Why Run for District 3 Commissioner?

Over the last year I have become involved in the Clintonville Area Commission as a resident, committee member, task force member, and Chairman of the Election Committee. The functions and operations of this commission have been interesting to say the least. Either intentionally or not, many of us had no idea how or why the CAC operated and to some extent, some of it is still a mystery. The Commission has operated since the early 1970’s and has nine elected commissioners who are there to serve and represent their respective Districts. Our neighborhood has a vast mix of socioeconomics and varied styles of architecture that reflect the history of development in the City of Columbus over the last 100-plus years. It is the very reason my wife and I chose to live here in Clintonville and raise our three boys.

One of my greatest concerns for Clintonville is the recently adopted Urban Commercial Overlay.  Our community has a wonderful array of history that tells the story of America. I believe, however, it is not a community that should be redesigned by a single planning overlay by City planners. Our community is much more complex and eclectic and deserves a great deal of attention. Much of Clintonville has been preserved or in some cases ignored, which can be advantageous and blight to our community all at the same time. But ignoring it will not make it go away or maintain a neighborhood that is safe and a desirable part of our family’s lives. It appears many opportunities have been left unimplemented or un-noticed and therefore have been missed by the City Planners when funds have become available. You can see other neighborhoods reap the benefits all around us, Old North Columbus, Linden, University Area and Morse Road, with infrastructure improvements and vast allocation of our tax dollars.

Why was Clintonville missed?

Instead of taking the partisan political approach and tearing down the efforts of the CAC and individual Commissioners, I have chosen to take a different approach and put my name in the running for Commissioner of District 3. I am running for the position of Area Commissioner and asking for your support and vote.

I have had the opportunity to serve on many Boards of non-profits, foundations, associations and committees. I believe in any organization you can get lost in the process and lose sight of your goals. It does not mean you have not had good intentions, but you simply have lost the ability to get projects done. I have always taken an approach that you should review and execute a plan until its completion. The resources in our community are unrivaled and another missed opportunity is not acceptable with so much at stake. We need to encourage neighbors to participate in the process and help in our common goals of making Clintonville a better community to live in and raise a family.

I believe nine Commissioners cannot and should not stand alone in the improvement process. The City of Columbus is so large that our Commission has become even more important in delivering improvements to our neighborhoods. We must change the culture of our local government to reflect our community and our goals while incorporating the citizens into the process.

I believe we have missed opportunities by not fully implementing the previous neighborhood plans for High Street and Indianola Avenue. Where are the back-in parking, medians, buried utility lines and lower speed limits? Why did our project only get partially completed but the University District ("Old North Columbus") has all of their project implemented? Just because the City runs out of money on one project does not mean we should allow them to move onto another community until ours has been completed. We have every right for our community to not be forgotten in all of the bureaucracy of government. We need follow-through on project implementation. Why are there Urban Infrastructure Recovery Funds unspent when we have so many areas in need for improvements?

In the next few weeks I will be drawing your attention to further missed opportunities here in Clintonville that concern me. If you are aware of some that need the attention of our City government, please let me know and maybe we can discuss them openly and get them resolved once I am elected.

I look forward to your input and ideas.

Jim Blazer