we do a better job? I don't know, given what we have, but we can try!
As a business owner and someone who has created and grown his business from scratch, I know first-hand what it's like to do that and I am truly someone who has skin in the game. As much as I like to see new business in our city, I am against things like large tax break incentives for businesses. We need that money for city services! If we want to attract business, I say we do it by making Sault Ste. Marie the best city we can make it and make the quality of life in this town the best that it can be! Fix potholes in a timely manner. Give our city workers the best equipment we can and work for public projects such as the Farmer's Market, which I proudly say I was instrumental in developing back in that day, as I cast the deciding vote to develop what was at the time a vacant lot and almost stayed that way. I cast votes that are friendly to development such as the Cloverland training facility we're dealing with right now, as well as what we were able to do with the Carbide Dock.
I'm pretty much an open book. I have a solid voting record on the City Commission dating back to 2005 and I stand behind pretty much all of my decisions since that time. I've always been a solid member of the community along with my wife, a teacher at St. Mary's School since 2000 and daughters, who have since broadened their horizons, but I'm hoping they can come back, if that's the plan. I would say Music In The Park is one of my legacies, as I've been part of that since the very beginning in 1998 as well as the business I have developed, Soo Brewing Company, on one of the most prominent corners in town. I'm an active member of St. Mary's Parish as well as The Knights of Columbus and have participated in more fund raising efforts for more organizations over the years than I can possibly name. I hope the citizens of Sault Ste. Marie find me worthy of their continued support for the next four years.
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1. Public Safety and Community Trust.
Why, because people won’t invest in or feel proud of a city they do not trust or feel safe.
2.Infrastructure and Roads.
Why, because roads, water systems, and utilities are the backbone of a function city.
3.Economic Development & Jobs
Why, because a strong local economy creates jobs, increases tax revenue and improves the quality of life for the citizens of Sault Ste. Marie.
4.Quality of Life.
Why, because these are the things that make people proud to live in a city and want to stay.
*Due to the limited number of characters allowed for answers, please refer to my Facebook page "Elect Nathan Moran, Sault Ste Marie City Commissioner" for my expanded answers. Thank you for your support.
Focusing on walkability and accessible transportation is very important to me.
It improves safety, supports local businesses, and makes a city livable for everyone and not just people who drive.
Improve crosswalk visibility, lighting and traffic crossings in high-risk areas.
Creating more sidewalks will allow people to get from point A to B safely.
Keep it down to common sense and invest where people already walk, not just where it would look good on paper.
Public Transportation should be reliable and not complicated. It’s about reliability and access, especially for seniors, workers and for people who don’t drive.
Ensuring routes serve key needs: jobs, medical care, school and shopping.
Improve time reliability before extending route
I do not agree with our local businesses having to pay to get their sidewalks cleared in front of their business. The sidewalk should be the responsibility of the city to ensure they are cleared and safe for everyone to travel down them without anyone having to fear of falling or slipping. Businesses already pay taxes; sidewalks should be included with the taxes that they pay. I would also like to see the city clear more sidewalks within our neighborhoods so we can safely walk down the sidewalks instead of having to be on the roadway. I know first hand that the street department members are working hard and long hours to clear the roads for us, but maybe if we sit down with the street department we can see how we can better their needs.
Our local businesses are the backbone of this community, and if we want to grow, we must start by supporting the people who are already investing here. As city commissioner, ill work to cut red tape, speed up permits, make permits more affordable and make city government easier to work with and not a barrier.
We need to fill/ knockdown vacant buildings, support small business growth but at the same time we need to start welcoming big businesses and catch up with the times.
My name is Nathan Moran, and I am proud to be running for city commissioner in the community that raised me – Sault Ste. Marie. I was born and raised here, and it’s where I chose to build my life, raise my family and serve others. I married my high school sweetheart, and together we are raising our two children with the same values this community instilled in us; hard work, integrity and respect for others. My wife serves in the medical field, dedicating her life to caring for those in need and I am a police detective with the Chippewa County Sheriff's Office, where I work every day to protect and serve our community. Before my law enforcement career, I proudly served our county in the United States Army for 12 years.
Campaign Phone
561-809-0688
Age
51
1. Fix the roads. I plan on creating a city run road repair department partnered with Sault Area High School & Career Center and LSSU. This department will add union jobs to our area, keep high school and college kids from moving away, use recycled tires in the asphalt, and enable our city to start being proactive instead of reactive in regards to our badly damaged roads.
2. Bust blight. We need a proactive yet compassionate code enforcement department in our city to encourage and motivate home owners, and business owners, to beautify and maintain their properties.
3. Job creation. The city is in dire need of better paying jobs for our community. The lack of industry coming from all of the passing freighters saddens me, and with the help of area organizations like the chamber of commerce I plan on coming up with creative ways to get more out of the Soo Locks and all our access to the Great Lakes.
4. Tourism. I-75 is in our front yard and we need to use this to draw tourists up here
The city needs dedicated bike lanes on Ashmun Street, the business spur, and 3 Mile Road. The price of oil has skyrocketed this year and encouraging people to bike to work and the store while providing more safety for this would be rewarding in many ways. Sidewalks in our city need to be improved to make them safer for the elderly, handicapped, and children. Narrowing Ashmun from 4 lanes to 2 lanes from Marquette to Easterday is a goal of mine to not only slow cars down, but to add dedicated bike lanes on Ashmun. Placing a boulevard on this stretch would also beautify our city. A bus that makes a loop from Meijer to downtown and runs consistently is something I have discussed with residents with much enthusiasm. EUPTA seems like a logical partner for this.
The snow removal last year was haphazard at best. Many sidewalks remained covered in snow for far too long. I know that my driveways and front yard get an obscene amount of snow pushed onto them by the city plow drivers. The past two winters I had to pay dump trucks to remove snow from these areas to keep my sidewalk and driveway safe and clear. I cannot count how many times I snowblowed my driveway, went inside to get ready for work, and within 15-20 minutes a snow plow came along and buried my driveway back in. This is unacceptable, especially considering how much I pay in taxes and situations like this make it very difficult for workers to get to their jobs on time. I would like to explore directional plowing on city streets to move or remove the snow to other areas besides in resident’s driveways and front yards. There are ball fields in my neighborhood where the snow could be dumped from both roadways and sidewalks. This would create a mountain of snow for kids to play on!
I propose a partnership with Sault Area High School and Career Center and LSSU to create marketing job opportunities for students partnered with the city to boost tourism while also attracting talent to our area. Utilizing social media to capture attention has been effective in many communities across Michigan. We desperately need a social district downtown with at least 4 major events every year that capitalize on our weather and uniqueness. Fall / Halloween, Christmas / New Year’s, Spring, and Summertime would be good cornerstones for this. Going after big box stores to make them pay their fair share of taxes is on my list. I have several business ideas written down that I am willing to share with the right entrepreneurs.
I am currently a civil servant and have worked for non-profits, city governments, county governments, and state governments. I believe this gives me many unique experiences to work for the city commission since I have an inside perspective of how government and bureaucracy works. As a professional librarian my research skills and natural curiosity will translate to being a tenacious city commissioner who will seek the truth and find what is best for the city. Living in the Soo for close to 6 years I have met many cool people who encouraged me to run for office and I seek to make the Soo better for everyone.
